REDMOND, OR -- An old house in Redmond is now considered historic. The Norman and Frances Swanson House was built in 1966. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 6. 

Jason Allen, with the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, says the home is notable for its architecture, "Of [the] mid-century modernist period, as it occurs in the Pacific Northwest, which is a little bit unique from the rest of the country. Modernist in the northwest really focused on making sure that we’re using native and local materials. And that’s what’s happening at the Swanson House." Allen tells KBND News, "Using the local materials works to kind of situate the house within its natural surroundings, which was a really important element of the modernist style – the modernist movement across the country. But as it happens in the Pacific Northwest, we end up with a lot douglas firs and cedars, those types of woods, and then a lot of kind of volcanic stones and granites, and things like that." Allen says the Swanson House also has, "A really open interior floorplan, we have a lot of wood exposed and veneers. We also have a lot of glass that’s used to kind of blur that line between interior and exterior."

The Swanson House, near the Dry Canyon on NW Canyon Drive, is only the second residential property in Redmond to be listed on the Historic Register, and it's the first to receive the designation under a new Multiple Property Document for Redmond historic homes. Allen says the MPD streamlines the process to encourage more people to apply, "The whole process moves faster and is cheaper and easier to sort of navigate."

Listing on the national register doesn’t impose any restrictions on a property unless the owner chooses to participate in a tax or grant program.