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Armory shoots for New Year's photo by Jim Craven When remodeling is complete at the old Ashland Armory, the floor will be reconditioned, a concessions area will serve food and beverages and the stage will extend 8 feet onto the dance floor. The armory's remodel will be celebrated with a millennium party New Year's Eve. Historic Ashland building's remodeling is slated to be finished in time for party By Dani Dodge of the Mail Tribune ASHLAND -- A millennium party at the Ashland Armory will celebrate more than just the year 2000. It will be a coming-out party for the newly remodeled historic building. "We're hoping people will come and see the new armory and get past what it used to be and get excited about things that are up and coming," said Derek DeBoer, who manages the armory with his wife, Brooke. "It wasn't really all that classy before and now it's taking shape." The building was built in 1912 as a National Guard Armory, according to Jay Leighton, a program associate with the Southern Oregon Historical Society. The society's Ashland branch is located in the building. The armory continued to be used for military purposes during World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War. During periods of peace, it was leased out for a variety of uses, including a roller skating rink in the 1940s. Men stationed at Camp White used to take their dates to the rink, Leighton said. A private individual purchased the building in 1980, Leighton said. Since then, several people have tried to make it into a music venue but were unsuccessful. DeBoer's father, Alan DeBoer, bought the building for $595,000 in June 1998. Owner of Courtesy Commercial Property and Development, Alan DeBoer has pumped about $750,000 into the building since then, with $100,000 going toward a state-of-the-art lighting and sound system. The building was sound-proofed so neighbors wouldn't be blasted by noise. An elevator was added to make the building handicap accessible. "There's no other hall like it in Southern Oregon," Alan DeBoer said. "It was a shame to not have it be this grand old facility that can be used for anything." When no one around the county was doing much to promote millennium parties, the DeBoers decided to break out the champagne and noisemakers. "We kept waiting for someone to rent the hall for New Year's Eve, but no one did, so we just did it for ourselves," Alan DeBoer said. "The New Year's Eve party should be the kickoff for the armory." The party will include live music by Thirty Years After, who will play the music of the millennium. There will be hors d'oeuvres, a dessert bar and a no-host drink bar. Champagne toasts in commemorative glasses will be offered at midnight. The armory isn't just for parties. There are a number of offices in the building in addition to the Historical Society's museum. The hall can be used for business meetings, conventions or plays. Swing dance classes will be offered there several nights a week. "We are trying to set it up so almost anything can happen there," said Derek DeBoer. It wasn't easy getting the building into shape. After Alan DeBoer purchased the property, the construction company picked away at the project over a year between shows, Derek DeBoer said. The pace of improvement was slow, so they cut out all the shows in the last few months in order to finish the project in time for the millennium. "We went full-steam ahead," Derek DeBoer said, "and it's really taken shape now." Leighton said people come into the armory to check out the Historical Society's exhibits and are impressed with how good the place looks now. She met one woman who lived there in the 1940s when the building was a roller skating rink. The woman was awed by the improvements. "They've done an amazing remodel," Leighton said. "That's where I'm going to be on New Year's." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA