The public is invited to a rededication of Brandis Square May 10 at 12pm. The short ceremony will celebrate the replacement of the memorial plaque, which went missing in 2006.
Brandis Square is located downtown Bend at the corner of Newport and Wall Street, next to Bank of America. Brandis Square was originally dedicated to former Mayor Richard William Brandis in November 1976, with a 16-foot blue spruce planted in his memory by the Bend Garden Club. In 1985, Art in Public Places added the sculpture water fountain to the square, paid for partially with engraved brick sales, which adorn the plaza. In 2006, during road and bridge improvements, the plaque memorializing Richard Brandis went missing.
Brandis was a pharmacist and owner of Brandis Thriftway Drug in downtown Bend for many years, and served as mayor of Bend 1953-54.
The rededication is also a part of Historic Preservation Month events and activities celebrating preservation of local history and heritage sites. A full schedule of events for the month is available on the Deschutes Historical Museum website at deschuteshistory.org/historic-preservation-month/.
