Big Red, the famous net shed on the Columbia River, has been sold.
In an attempt to draw in more potential purchasers, Sarah Jane Bardy of Cascade Hasson Sotheby’s International Realty advertised the building for $129,000 in September. In 2017, the asking price was $475,000 for the property, which had been for sale for a number of years.
The plan worked. The building’s deed was given to Wilsonville resident Scott Dyer on Friday.
Dyer’s real estate broker declined to comment.
In an email to The Astorian, Bardy stated, “I want nothing more than to see Big Red saved and reborn because it is iconic to Astoria.”
In 1897, the structure located off 31st Street in Uppertown was built as a fish transfer station and a drying and repair facility for fishing nets. A relic of Astoria’s illustrious fishing past, it currently stands alone despite once being one of several buildings erected across the river.
Sarah Nebeker, a former Clatsop County commissioner, had owned the building until recently. She stated that she hoped the next owner will preserve it for the benefit of history, the neighborhood, and the state.
The building had been used as an art studio by Nebeker’s late husband, the well-known artist Royal Nebeker, until the Great Coastal Gale of 2007 seriously damaged it.
Bardy expressed her sincere gratitude to the Nebeker family and Gearhart real estate agent Christy Coulombe for providing her with the chance to assist in passing the Big Red torch to the next steward.
I can tell you that the building’s new owners are artists who want to repair it in accordance with Royal Nebeker’s vision and turn it back into a creative place that welcomes community involvement, Bardy added.
Jasmine Lewin, The Astorian Daily
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