THE OFFICIAL WEBPAGE
OF ROBERT D. WEST
Living in Salem, Oregon for two years, I amassed a lot of pictures of the city; so many that one page wasn't enough. This is Part 2, featuring Salem's historic downtown. The following links will jump to the other sections.
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Part 2: Historic Downtown |
Two major references for this section were the Salem Historic Landmarks & Design Review Commission, and the Salem Downtown Historic District at Salem Historical Quarterly. I also referred to, Salem Online History, the Oregon Historic Photograph Collections, the Salem Oregon Community Guide. and other resources linked throughout the page. I also used a 1965-1966 copy of the Oregon Blue Book. Historical photographs and some graphics were photographed from interpretive displays at various locations in Salem. Most other graphics, including maps, are my own creations, though they may be based on maps from other sources.
Introduction
Salem's historic downtown area features buildings dating back as far as the 1860s. Most of downtown Salem's historic buildings are part of the Salem Downtown State Street-Commercial Street Historic District, however I have included on this page a few notable buildings just outside the boundary of the historic district. The Salem Downtown State Street-Commercial Street Historic District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 28, 2001.
The boundary of the Historic District is indicated in red.
1. Burke Block
267 Commercial Street SE
This
building is known as the Burke Block. It is technically outside of the
boundaries of the Historic District by about a block but it was built in
1890. Currently it is home to a liquor store and a dance school.
2. Umpqua Bank (Nesmith Building site)
245 Commercial Street SE
This
corner was originally the site of the Nesmith Building. In March, 1859,
Oregon's statehood was announced from the Nesmith Building, which at the
time housed the
Governor's office and the
State Supreme Court. Over the years, the building served as as
Salem's Post Office and as the
Women's Christian
Temperance Hall. It became the home of the Oregon Statesman
newspaper (now the
Statesman-Journal), and was known from then on as the Statesman
Building. The newspaper moved out in April of 1953, and the building
became known as Smith's Block and was the home of Lambert's Furniture &
Antiques for its later years until its demolition. Today this branch of
Umpqua Bank
stands on the site, just outside the Historic District.
Historical Photos:
Statesman Building, January 3, 1953
Former Statesman Building, 1955
3. Salem Conference Center (Marion Hotel site)
200 Commercial Street SE
The
30,000 square foot
Salem
Conference Center was completed in 2005 and sits just outside the
Historic District. It is owned by the
Phoenix
Grand Hotel, which was built at the same time and occupies the other
half of the block. The Salem Conference Center sits on the site of
the historic Marion Hotel and the Capitol Brewery.
Salem's largest hotel opened as the Chemeketa House on December 26, 1870. At the time it was the largest hotel in Oregon and was considered the finest hotel north of San Francisco. The hotel was a four-story building with a mansard roof, containing 125 rooms and 34 suites. The name of the hotel changed to the Willamette Hotel in 1890, and again to the Marion Hotel in 1910. By the 1920s, the hotel had been extensively renovated: the mansard roof was replaced with a flat one, with the fourth floor receiving more traditional walls and windows. The ground floors storefronts were also changed with much larger windows, and a fire escape was added to the front of the building.
Historical Photos:
While the hotel occupied the southern end of the block, the rest of the block was occupied by the Capitol Brewery. The Capitol Brewery was first built in the middle of the block in the 1880s, and expanded over the years. In 1899, the business was sold to the Salem Brewery Association. Salem went dry in 1913, but after the repeal of prohibition the brewery opened again. In 1943, the Brewery became the Sick's Brewing Company, which operated until 1953. The brewery was demolished in 1955.
Additional Links:
Illustrated History of the Salem Brewery Association at BreweryGems.com
Historical Photos:
After the brewery was demolished, the hotel built an addition on part of the brewery site. On November 12, 1971, a fire destroyed the Marion Hotel. A new motel-like Marion Hotel and a Black Angus Restaurant were built on the site in 1973. These were demolished in 2004 for the construction of the Salem Conference Center and the Phoenix Grand Hotel.
Historical Photos:
Marion Hotel on fire, November 12, 1971
Marion Hotel after fire, November, 1971
Marion Hotel remains, December 23, 1971
New Marion Hotel under construction, 1973
New Marion Hotel & Black Angus Restaurant under construction, 1973
New Marion Hotel & Black Angus Restaurant under construction, 1973
Additional Links:
Marion Hotel at Salem Online History
4. Fidelity National Building (Cox/Buren Building site)
198 Commercial Street SE
This
corner is just inside the boundary of the Historic District, though the
building itself is not historic. The site itself does have historical
significance, however. In the fall of 1847, Thomas Cox arrived in Salem
from Wilmington, Illinois with a stock of merchandise. That winter, he
built Salem's first store building on this corner and opened Salem's
first store. This building also served as Salem's first post office.
Later, the Union Hotel operated here, but was destroyed in an 1863 fire.
Later, this corner was the site of the Buren Building, containing the
Zosel Tire Shop, and the Liberty Theater next door. They were demolished
in 1955. The Buren Building included a plaque explaining the site's
history. This building, the home of
Fidelity National,
was built in 1990, and makes no mention of the site's past.
Additional Links:
Liberty Theatre at Puget Sound Theatre Organ Society
Historical Photos:
Buren Building, April 22, 1955
Buren Building site after demolition, 1955
5. Marion Car Park & Rental (Holman Building site)
195-197 Commercial Street SE
This
corner is the site of the Holman Building. Built by Joseph Holman as a
hotel, after Oregon's first capitol burned in 1857, the Holman Building
quickly became a temporary Legislative Hall until the new capitol was
completed in 1876. After serving as a business building, it was
demolished in 1950, despite efforts by Oregon State Archivist David
Duniway to preserve it. The Marion Car Rental & Park replaced it in
1950, one of Salem's first, if not the first, elevated rooftop parking
structures.
Additional Links:
Marion Car Rental & Park at Salem Online History
Historical Photos:
6. Weber's Bar & Scott's Cycling
147-157 Commercial Street SE
This
pair of uninspiring single-story storefronts were built in 1993. They
are home to Weber's Bar and
Scott's Cycle.
7. Ladd & Bush Bank
302 State Street
William Ladd and Asahel Bush II has this Italianate
style bank building constructed in 1868 to house their new Ladd & Bush
Bank, the first bank in Salem, which opened on March 29, 1869.
Originally the bank building only occupied the
corner
of the block with other buildings surrounding it. It was expanded in
1880, 1912 and 1941. The Ladd & Bush Bank was merged into the U.S.
National Bank in 1940. In 1967 the building underwent an extensive
renovation, with the interior being gutted and new concrete walls being
constructed. The cast iron decoration was saved, and was supplemented
with additional cast iron from Portland's similar Ladd & Tilton Bank
building which was demolished at about the same time, giving the
building the size and unified appearance it has today.
U.S. Bank still has
a branch in this building today.
Historical Photos:
Ladd & Bush Bank, unknown date
Ladd & Bush Bank, unknown date
Ladd & Bush Bank, unknown date
Ladd & Bush Bank, unknown date
Ladd & Bush Bank during reconstruction, 1966
Ladd & Bush Bank, January 1967
8. Anderson's Sports Building
129 Commercial Street SE
This
small commercial building was built in 1940 as Anderson's Sports. Most
recently it was the home of
Les Newman's
Footwear & Clothing. For many years, the front of the building was
covered with diagonal wood siding, but this was eventually removed,
revealing the original facade. This building was damaged by the fire in
the McMahan's Building next door on August 10, 2006 (see below) and was
subsequently demolished.
Additional Links:
Anderson's Sporting Goods at Salem Online History
9. Murphy Building
260 State Street
This
corner is the original site of the two-story W. C. Griswold Block, which
was built in 1858 and was Salem's first consequential brick building,
with Griswold's store on the first floor and the Oregon Statesman
published on the second. It was also Salem's first theatre, the Griswold
Theater. The Griswold
Block
was enlarged to three stories by 1862. A fire on April 17, 1865
destroyed all the wood buildings on this side of Commercial between the
Griswold's Block and the brick Holman Building at the other end of the
block. The fire resistant brick buildings survived. The Griswold's Block
was known later as the Capitol Hotel, with Schreder-Berg Grocery, J.C.
Perry Drugs,
and
the New Shanghai Cafe on the main floor. The Griswold's Block was
demolished in 1940, and the Murphy Building was built to replace it. The
Building was leased by Hogg Brothers Furniture and Appliances, which was
eventually bought out by
McMahan's
Furniture. On the morning of August 10, 2006, before
the
store opened, a fire started in the basement and quickly consumed the
building. The store was planning to close permanently and a liquidation
sale was in progress at the time. After an investigation that found no
suspicious evidence, the building was demolished.
My
job at the time had me going to downtown Salem every few days, and I was
able to get pictures of the building at various points in the demolition
process. The fire and subsequent demolition revealed some secrets about
the Murphy Building's design that had long been hidden behind the Hogg
Brothers/McMahan's
awnings, like the brick core and windows in the middle of the building.
Though the fire investigation kept the demolition slow at first, it
would eventually pick up, signaling the last chance to observe the
building's subtle Art Deco-like architectural details.
Once
the investigators were done with the site, the demolition proceeded
quickly. The contractor used a hydraulic excavator with a concrete
crusher attachment to cut into the building's concrete structure. The
crusher's powerful jaws easily sliced
through
the building. With the support cut, the excavator's arm could easily
knock down large pieces of the floor. The following video clip shows the
concrete cutter in action on December 12, 2007, the same day the
pictures at left were taken.
It
didn't take long to demolish the rest of the building. By the next day,
only half of the structure was standing. The next time I came by,
December 16, 2007, it had been completely demolished.
Historical Photos:
Capital Hotel, January 31, 1937
Capital Hotel during demolition, 1940
Capital Hotel during demolition, 1940
Hogg Brothers Furniture, 1970-1980
10. Pioneer Trust Bank
109-117 Commercial Street SE
The
Pioneer
Trust Bank was the first steel and concrete fire-resistant building
in Salem. It included all the latest banking conveniences, including
safety deposit boxes, when it was constructed by J. P. Rogers as the
United States National Bank of Salem in 1909. Ladd and Bush Trust
Company, surviving a
U.S. National Bank acquisition in 1940, moved into this building and
changed its name to the Pioneer Trust Company.
Additional Links:
Pioneer Bank & Trust Building at Salem Online History
Historical Photos:
Pioneer Bank & Trust Building, circa 1910
11. White & Sons Company Building
261 State Street
The
White and Sons Company Building was built in 1911. It was used as the
store and office building for their seed company. They also owned a much
older warehouse building around the corner on Front Street, which we
will come to shortly.
12. Catlin & Lynn Building
246 State Street
This
was originally the site of the Tiger Engine Fire House #2, which was
here from 1869 to 1893. The site is currently occupied by the Catlin and
Lynn Building, which was built in 1908, and is home to a shoe store.
13. Meredith Building
236 State Street
Next
to the Catlin & Lynn Building is the Meredith Building, which was built
in 1923 and is currently home to a locksmith.
14. Salvation Army Building
241 State Street
After
World War I, Salem's
Salvation Army
was in need of a building of their own. The Salem
Elks Lodge held fund
raising drives to raise money for a Salvation Army Building that were
successful enough to allow the Salvation Army to buy a wood-frame
building on this site in 1919. This brick Gothic Revival style building
was constructed around 1930. The Salvation Army remained here until
1968. The building is now home to Riverfront Dance & Fitness.
Additional Links:
Salvation Army at Salem Online History
15. Smith & Wade Building
229-237 State Street
The
Smith and Wade Building was built in 1869. It is currently home to the
Cascade Baking
Company and
Mortgage West, Inc.
16. Catlin-Loose Building
226 State Street
The
Catlin-Loose Building was built in 1910. In the past it was occupied by
Capitol City Transfer.
Additional Links:
Capitol City Transfer at the Salem Oregon Community Guide
17. Rueben P. Boise Building
217 State Street
This
building was designed by architect Fred A. Legg and was built in 1913
for Reuben P. Boise, a northwest journalist and owner of the Oregon
Statesman. An interesting feature of this building is a car-size indoor
ramp leading from a street level overhead door to the second floor. The
building's first occupant was the Purvine Pump & Implement Company.
Other occupants have included a farm store, a garage and automobile
center, a steel warehouse and in electrical contractor. It was placed on
the National register of Historic Places on December 2, 1981.
Historical Photos:
18. Samuel A. Manning Building
200-210 State Street
This
building was built in 1905. Samuel A. Manning, the local agent for
Studebaker automobiles, McCormick harvesters and
John Deere farm
equipment, occupied the building from 1908 to 1921. From 1932 to 1953,
it was occupied by the Salem Seed and Implement Company. The building
was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 10,
1987. It is notable for retaining its original storefront glass and
framing.
19. D. A. White & Sons Warehouse
140 Front Street NE
This
building was built in 1890 by Daniel Anthony White, who had come to
Salem by covered wagon from Washington, Illinois. His sons were Harlan
and Floyd. The building was originally used to store seed cleaning
equipment. Later, White built a
store
around the corner on State Street. By 1926, Harlan had served a term as
mayor of Salem. Harlan merged the company with James Jenks Sr. to form
Jenks-White Seed. D. A. White died in 1938 and was buried at Pioneer
Cemetery. By the 1950s, the building was used just to store seed, and by
the 1970s it had already been empty for several years.
Historical Photos:
D. A. White & Sons Warehouse, March, 1974
20. Durbin, Watkins-Dearborn & Alejandro's Buildings
315 State Street, 110-120 Commercial Street NE
The
Durbin Building, 315-333 State Street, was built in 1860-1870. It was
initially the home of T. B. Wait's Hardware & Farm Machinery. Later it
was home to Karl's Shoes, with Dr. Harry Semler's optical offices on the
second floor, and the Salem Drug Co., with Dr. F. C. Jones's dental
office on the second floor.
Next to it is the Watkins-Dearborn Building at 110 NE Commercial Street, built in 1870. W. H. Watkins sold the building to Richard H. Dearborn in 1875, who used it for his harness-making business to about 1910. In 1912, it was home to J. P. Feilen's Holland Bakery, and later it housed the offices of Edward Rostein and Samuel Adolph.
The Alejandro's Restaurant building at 120 NE Commercial Street was originally built 1870. It has housed a livery, Buren & Hamilton Furniture, Salem Hardware, YMCA rooms, a painting company, and a photo shop.
Additional Links:
Durbin Building at Salem Online History
Watkins-Dearborn Building at Salem Online History
Alejandro's Restaurant Building at Salem Online History
Historical Photos:
Durbin Building and Commercial Street, September 20, 1886
Durbin Building and Commercial Street, 1930s
Durbin Building and Commercial Street, 1935-1939
Durbin Building and Commercial Street, 1939
Durbin Building, November, 1958
Alejandro's Restaurant as Buren & Hamilton, unknown date
21. Capitol National Bank
129 Commercial Street NE
This
Richardsonian Romanesque style building, originally built in 1880, was
remodeled in 1892 to its rusticated stone appearance, and became Capital
National Bank. Designed by C. S. McNally and W. C. Knighton, this facade
is reportedly a copy of Philadelphia's First National Bank of the
Republic. The keystone in the arch over a second story window bears the
facsimile of the beaver dollar, a $10 gold piece minted in 1849 when
Oregon was a territory. Capitol National Bank became First National Bank
in 1924, and moved soon after. In the mid-1940s, this building was
occupied by Huggins Insurance. The ground floor was remodeled in 1950 by
James L. Payne, Salem architect, at which time the building was occupied
by 1st Federal Savings. Today it is home of
Globe Travel.
Bronze letters spelling out BANK are still imbedded in the sidewalk in
front of the building.
Additional Links:
Capital National Bank at Salem Online History
Historical Photos:
Capital National Bank, unknown date
1st Federal Savings, unknown date
22. Bush-Breyman Block
135-147 Commercial Street NE
The
Victorian Italianate Bush-Breyman Block was designed by architect Walter
D. Pugh and built in 1889 as a joint development between Asahel Bush II
and Werner Breymen. It originally extended north up the block to the
Bush & Brey Block. The buildings between were destroyed by fire in 1960.
This building was home to a clothing store and the Schaeffer Drugs soda
fountain in the 1940s. The upper floor offices were occupied at various
times by Benjamin F. Bonham, Charles L. McNary, and John McNary. The
building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on
February 17, 1978. It is currently home to
Unfinished Furniture of Oregon and
Fox Blueprinting.
Additional Links:
Bush-Breyman Block at Salem Online History
Historical Photos:
Parade on Commercial Street, 1927
23. Bush & Brey Block & Annex
179-197 Commercial Street NE
This
block was designed by architect Walter Pugh for Asahel Bush II, and
Mortiz Brey, a cabinet maker. It was built in 1889. Retail clothing
stores (including
Les Newman's), printers,
hemstichers
and dressmakers have operated in this building, as well as the Busick
and Sons grocery store from 1924 to 1970. More recently MVP's Restaurant
& Lounge has called it home. The 1895-built annex behind the main
building, which originally matched the main building, is currently home
to the Busick
Court Restaurant, named after the grocery store the once occupied
it.
Additional Links:
Bush & Brey Block at Salem Online History
Historical Photos:
Les Newman's Outdoor Clothing in the Bush & Bray Block, 1960-1965
24. Breyman Brothers Block
174-188 Commercial Street NE
Werner
and Eugene Breyman purchased this property in 1869. The corner building
was built in 1874, and the building next to it was built 30 years later
in 1904. Both originally had Italianate architecture and the corner
building was painted white, giving it the nickname of the White Corner.
In the late 1940s, the Breyman/Boise family modernized the exteriors to
a unified appearance.
Additional Links:
Historical Photos:
Parade on Commercial Street, July 2, 1938
25. Anderson Building
201-211 Commercial Street NE
When
built in 1867, the Starkey-McCully Block extended to this corner.
William R. Anderson was the owner of the property at the time. This may
be the same structure, having been renovated with a new facade around
the turn of the century, or it may be an entirely new building
constructed at that time. Mark H. & Martha Schnuelle Gehlar purchased
the building in 1958 and it passed to their children, Mark and Mack G.
Gehlar, in the 1960s. Today it is home to
Nopp's Jewelry & Art
and an antique store.
Additional Links:
Anderson Building at Salem Online History
26. Starkey-McCully Block
223-233 Commercial Street NE
Only
70 feet of the original 120 feet of the 1867-built Starkey-McCully block
remains. It originally extended to the end of the block where the
Anderson Building stands today. The cast iron decoration on the facade
was made by the Oregon Iron Works of Portland and is believed to be the
oldest of its kind remaining in Oregon. Using money gleaned from the
California gold rush, John L. Starkey and Asa McCully opened their
second general store here in 1867. Other occupants included grocery
stores, Charles G. Giver's shoe repair, E. S. Lamport's harness shop,
Charles W. Hellenbrand's restaurant, and Quackenbush auto supplies, Watt
Shipp & Co. sporting goods, F. W. Pettyjohn & Co. automobiles, Nash
Furniture Company, Coast to Coast hardware, Valley Furniture and the
Army & Navy Store. The building was placed on the National Register of
Historic Places on March 12, 1979. A recent paint job greatly improved
its appearance.
Additional Links:
Starkey-McCully Building at Salem Online History
Historical Photos:
Starkey-McCully Building, 1945-1955
Starkey-McCully Building, 1992
27. South First National Bank Block
241-247 Commercial Street NE
The
South First National Bank Block was designed by architect Holly Austin
Cornell (son of Oregon's pioneer Cornells for whom Portland's Cornell
Road is named) and was built in 1887. It is the only existing Salem
building designed by Cornell. In the 1940s was home to the Benjamin
Forstner Store. The building was placed on the National Register of
Historic Places on March 31, 1983. It is currently home to
The Blue
Pepper.
Additional Links:
South First National Bank Building, 1992
28. Eldridge-Greenbaum Building
240 Commercial Street NE
Built
in 1889, the Eldridge-Greenbaum Building, also known as the South
Eldridge Block, is the southern component of an original
twenty-three-bay building that extended to the north end of the block.
Local architect William F. Boothby originally designed, built and owned
the Eldridge block, which originally features two large pointed spires,
one of which was in the middle of this section. The building was later
known as the Boyce Building and the Barnes Cash Store. The rest of the
building was demolished in November 1954. This building has housed
Greenbaum's, a department store since 1900. The building was purchased
by the Rostein-Greenbaum partnership in 1919 and became Greenbaum's Fine
Fabrics in the 1940s. It is still owned by the family, and has been a
quilting fabric shop known as
Greenbaum's
Quilted Forest since 1988.
Additional Links:
Eldridge-Greenbaum Building at Salem Online History
Historical Photos:
29. England Block & England-Wade Building
216-236 Commercial Street NE
William
England purchased these properties in the 1860s. The southern building
(on the right), known as the England Block, was built in 1877. The
northern building, now known as the England-Wade Building, was built in
1887. Both buildings originally featured Italianate architecture like
many of downtown Salem's buildings of the time. Robert M. Wade, who
operated an agriculture and household equipment company called R. M.
Wade & Company out of the corner building next door, purchased one or
both of these buildings from England in the 1880s. Both buildings were
remodeled around 1950, gaining more modern appearances, however the fact
that they were given very different looks suggests that they were
remodeled separately, and may have had different owners at the time.
Additional Links:
England Block at Salem Online History
Historical Photos:
England-Wade Building as Allen Hardware, unknown date
30. Pearce Building
305-321 Court Street NE
The
previous building on this corner was built in 1869 and was home to
Robert M. Wade & Company Farm Machinery & Wagons. It later became the
Ray L. Farmer Hardware Company. Sisters Helen and Dorothy Pearce
acquired this property from the Wade & Pearce Company, which their
father, George Pearce, had been President of since 1885. They
extensively remodeled the building into the present Modern style
building in 1940. Helen, a graduate from Willamette University in 1915,
was an authority on Salem and Oregon history, co-editing the first ten
volumes of "Marion County History." Dorothy, who studied in Boston and
New York, taught music in her studio in Salem for many years. In the
early 1940's, this building was home to the Moderne Gift Shop and Modern
Modes Women's Clothing with a dance school on the second floor.
Historical Photos:
Previous Building and Commercial Street, 1940
Pearce Building and Commercial Street, 1943
31. Enright-Halik Building & Steeves Building
339-347 Court Street NE
The
Enright-Halik Building was built in 1900 and the Steeves Building was
built 1929. The Steeves Building has been home to the Court Street Dairy
Lunch since 1929, which was founded by Glen Morris and was operated by
members of the Morris family until 1994.
32. New Breyman Building
340 Court Street NE
The
New Breyman Building was built in 1910. It housed the Elfstrom & Eyre
Department Store in the early 1950s, then housed the Roberts Brothers
Department Store into the 1960s. It is now the home of
Sid's Home
Furnishings.
Historical Photos:
Roberts Bros. Department Store, September, 1956
Roberts Bros. Department Store, October 23, 1961
33. Christopher Paulus Building
355-363 Court Street NE
This
building was built by contractor Christopher Paulus in 1907 as a single
storefront that housed various furniture stores. It was split into two
spaces in 1931. Doughton's Hardware called the west end home from
1934-1991. Elliott Dry Goods and Sally's Women's Clothing occupied the
East section before WWII. Presumably it has also been home to
Giese-Powers Furniture, if the painted sign on the side is any
indication. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on
March 5, 1992. It is currently home to
Northwest Knives &
Collectibles and
Lullu's
tutto cucina.
Historical Photos:
34. Kopper Kitchen & Offices
377-387 Court Street NE
The
Kopper Kitchen restaurant was built in 1964 on the site of a
single-story building that housed a barber shop from 1935-1960. today
the Kopper Kitchen is the India Palace Restaurant. Next door was the
site of the single-story 1905 Wagner Building, that over the years
housed Lady Fair Hats, Marilyn Shoes and various florists. The current
office building was built in 1980.
Additional Links:
India Palace Restaurant at Salem Online History
Historical Photos:
377-387 Court Street, 1945-1955
Kopper Kitchen Restaurant at 377 Court Street, April 28, 1964
35. Steusloff Brothers Building
399 Court Street NE
In
the late 1800s, this corner was the site of a Chinese laundry called the
Sung Lung Washing & Ironing House. The Steusloff Brothers Building was
originally built in 1902 with Queen Anne architecture. In 1948, Claude,
Ivan and Muriel Steusloff took out a mortgage against the property and
remodeled it in the Moderne
style.
The Steusloff family operated Valley Packing Company. The Building has
been operated by
Jackson
Jewelers since 1944 and was purchased by them in 2001. Their neon
street clock has been in place since the 1940s when the corner was
occupied by Sally's women's clothing store. Today it is a Starbucks.
Historical Photos:
Sung Lung Washing & Ironing House, 1889
Steusloff Building, late 1940s
36. Anderson's Sporting Goods
241 Liberty Street NE
This
Building was built in 1920. The Electric Apartments were owned by
Portland
General Electric in the 1940s. More recently the building was
occupied by Anderson's Sporting Goods, which had a large wood facade
built to cover the second floor. The building was purchased in 2005
after being vacant for almost four years since 2001 and was subsequently
renovated.
Like
the building next door, this building was built in 1920, and was once
occupied by J. J. Newberry's. It became part of Anderson's Sporting
Goods and was also covered by the wooden facade. It was purchased in
2005 with the building next door and renovated.
Historical Photos:
View of Liberty Street in the 1950s, showing this building as Newberry's
37. Elfstrom & Eyre Department Store
260 Liberty Street NE
This
site was a vacant lot in 1948, and I think the current building was
built in 1970. In the past this site has been home to the Elfstrom &
Eyre Department Store, though I don't know if that was a previous
building or this one. This building has been vacant for several years.
38. First National Bank Building
280 Liberty Street NE
This
building was built for the First National Bank of Oregon in 1947. The
bank became the First Interstate Bank of Oregon in 1982, and later
became Wells Fargo.
Wells Fargo moved out in 2001, moving to a former First Security branch
at 580 State Street. A new owner purchased the building in late 2005.
Historical Photos:
39. Brewer Block
405 Court Street NE
The
Brewer Block was built in 1904. Dr. Brewer operated a drug store on the
ground floor and had his office upstairs. The Cherry City Land Company
also occupied the top floor. In the 1940s, it was the home of Paramount
Shoes.
Historical Photos:
40. Moore Building & Skiff Block
409-429 Court Street NE
The
Queen Anne style building on the far right was built in 1895 and was
likely first owned and used as a residence by John A. Darr. Mark and Ada
Skiff purchased and remodeled it in 1903 and it was used by Norwood
Grocery Store soon after. It later housed C. M. Roberts & Company
Groceries and the Fashionette Clothing Store. The left hand side of the
Skiff Block was built in 1906 and contained offices and shops, including
a business called Margaret's Shop at one time. The larger building on
the far left is the Wallace & Mabel Moore Building, also known as the
Royal Building. It was built in 1916, ad is currently home to a florist.
Additional Links:
Ada & Mark Skiff Block at Salem Online History
Historical Photos:
Ada & Mark Skiff Block detail, March 1953
41. H. L. Stiff Furniture Building
450 Court Street NE
The
H.L. Stiff Furniture Building was built in 1916. It is currently home to
a book store called the
Book Bin.
42. Adolph-Waters Building
176 Liberty Street NE
The
Adolph-Waters Building was built in 1924. Among the businesses that have
called it home is Gay Blade Clothes for Men, which was located there in
the late 1960s. Today it is a branch of the
Washington
Federal Savings Bank.
Historical Photos:
43. Reed Opera House
189 Liberty Street NE
This
Italianate and Commercial style building was designed by architect G. W.
Rhodes for General Cyrus Adams Reed who was influential with the
economic development in Salem and served three terms in the state
legislature. The Opera House opened October 9, 1869 with a 1,500 seat
auditorium on the second floor. The Oregon Supreme Court and State
Library were located on the third floor and seven stores were on the
first floor. An Inaugural Ball was held here in 1870 for Governor
Grover, and a banquet to celebrate the legislative appropriation for a
new state capitol was held in 1872. Eventually E. P. McCormack took over
the building, and the opera house closed in April 1900 after the Grand
Opera House opened at the Odd Fellows Hall. The interior was redesigned
by E. P. McCormack for use as Joseph Meyers and Sons Department Store,
which later became Miller's Department Store. The building was
rehabilitated in 1976. The
Reed Opera
House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on
March 8, 1978. In 2003, the building was purchased by Roger Yost, who
renovated it yet again and replaced the rooftop pediment, corona and
brackets that had been removed decades ago.
Additional Links:
Reed Opera House at Salem Online History
Reed Opera House at the Salem Oregon Community Guide
Historical Photos: