NPSFormW-100 W»A«rOTalPto.10024-flmi (Oct 1990) United States Department of the Interior RECEIVED National Park Service flUS ! 4 ?oni National Register of Historic Places L Registration Form This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (National Register Bulletin 16A). Complete each item by marking "x" in the appropriate box or by entering the information requested. If an item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectual classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. Place additional entries and narrative items on continuation sheets (NFS Form 10-900a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer, to complete all items. [l. Name of Property | historic name SALEM DOWNTOWN STATE STREET-COMMERCIAL STREET HISTORIC DISTRICT_______________ other names/site number SALEM DOWNTOWN HISTORIC DISTRICT (preferred)_______________________ 2. Location street & number Roughly bounded by Ferry, High. Chemeketa and Front streets______________ _ not for publication city or town Salem_____________________________:_____________ _ vicinity state Oregon_______ code OR county Marion code 047 zip code 97301 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this X nomination request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFE Part 60. In my opinion, the property X meets __ does not meet the National Register criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant ___ nationally __ statewide X locally. (__ See continuation sheet for additional comments.) __________________________August 2. 2001_______________ Signature of certifying official/Title /Deputy SHPO Date Oregon State Historic Preservation Office_________ State or Federal agency and bureau 4. National Park Service Certification I her/toy certify that the property is: Signature of the Keeper _jj_ entered in the National Register an raped In the See continuation sheet. ____________National __ determined eligible for the National Register See continuation sheet. __ determined not eligible for the National Register. __ removed from the National Register. __ other, (explain) __________ Salem Downtown Historic District Marion County, Oregon Name of Property County and State 15. Classification Ownership of Property Category of Property Number of Resources within Property (Check as many boxes as apply) (Check only one box) (Do not include previously listed resources in the count.) X Private __ building(s) Contributing Noncontributing __ public-local X district 57 35 buildings __ public-state site sites __ public-federal __ structure structures __ object objects 57 35 Total Name of related multiple property listing Number of contributing resources previously listed (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing.) in the National Register N/A ____ 14 |6. Function or Use Historic Functions Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions) (Enter categories from instructions) COMMERCE/TRADE/Business. Professional COMMERCE/TRADE/Business, Professional organizational, financial institution, department organizational financial institution, department store, restaurant, warehouse___________ store, restaurant warehouse____________ SOCIAL: meeting hall, civic___________ SOCIAL: meeting hall civic___________ RECREATION & CULTURE: theater, auditorium RECREATION & CULTURE: theater, auditorium TRANSPORTATION: parking garage______ GOVERNMENT: government offices_______ | 7. Description Architectural Classification Materials (Enter categories from instructions) (Enter categories from instructions) LATE VICTORIAN: Italianate. Queen Anne foundation CONCRETE. STONE______ Richardsonian Romanesque: LATE 19th and EARLY walls BRICK, CONCRETE. WOOD. STONE CENTURY REVIVALS: Tudor. Mission; LATE 19th roof METAL: Copper. ASPHALT. OTHER and EARLY 20th CENTURY AMERICAN MOVE­ other TERRA COTTA. STUCCO_____ MENTS: Commercial Style: MODERN MOVEMENT Modernistic ____ ________________ Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current condition of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) See continuation sheets NPS Form 10-900a 0MB Approval No. 10024-0018 United States Department of the Interior Salem Downtown Historic District National Park Service Salem, Marion County National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number: Page: DESCRIPTION Summary Statement The Salem Downtown State Street-Commercial Street Historic District (referred to in this nomination as the "Salem Downtown Historic District") is an architecturally and historically cohesive district memorializing the development of Salem, Oregon's, downtown historic commercial core. The district's period of significance extends from 1867/ 1868, the date of the oldest extant building, to around 1950, when the exterior remodeling of a number of buildings had been completed and one building/ structure was constructed. Historic resources in the district built during the period of significance convey cyclical eras of both robust growth (notably the 1870s-1880s, 1902-1920s, and 1945-1950), and slack development (the 1890s and 1930s) in the community. The major cross streets of Commercial and State form the linear nexus of this seven-block district, which is bound, generally, by the rear lot lines of properties fronting on Court Street (on the north), High Street (on the east), Ferry Street (on the south), and Commercial Street (on the west). The district boundaries encompass a high concentration of Historic Contributing resources that share a continuity of scale, lot-line development at the street, building materials and decorative elements. Most of the contributing buildings exhibit proportions and stylistic elements derived from traditional architectural styles. The contributing resources represent six main style classifications: Italianate, Italianate/Queen Anne, Richardsonian Romanesque, Commercial, Revival (early twentieth-century historic period), and Modernistic. Nearly 62 percent (fifty-seven buildings) of the total of ninety-two separate buildings in the district are classified as Historic Contributing resources. Thirty-two percent of the total are considered Non- Contributing (23 buildings are Historic Non-Contributing and twelve are post-1950 Non-Historic Non- Contributing resources). There are sixteen vacant lots occupied by parking lots. Overall Description The Salem Downtown Historic District is at the heart of historic commercial activity in Salem, Oregon, the state capital and the county seat. Salem is located about fifty miles south of Portland. The district is within two blocks of the east bank of the Willamette River, which flows north into the Columbia River north of Portland. During Oregon's early decades of settlement and development, the Willamette River served as the primary historic corridor of commerce and trade, thus encouraging the siting and early development of Salem's industrial and commercial activity in close proximity to the river. The river also formed the central spine of a broad, 150-mile-long valley of gently rolling hills and open "prairies" that attracted the earliest immigrants to the Oregon Territory and has provided to this day fertile ground to support an important agricultural-based segment of the regional economy. Salem, both historically and today, provides a range of commercial services for an agricultural hinterland in the mid-Willamette Valley. Rising thirty miles away to the east are the foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range. The foothills of the Coast Range rise to the west about forty miles west of Salem. Buildings in the district are sited on a grid pattern of blocks and streets, which are part of the original Salem plat, parallel to the Willamette River. Blocks are approximately 332 feet square and bisected by narrow NPS Form 10-900a 0MB Approval No. 10024-0018 United States Department of the Interior Salem Downtown Historic District National Park Service Salem, Marion County National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number: Page: alleys running north and south through the middle of each block. Notably broad streets, approximately ninety-nine feet wide, reportedly served as effective fire breaks between blocks and facilitated the maneuverability and off- and on-loading of horse-drawn wagons. Historic and contemporary street names in the district, such as Commercial, Ferry, State, and Court, reveal the Methodist settlers' vision of an orderly city of commerce and government. The Salem Downtown Historic District is primarily comprised of commercial buildings that house retail shops, offices, and restaurants. Several buildings, historically and today, have also provided space for fraternal, service, and entertainment activities as well as lodging. A majority of the buildings are constructed of brick or concrete. Exterior wall surface materials on the historic portions of main facades include brick (of various colors), stucco, and concrete. Historic wood ornamentation and cast iron pilasters and other decorative elements, manufactured at the once nearby Salem Iron Works and in Albany and Portland,