The Chehalis Downtown Historic District represents three separate development periods. The community was an important timber hub and freight exchange stop between south Puget Sound and Portland, Oregon. The historic district is located in the northeastern part of town and includes North Market Boulevard, Northwest Pacific Avenue, Northeast Cascade Avenue, Northeast Boistfort, Front Way, and Northeast Division. North Market Boulevard is a one-way street. [2]
Chehalis Downtown Historic District | |
 Hotel Washington Building and nearby buildings, Chehalis, Washington. | |
| Location | Roughly bounded by Park, and Front Sts., Washington and Cascade Aves., Chehalis, Washington |
|---|---|
| Area | 10 acres (4.0 ha) |
| Built | 1891 |
| Architectural style | Early Commercial, Colonial Revival |
| MPS | Chehalis MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 97001407[1] |
| Added to NRHP | November 21, 1997 |
The current downtown is a third civic center of the city. It was originally at West Main Street close to the railroads tracks. Elizabeth Barrett Saunders had platted three blocks from her Donation Land Claim of three hundred twenty acres. Three blocks of development were the start of a town. Buildings were constructed around 1870 including the first Lewis County Courthouse.[2]
The second downtown began down West Main Street at the comer of Chehalis Avenue and West Main Street. "Eliza" platted five parcels between 1881 and 1883. By 1891 this center included the city's first opera house (Tynan Opera House), and the Barrett Block housing a bank and hotel. In 1892 two fires destroyed the second city center. The majority of the buildings were wood, arson was suspected.[2]
The third center grew up on Market Boulevard. Buildings had been completed a couple of years before the fires. In 1889 the First National Bank. In 1891 the Chehalis Improvement Company constructed the first of two buildings, the Improvement Block. In 1892 the Columbus Block was completed in celebration of Christopher Columbus landing in the Americas four hundred years earlier. Soon after, construction of a fourth retail office structure, the Commercial Block, established an impressive modern building. Only the original bank building is gone, razed in 1949. Between 1890 and 1894, the Chehalis Land and Timber Company constructed the St. Helens Hotel.[2]
Description of Properties
editThe majority of the buildings are in the nineteenth-century commercial, many with metal awnings or canopies of a non-historic character.
Market Boulevard: southwest side
edit553-555 N. Market Boulevard, ca. 1900, Little Gem Lunch – 1915 [3]
- Shakespeare & Co/American Legion
A single story, nineteenth-century commercial building that appears to have been altered circa 1910s. The building is faced with raked brick having tiles set into a diamond design forming a horizontal row of nine diamonds just above the awning and beneath the cornice. The flat roof line has a shed, standing seam, metal roof at the front with a plain cornice framed by piers. Between the decorative row of tiles and the awning is two window sections. The entrance off Northwest Pacific is intact with a plain facade of window. The entrance consists of recessed doors framed by windows.[4]
551 N. Market Boulevard, 1894, Murphy & Johnson Saloon [3]
- Diversified Games
This nineteenth-century commercial building is two stories. The second story has a plain facade with four windows. The original brick has been covered with stucco, but the roof line and window are intact. A fire on July 11, 1997, caused damage to the windows; however, the building remains a contributing resource.[4]
545 N. Market Boulevard, 1889, Hotel Washington [3] Hotel Washington is a four story, nineteenth century building. In 1889 it was operated by Mr. Berry and Mr. Loomis. Four piers split the facade into three sections. The windows on the upper level are semi-elliptical, with rock-faced sills. The upper story on the Northwest Pacific Avenue side is clad with pressed metal in a brick pattern. The entrance, on Market Boulevard, is a glass door with the lettering, "Washington Hotel." On the north side there remain remnants of an advertisement. There was a fire on July 11, 1997, which caused minor damage.[4]
539 N. Market Boulevard, 1900, Cupid's Helper; 1920, Foster Bakery [3]
- Mint City
The two-story building uses a common bond brick with a flat parapet roofline. A decorated cornice has five paired brackets. The upper story has windows four across. The Northwest Pacific side has a row of four windows in the upper story. The lower story has a row of three windows. The southwest end of the building has a gabled dormer in wood and no window.[4]
535 N. Market Boulevard, 1918, Fechtner's Jewelry Shop [3] Having a related style to 539 N. Market, this a single-story structure is of a common bond brick and a flat parapet roofline. Fechtner’s Jewelry has been in operation, in Chehalis, since 1903.[4]
531 N. Market Boulevard, 1918, Claude Day Fruits/Howard’s Meats [3]
- Sweet Inspirations
Related in style to 539 N. Market next door, it is a single-story building with common bond brick and a flat parapet roofline.[4]
525 N. Market Boulevard, 1900, Northern Brewery Company [3]
- Brunswig's Shoe Shop
This building is single-story with a plain facade faced in stucco over common bond brick. This is one of the few district buildings retaining its transom windows, a row of eleven. Its roofline is flat.[4]
References
edit
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
- ^ a b c d "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Chehalis Downtown Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved June 18, 2024. With accompanying pictures
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b c d e f g Chehalis Community Renaissance Team, Historic Downtown Chehalis Walking Tour, Taken from Historic Downtown Chehalis – A Public Guide; Ninth Edition; Chehalis, Washington, October 1992.
- ^ a b c d e f g Chehalis Downtown Historic District (Third Civic Center of Chehalis), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form; Jennifer Watson, intern; Lauren McCroskey; Lewis County Historical Society; City of Chehalis; United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service; National Park Service, Washington, D.C.; 11-21-97
Bibliography
edit- Chehalis Bee-Nugget. The Chehalis Bee-Nugget: The Historical Souvenir Edition. 1915.
- Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana. Be a Building Watcher: On the Street Where You Live. 1986.
- Lewis County Historical Museum: historical photographs, and newspaper clipping files.
- Washington State Historic Preservation Program. Architectural Description Guide. 1978.
- Washington State Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. Historic Property Inventory Forms and Supporting Documents.
- Weyeneth, Robert R. Historic Downtown Chehalis: A Public Guide. Lewis County Printing Department, 1992.
- Weyeneth, Robert R. Multiple Property Nomination: Associated Property Types. Historic Commercial Properties.
- Weyeneth, Robert R. Multiple Property Nomination: Statement of Historic Context the Urban Growth of Chehalis. 1850-1950 & The Development of a Resource Economy in Chehalis. 1850–1950. 1991.
 | This article about a property in Washington on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |