Elizabeth Watt House (1568 Chemeketa St NE) Salem, Oregon

Visit report by Holly Hayes [admin] on January 17, 2024

I visited this house yesterday as part of a beautiful snowy walk in the historic district. I was struck by its simple elegance and thought it must be quite old. While I was admiring it, I was lucky that the owner, Scott, happened to come outside. We had a wonderful chat about his house, our experiences living in Salem, his time in Salem's sister city in Japan, the weather in Santa Fe, and more.

Scott has lived in the Elizabeth Watt House for around 20 years and loves it. The neighborhood is really nice, too, with great people. He said the previous owner took good care of it and some original interior details still survive, including picture rails. But he added that the National Register really only cares about the exterior.

He mentioned that the house on a corner nearby belonged to another Watt family member, who made windows and doors out of his mill on Mill Creek - it's believed that the windows in the Elizabeth Watt House were made by him.

The house was painted gray when he moved in, but one day he passed the Lewisburg Grange (near Corvallis) and found its white-on-white paint very striking. Then he noticed that the Jason Lee House in Salem, which is significantly older but has a similar look, was also painted that way... that sealed his decision. I think it looks wonderful and told him so. The deep red shade he painted the carriage house (which predates the house!) was inspired by the Mission Mill.

Scott said he has received a lot of support in restoring his house, including a 15-year tax freeze for each National Register listing, and an anonymous benefactor who provides a $1000 matching donation to historic house preservation every year.

We talked about Salem's City Hall, which he said is very underrated. I admitted that I used to hate it, thinking it looked like an ugly parking garage. But in the last few years I've began to appreciate Brutalism and, more importantly, visited the building - I now think it has a very cool and interesting design and could be so much better with some much-needed renovation. Scott mentioned how much he loves the library (next door to City Hall), especially after its recent remodel. He said there used to be a cafe in the basement that always smelled like grilled cheese. That sounds amazing!

Than