National Register Description
The following text is courtesy of the National Register of Historic Places, a program of the National Parks Service. Minor transcription errors or changes in formatting may have occurred; please see the Nomination Form for official text. Some information may have become outdated since the property was nominated for the Register.
Classification: Historic Contributing (Listed as a Local Landmark)
Historic Name: United States National Bank of Salem/Pioneer Trust Bank
Current Name: Pioneer Bank and Trust
Year of Construction: 1909; c. 1960s ground floor; addition, west side, c. 1990s
Legal T7S/R3W/Sec 22, Salem Add. blk 48, from Lot L4, Tax lot 3800
Owner(s): Pioneer Trust Company, POB 2305 Salem, OR 97308
This is a five-story Commercial style building situated on the northwest comer of Commercial and State streets. It is a reinforced concrete building with a white pressed brick front, surfaced in black granite at the street level, with a storefront entrance at the north end of the building. There are no awnings or canopies on the building. It has a projecting cornice with large medallion blocks and carved brackets as well as a torus molding belt course between the fourth and fifth floors. All ornamental work is cast stone.
The windows have been replaced with aluminum, but the fenestration pattern remains on the second through fifth floors, and consisting of single flat arched openings and stone sills. The west and south side windows have segmental arched openings and double hung windows, some of wood, most with aluminum sash.
Ground floor alterations are not uncommon for commercial structures. The scale and massing of this building provides the majority of its historic features so that the first floor changes do not significantly diminish its contribution to the character of the district.
A very small one-story brick addition was recently (c. 1990s) constructed on the west rear wall of the bank building and faces State Street. It does not significantly impact the integrity of the building and it continues to contribute to the historic qualities of the downtown.