George Collins House Salem, Oregon

George Collins House has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places with the following information, which has been imported from the National Register database and/or the Nomination Form . Please note that not all available data may be shown here, minor errors and/or formatting may have occurred during transcription, and some information may have become outdated since listing.

National Register ID

89002063

Date Listed

December 1, 1989

Name

Collins, George, House

Other Names

Collins--Downing House

Address

1340 Chemeketa St. NE.

City/Town

Salem

County

Marion

State

Oregon

Category

building

Level of Sig.

local

Years of Sig.

1890; 1988

Areas of Sig.

ARCHITECTURE

Form

Collins, George, House Nomination Form (PDF)

Photos

Nomination Photos (PDF) (if digitized)

Search

search National Archives catalog

Raw Nomination Form Text

This is auto-generated text from the PDF, so it has no formatting, includes headers and footers, and may contain errors.

FHR-8-300 (11-78) United States Department off the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type ail entries—complete applicable sections_______________ 1. Name historic and/or common______________________ 2. Location________ street & number 179-197 Commercial St. NE not for publication city, town Salem vicinity of congressional district Second state Oregon code41 county Marion code 047 3. Classification Category district X building(s) structure site object Ownership public X private both Public Acquisition in process being considered Status X occupied unoccupied work in progress Accessible yes: restricted Y A yes: unrestricted no Present Use agriculture X commercial educational entertainment X government industrial military museum park private residence religious scientific transportation othpr- 4. Owner of Property name Coburn L. & Jean M. Grabenhorst street& number 193 Liberty St. SE city, town Salem vicinity of state Oregon 97301 5. Location of Legal Description courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Marion County Clerk (Recorder) street & number Marion County Courthouse city, town Salern state Oregon 97301 6. Representation in Existing Surveys__________ Salem Historic Landmarks Commission, Historic Resources List x title Buildings 11 and 40, adopted by City has this property been determined elegible? ——yes __no Council dateAuqust 11, 1980___________________________ ——federal ——state county local depository for survey records Salem Historic Landmarks Commission, City Hall, 555 Liberty SE city, town Salem state Oregon 97301 7. Description Condition excellent X good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one unaltered X altered Check one X original site moved date Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance The two-story Bush and Brey Block built for Salem businessmen Asahel Bush and Mortiz Brey at the SW corner of Commercial and Court Streets in 1889, was a 72 x 90 foot brick masonry building divided by a central stairway into two ground story shops, each 35 feet in width and facing east onto Commercial Street. Insurance atlas maps and an historic lithograph show that a single-story 20-foot rear addition on the northerly portion of the block was a part of the original design. As early as 1895, the rear addition had been extended another 40 feet to form a two-story wing measuring approximately 35 x 60 feet overall. Some time after the insurance map was updated in 1915, another section three bays wide (approximately 16.5 feet) was added to the south side of the block. It was designed by the architect of the original block, Walter D. Pugh, with materials and stylistic treatment matching precisely those of the main volume. The Bush-financed portion of the building was the northerly half with its two street frontages; the southerly half of the building was financed by Mortiz Brey. As constructed, the street facades were formally organized with common bond brick facing, conventional glass shop fronts with central, recessed entrances, and trabeated second story fenestration in which the double-hung windows with one light over one were given added height by rectangular top lights under flat brick arches. All second story windows in the Bush portion are grouped as pairs; those in the Brey portion and the annex are arranged as three separate bays of equal width. The central second story bay over the stairway entrance is a narrow bay set off by strip pilasters. Strip pilasters are used at the corners of the building also. On the ground story, elaborate cast iron and galvanized sheet metal elements in the Eastlake tradition were used for corner piers, belt cornice, and the central, pedimented, round-arched portal framement. On the upper wall such elements were used to create a belt cornice below the transom line and for an elaborate entablature and a patterned, sloped parapet with pediments over the central bays of either facade. An historic litho­ graphed rendering of the block shows an iron balustrade and flues rising above the parapet wall. These features are no longer in place, but the balustrade has been located on the premises and could be restored. The Queen Anne Style characteristics of the Bush and Brey Block are the ruddiness of the brick exterior, the variegated surface treatment created through a profusion of pattern and ornament in cast iron and sheet metal, and the free adaptation of classical vocabulary in roofline pediments, entablature, and pedimented portal framement. All cast iron elements were produced locally by the Salem Iron Works. When the building was acquired by the present owners in 1971, it was felt that substantial changes were necessary for the sake of function and economy. Exterior face brick was sand­ blasted and second story windows were changed to single fixed panes of plate glass in order to facilitate air conditioning. Ceilings were lowered to accommodate mechanical services, and transoms were painted to mask the lowered second story ceiling from street view. An outside elevator was provided on the rear face of the Brey portion. Substandard wood construction between the rear wall of the Bush portion and the two-story brick rear addition was cleared away and the space was bridged by a second story - level skywalk and railing framed by an archway. The ground story street facades,already remodeled in the period following adaptation as a grocery store in 1924, were filled in by used brick in round-arched openings. In the two-story brick rear addition, openings are round-arched in the ground story, with new glazing and membering. Second story openings are segmental arched with central mullion and transom bars in the original configuration. The upper wall is finished with a simple corbeled dentil band, FHR-«-300 (11-78) United States Department of the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form Continuation sheet_____________________Item number 4____________Page 1 Dale K. & Donna L. Pence 3215 Sumac Drive So. Saelm, OR 97302 FHR-a-300 (11-78) United States Department of the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form Continuation sheet Item number Page 1 The second story interior of the Bush and Brey Block is organized around a transverse hall with skylight and a longitudinal side hall. All wainscoting enriched with panels and pellet molding has been preserved, as have the Eastlake beaded door frames and doors with glazed and faceted wood panels. Some of the doors are double sliding doors. The rear addition contained little interior trim of consequence, and has been enhanced by salvage material. The second story of the three-bay annex on the south of the block served most recently as a lodge hall. It has been subdivided for office use. Plaster has been removed from some walls to expose the brick. 8. Significance Period prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 _X_ 1800-1 899 _JL1900- Areas of Significance — Check archeology-prehistoric archeology-historic agriculture X 3 architecture X art X commerce communications X and justify below community planning conservation economics education engineering exploration/settlement industry invention landscape architecture law literature military music philosophy politics/government religion science . sculpture social/ humanitarian theater transportation other (specify) Specific dates 1889 & 1915_____ Builder/Architect Architect: Walter D. Pugh_______ Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) Contractors : Z. Craven and W. F. Boothby The Bush and Brey Block, a two-story, Queen Anne Style, brick masonry commercial building constructed in 1889, was designed by leading Salem architect of the day, Walter D. Pugh, whose notable works included the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill (1896), a National Register pro­ perty, and the Richardsonian Romanesque City Hall of 1897, no longer standing. In 1889 Pugh also designed the Bush-Breyman Block, a commercial building nearly identical in design, near the south end of the block shared by the Bush and Brey Block. Salem newspaperman and banker Asahel Bush was the common proprietor of both of these sizable projects fronting Commercial Street. The two projects were part of a drive toward more fire-resistant structures. In response to the city's fire district ordinance, Bush and others tore down two blocks of wooden structures on Commercial Street, providing in their place brick buildings containing 18 stores. The remaining portion of the Bush-Breyman Block has been entered into the National Register of Historic Places. Both buildings are significant as primary features within the Commercial Street Historic District, a three-block area in the historic business center of the capital city containing the greatest concentration of early commercial architecture. The proposed district has not yet been endorsed by the Salem City Council. The name of the district is taken from Commercial Street, the main north-south thoroughfare which bisects the area. State and Court Streets are the east-west axes. Despite the loss of some important landmarks in recent years (notably, the Salem Iron Works of 1868, the Marion Hotel, or "Chemeketa House," built in 1870, and the Eckerline, Steiwer and Klinger Building of 1889), and despite construction of a large municipal parking garage 1979-1980, the district has a general cohesiveness in scale, proportion, and other design qualities. Overall, the building range in date from 1868 to 1928, and they represent a variety of types and architectural treatments. However, along the strong axis of Commercial Street the predominant architectural character outside of the concrete parking structure is one of brick masonry with cast iron decoration, due in large part to the Bush and Brey Block, the remaining portion of Bush-Breyman Block, and several other buildings of the 1880s. The Bush and Brey Block eventually was enlarged by a rear winq and by an additional three- bay section on the southside> From 1924 to 1970 the ground story was occupied by J. L. Busick and Sons, Grocers, and the former shop fronts and interior space were modified for the new use. Following a brief period during which the building was unoccupied, the present owners acquired and renovated the property 1971-1972, adapting the ground story for restaurant use and leasing the upstairs for office use. Despite its ground story alterations and the loss of parapet cresting and flues, the Bush and Brey Block remains an important visual link in what remains of the enclave of historic commercial architecture along Commer­ cial Street. It embodies the distinctive characteristics of commercial architecture in the Queen Anne Style, examples of which are now considerably more rare in Oregon than older buildings in the Italianate Style. It possesses integrity of location, design and setting, and sufficient integrity of materi als~and workmanship to promote its feeling and association with the capital city's vigorous late 19th century commercial activities. 9. Major Bibliographical References Legal and physical description: Marion County Deeds and Mortgages Union Title Company Title Index Sanborn & Perris Co., Insurance Map of Salem, 1915, p. 9. (continued) 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property J6SS than One Quadrangle nam* Salem West, Oregon UMT References A 11.0 I I4|9,6|9,2,0| |4|9|7|6|2,5,0| Zone Easting Northing cLiJ I I i I i i I I i I i I i i I El i I I I , I . . I I , I i I , i I .... Quadrangle scale 1:24,000 I I Zone Easting Northing l . I I I i I i i I I i I i l i i l J_IJ i Verbal boundary description and justification Lot 1 and northerly 6.5' of Lot 2, Block 48, Original Plat of Salem, Marion County, Oregon List all states and counties for properties overlapping state state code county state code county or county boundaries code code 1 1 . Form Prepared By name/title David C. Duniway organization street & number 1365 John St. South city or town Salem date September 1, 1980 telephone (503) 581-2338 state Oregon 97302 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: X national — state local As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for tnefiNational Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89- 665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the tyal according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the, State Historic Preservation Officer signature' nal Register and certify that it has been evaluated servation and Recreation Service. title Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer date June 10, 1981 GPO 938 835 FHR-8-300 (11-78) United States Department of the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form Continuation sheet_____________________Item number 3___________Page i______ The Proprietors: Asahel Bush (1824-1913) was president of the Ladd and Bush Bank and had come to Oregon in 1850 from Massachusetts by way of Cape Horn. He founded the Oregon Statesman, organized the Democratic Party, and, after selling his paper at the outbreak of the Civil War, he promoted the financial well being of the city through his bank. During the years he acquired interests in many major institutions including Chemeketa House (later, the Marion Hotel) and the Salem Flouring Mills. Mortiz Brey (1815-1894) was a native of Hesse Cassel who came to the United States in 1834. In 1851, with his wife and growing family, he came to Astori a, Oregon, settling in Salem as a cabinet maker the following year. By 1886 he was recognized as a capitalist. His son, A. C. Brey, was the bookkeeper at the Ladd and Bush Bank, and it was natural that he would join with Mr. Bush in this enterprise. Architecture: Both the Bush and Brey Block and the Bush-Breyman Block constructed from similar plans by Salem architect Walter D. Pugh had iron parapet cresting and flues which are now missing from the Bush and Brey Block. The cast iron fronts were produced by the Salem Iron Works, which employed 27 persons in the summer of 1889. The bricks from the George Coll ins brickyard were fired in two lots of 250,000 bricks and one of 300,000 to be used in Salem 's renewal of 1889. The two story Annex built about 1915, Mr. Pugh designed to carry out the lines and details of the Bush-Brey Block. When Mr. Brey died in 1894, Pugh had to sue the estate for the balance owed for the work. His bill was $150, he had been paid $60,and he sued for the balance of $90 plus interest. The court awarded him $95, and his receipt acknowledged the payment of "all demands against said Estate as Architect and Supervisor from the beginning of the world up to now." Mr. Brey had been injured in the construction of the building, and W. F. Boothby appears to have served as contractor. Boothby also was an architect, and Pugh, therefore, may not have superintended the entire project. Boothby was also contractor and architect for Asahel Bush's House, a National Register property. One worker died in the construction of the Bush-Brey Block. Commerce: The record of occupancy documents the nature of the businesses which leased the buildings. There has always been a retail clothing store associated with the Bush and Brey Block: Dalrymple's, Krausse, McVoy, The Chicago Store, for whom the Annex was built; Oregon Shoe Co., Gale & Co., The Army & Outing Store, and, since 1934, Les Newman's. From 1917- 1934, Buren's Funiture and Luggage Store was in the Annex. From 1924-1970, J. L. Busick & Sons ran a Grocery store, which delivered all over the city from the Bush-Brey Block. The ground story is now occupied by the Hindquarter Restaurant. Other businesses upstairs includeda series of printers, hemstitching and dressmakers. Finance: Two institutions of continuing importance to the city had their start upstairs in the Bush-Brey Block: the Union Title and Abstract Company and the Salem branch of Equitable Savings and Loan. Another, Salem Building and Loan Association, has not survived. Law & Dentistry: Only two professional men appear to have had offices in the Bush-Brey Block: Dr. John Griffith, dentist, in south or Brey portion and John Bayne, Lawyer. Interestingly, Dr. Griffith paid $2 rent a month to the estate of Moritz Brey in 1894. Social/Humanitarian: The Public Hall in the second story of the original Bush-Brey Block and later in the Annex provided a home for the Salvation Army 1935-1942 and the Knights of Columbus 1947-1949; the Order of the Moose, 1953-55. FHR-8-300 (11-78) United States Department off the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form Continuation sheet_____________________Item number 8___________Page 2_____ Art: The first tenant in the Bush-Brey Block was Miss Sperry, an artist. Gone is her camera studio where she took her great pictures, but remaining are the front rooms with their sliding doors. Myra Sperry was a fine woman photographer. Her business was sold to Cherington and then to Tom Cronise, who also used the studio and adjoining suite. The accumulated negativesof these three artists are one of the gems of the Oregon Historical Society, and will be celebrated by a book on the work of Cronise to be published this year, In the 1940s, the Salem Art Association used part of the upstairs for evening classes of the Creative Art Group, a donation of the Busicks. In the 1930s Salem-born artist Bryon Randall used the Sperry studio because of its light. He has since acquired a significant reputation as a California artist. FHR-8-300 (11-78) United States Department of the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form Continuation sheet_____________________Item number 9____________Page 1 ____ Asahel Bush: Oregon State Library Biographical Index, many references Corning, Howard McKinley. Dictionary of Oregon History...1956. p. 39 Moritz Brey: U.S. Census, Schedule of Population, Marion County, 1870 Brown, J. H. (et al) Salem Directories, 1871, 1872, 1874, 1878, 1980, 1886, 1889.1890, 1891, & 1893. Oregon Statesman, May 19, 1894. Obit. W. T. Rigdon Co. Funeral Records (Oregon State Library Biographical Index) Marion County Probate File 1506 (includes suit of Walter D. Pugh) Construction: Salem City Ordinance No. 101, September 17, 1879 requiring bick walls, tin or other incombustible roofing. Oregon Statesman (weekly) Jan. 1, 1888, p. 3. THE PAST YEAR (Chronology)...June 24... A. Bush bought lot on corner of Court and Commercial Streets of M. Brey for $8,000"... Jan. 11, 1889 p. 8 ANOTHER BRICK BLOCK Hon. A. Bush to Commence...Others to Join Him...corner Commercial and Court. April 5, 1889 p. 5 From Wed. BUILDINGS AND IMPROVEMENTS...The bill boards... corner of Commercial and Court...taken down...Mr. Bush will put up a fine brick...Mr. Brey...will also build. April 12, 1889 p. 6 from Sat. BRICK MAKING...yard of George Collins... May 10, 1889 p. 3 from Tues. BUILDING BOOM...by Messrs Bush, Brey and Breyman, including double building on corner. p. 7 from Fri. BRICK BLOCKS...The tenants in the frame storerooms notified to vacate. THE PLANS...The reporter was directed to Architect Pugh's office for a glimpse at the plans...as follows..." July 19, 1889 p. 3 SEE SALEM GROW...The brick being hauled... Aug. 2, 1889 p. 3 STILL WE GROW...The foundations...about all completed, and brick laying will be commenced as soon as the iron work can be turned out at the Salem Iron Works of B. F. Drake... Sept 13, 1889 p. 3 from Wed. ANOTHER SAD ACCIDENT...O.B. Haggart...attending the brick layers on the Bush-Brey Block...fell from the scaffold, about nine feet high...a motionless corpse... Oct. 4, 1889 p. 3 BUILDING BOOM...Z Craven went to Portland...to rustle up some cement so the brick layers...can resume work... Dec. 12, 1889. Mr. Brey injured in Fall Jan. 3, 1890 p. 9 (picture of the Bush-Brey Block) DAILY STATESMAN: Jan. 23, 1915 Advertisements of Chicago Store start: "Only a few weeks when work for our new buildings starts." Mar. 28, 1915 p. 7 ANNEX IS PUSHED, Chicago Store Addition Planned for July First...$20,000...The lease...signed...will be of brick uniform with the building now occupied... p. 8 Advertisement (includes cut of Bush-Brey Block) Jan. 1, 1916 sec 4, p. 6 BUILDING OPERATIONS IN THE PAST YEAR...The Chicago Store annex...notable improvement...without fixtures cost nearly $10,000.