Change of Address

This view of Pringle Plaza was taken at the southeast corner of Ferry and Liberty streets. Once an area of canneries, Salem urban redevelopment has transformed it into a beautifully landscaped site for a parking garage, shops, restaurants and a theater.
Like other cities, many of our earlier industries have disappeared. In Salem, the capital of Oregon, our first state government offices have also been demolished. The main element of a local residential transformation has been the development of the North Capitol Mall , reaching from Court Street, in front of the capitol building, to D Street, over a half mile to the north. Homes of many city's most prominent pioneer citizens fell to the bulldozer as the character of the neighborhood changed from homes to office buildings along this corridor two blocks wide.
However, a few structures were put on rollers or trucks and moved to new locations. These relocations were practical exercises in finding new uses for historic structures that were still valuable. These are the stories of Salem's Moving History.

NOTE: In many cases, we do not know the exact year a structure was moved so we offer the date it was built. If a residential move was occasioned by construction within the North Capital Mall, as the majority of these are, we give the approximate date of the move and name the state building that replaced the original structure on that site. We welcome additional information by Comments of viewers.

The two charts below show the original locations of these relocated structures (names in red). Click on images to enlarge.

Below, 1937-1961 Piety Hill transformation with demolition or removal of residences, replaced with 4 state government office buildings as numbered.

Our second chart shows the 1980s-2003 expansion of North Capital Mall, north of Union Street, and state constructions:

Oregon State Archives ~ green

North Mall Office Building ~ blue rectangle

North Mall Heritage Park ~ black circle

1917 McGilchrist House

This handsome Colonial Revival house was built on Summer Street by William McGilchrist, Jr. in 1917. He was active in a Salem insurance institution, was a realtor and owned a restaurant. After his death, the house was the official residence of Governor Holmes.

In the 1900s, to accommodate building the North Mall Office Building, it was moved one block north to the North Mall Heritage Park. The interior has been preserved, each room with the same dimensions and much original hardware.

1921 Ford and Perry Houses

Ford House (above) and Perry House (below)

The histories of the two houses on Winter Street nearest to the D Street intersection are the least known. On the corner is the Katherine Ford house that was formerly at 894 Summers Street.
To the rear of that house, on Winter Street, is the former home of J. C. Perry, once the owner of a pharmacy on Commercial Street. That house was relocated from 835 Summer Street.
Both of these houses have a recorded construction date of 1921.


With them in the North Mall Heritage Park (above) are five other former residences.
The Irwin (1935) and Adolphson (1936) houses are in their original locations. They are both designated as Local Landmarks.
The Stiff, Huntington and McGilchrist houses are also Local Landmarks. Like the Ford and Perry houses, they were moved for Capitol Mall expansion for the North Mall Office Building in 2000-1, and are described in other posts. The park was completed and dedicated in 2003.

1925 Huntington House

This house has been moved several times since it was built in 1925 by Hollis and Marjorie Kay Huntington. Mrs. Huntington was the daughter of Thomas Kay and the Huntington house was originally constructed on the lot immediately behind her parents' home on Court Street.
Mr. Huntington owned "The Man's Shop" downtown and had earlier gained fame as an athlete at the University of Oregon, 1916-1919, when he was a member of the football team. He is one of only three men to play every minute in three different Rose Bowl games.
The location of this house was among the first to be considered for demolition when the North Mall was begun in 1937 with the new Oregon State Library. Unlike her parents' home, which was the first to fall, the Huntington house survived by being purchased and moved to 790 Winter Street, north of Union Street.
As the state expanded the Mall to construct the North Mall Office Building, the house was moved again, this time to join six other historic homes in the North Mall Heritage Park.

1928 The Stiff-Jarman House

This English Provincial residence was built by Herbert and Rose Stiff. he was the General Manager of the H.L. Stiff Furniture Company. The house was sold to D. B. and Edith Jarman who lived there until 1966. In subsequent years, it was the official home of governors McCall and Atiyeh.
During the 1990s relocation of houses in this block for the construction of North Mall Office Building, it was moved slightly north. It is now the southern structure on Winter Street of the North Mall Heritage Park. It now houses a state government agency.

2003 North Mall Heritage Park

The North Mall Heritage Park is the conclusion to the construction anticipated for state buildings in this area of the city. Along with the Ford and Perry houses of the previous post, we have described five other former residences that have been relocated into this garden setting on both sides of our historic Mill Creek. The Irwin (1935) and Adolphson (1936) houses are in their original locations. They are both designated as Local Landmarks as are the the Stiff, Huntington and McGilchrist houses.

The houses are beautifully maintained and it is a pleasant visit back into the past to wander among them, perhaps even recalling families you knew who lived in one of these residences. By the creek there are benches offering a peaceful vistas ~ to the south the stately buildings housing state offices; to the north the quiet Grant neighborhood.
We hope that as you travel the streets of Salem, you will recognize some of these transplanted houses and will enjoy recalling their histories.