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"Within its walls, the paid lobbyists and attorneys
of corporate interests have framed measures which were favorable
to the interests which they represented and bargained for
their passage, and contracted for the killing of other measures
which were unfavorable to their clients; within its walls
scheming politicians have formulated plans which have brought
about the appointment to office of their henchmen - - stripped
United States senators of their togas and placed them on the
shoulders of their favorites; and could the walls of its rooms
talk and tell the stories they know, it would be a story of
political plotting and intrigue which has never been chronicled
in Oregon history, and could tell besides the story of many
scandals and human tragedies which have never and probable
never will reach the ear of the public." - 1910
It was day after Christmas in 1870 when the doors of the
Chemeketa House opened and brought to Salem a new age of genteel
luxury and elegance. That age, though often troubled, lasted
over 100 years. On December 26, 1970, the Chemeketa
Hotel, long since renamed the Marion hotel, celebrated its
centennial. The secrets of a century were hidden behind the
bilious green paint which hide the ornate brickwork of the
venerable old building at Commercial and Ferry Streets SE.
The tradition was still there in the 1970s for this grand
hotel. In the old portion of the building, there were still
about 50 of those high-ceilinged rooms ready for occupancy.
Many of them are furnished in eloquent antiques dating back
over the history of the house. Disaster would follow 11 months
later when on November 12, 1971, the historic Marion Hotel
burned to the ground in a famous fire many still recall to
this day.
To say that the Marion Hotel is simple an historic building
is something of an understatement. The old hotel is tied more
closely to the history of Salem and, indeed, to all of Oregon,
than any other building in the state. The history of the Marion
Hotel determined the elevation of City streets it was that
much of a landmark to the community!
It long served as the social center of the community, and
its justly deserved reputation that more laws have been made
and unmade in its rooms than in all of the official chambers
of State government put together. In 1870, the year the hotel
was built, the Legislature was meeting across the street in
the Holman Building, and the Supreme Court convened in the
Nesmith Building. The Chemeketa was a handy place for lobbyists
and committees, and it served as a local watering hole for
people with State Government business. That was the year the
Oregon & California Railroad reached Salem, and the hotel
offered omnibus rides to and from the depot. The steamboat
landing was only a block from the hotel, at the Trade Street
docks.
The Salem Directory of 1871 gives just a hint of the pride
with which the addition to the community was greeted: "It
(the Chemeketa) is beautiful in its outside appearance and
most agreeable it is interior arrangements, and has hardly
an equal on the Pacific Coast outside San Francisco."
Other accounts of the period give testimony that this was
no idle boast. But, to fully appreciate its stature in the
community, one should know something of its predecessors in
Salem.
That era came to an end with the Chemeketa and its "hot
and cold water in rooms, electric bells, speaking tubes, and
something like modern plumbing at least in the gentlemen's
room on the ground floor." "For the first time,"
Maxwell wrote, "guests who itched when they registered
were regarded askance and unwelcome."
The hotel was four stories high and contained 150 rooms.
It was "along Franco-Italian lines with the French influence
predominating. Along the mansard roof stood 28 chimneys 'like
sentries on a watch-tower.' Below the chimneys, dormer windows
looked out upon Commercial and Ferry Streets." The first
floor of the hotel had ceilings 17 feet high. The second floor
had 15-foot ceilings and contained 11 suites and eight single
rooms. "The floors and halls were carpeted with Brussels
to ease the tread cold feet padding down the hall to wash
rooms in which flowed hot and cold water . All the furniture
was of black walnut."
In the basement of the new Hotel was a sumptuous bar run
by one O .H.. "Baldy" Smith. It included ornate
chandeliers and paintings described by the Weekly Salem Mercury
of January 7, 1871, as "beautiful, suggestive, and interesting."
Off the saloon was a barbershop with marble bowls, a billiard
parlor with three tables, and a comfort station boasting "five
self-acting water closets."
Salem was surveyed in June of 1861 by Jerome B. Greer and
Walter Forward. It set 19 survey control points (monuments)
from which exact locations could be measured legally. Most
of the monuments are still used. The point from which all
elevations were measured was a brick projecting from the Marion
Hotel’s northwest corner, 2.78 feet about the sidewalk and
48 feet from mean-low water level of the Willamette River,
Davis explained.
In 1880, The Chemeketa House was "open all night"
and provided omnibus service free to and from the hotel to
the railroad station. Accounts of luxuries included water
closets on every floor and al the modern improvements...including
speaking tubes. Each of the 165 rooms had "water, gas,
and a telegraph". It was valued at $125,000.
According to a historical account in the Capital Journal
of March 5, 1910, "It was one of the handsomest and best
equipped hotels of its time, and it started off with good
business and patronage. Like some politicians, however, it
was ahead of its times . . . . In a comparative short time
after the hotel's doors had been thrown open the public, Waters
Brothers (Portland financiers) were compelled to foreclose
their mortgage on the furniture and the hotel's doors closed."
In a 1948 article, Maxwell described the early days of the
hotel, It was built and equipped by a group of Salem men who
wanted the city's business center located in the Commercial
Street area. The construction of the hotel seemed to assure
that. But the big new building got its investors and a series
of successive owners into almost endless financial trouble.
The members of the original stock company were:
J.G. Miller, President
M. Hirsch, Secretary
J.G. Wright, Treasurer.
W.W. Piper, Portland, was the architect. Piper was also the
designer of the old Marion County Courthouse. One year after
it opened, the Chemeketa was bankrupt.
The building itself fell into the hands of Ladd & Bush
Bank, which leased it to a series of owners. One of them suffered
a severe setback by a $4,000 fire in the building in 1873.
About 1876, the building found its mentor in F.S. Mathews,
who brought it to the height of its reputation.
West Shore Magazine of Portland gave the hotel prominent
mention in several editions during 1878-79:
September, 1878 - - "The Chemeketa . . . . is one of
the institutions the Capitol (sic) city may well feel proud
of . . . . the parlours are, with but one exception, the handsomest
of any hotel on the Pacific Coast. The beautiful aquarium
and the odorous plants, artistically arranged, add greatly
to give the house a homelike appearance."
December, 1878 - - " . . . . the Chemeketa Hotel (is)
located in the largest and finest hotel building north of
San Francisco . . . . (It) has the handsomest parlours of
any hotel in the State, and its sleeping apartments are large
and well-furnished."
April, 1879 - - "Mr. F.S. Mathews, the present proprietor,
who has the reputation of being one of the best landlords
on the Pacific Coast, allows no expense to stand in the way
where the comfort of his guests is at stake. In this, he is
ably seconded by Mr. Fred Howard, the gentlemanly clerk of
the hotel. The dining room, in the charge of Mr. J.K. Morrison
- - assisted by a full corps of attentive waiters - - is the
largest in the state."
Troubles persisted even in times of glory for the hotel.
On June 3, 1885, the Rector building caught on fire. It was
owned by Ed Hirsch, state treasurer and later Salem post master.
During the height of the flaming destruction, the Chemeketa
House (later the Marion Hotel) which was directly across the
street was threatened by burning debris and embers. Marion
Hotel Manager W. H. Leininger held Toy, a wiry, agile Chinese
by the heels over the cornice while the little Oriental quenched
fire with a wet broom.
The glory of heavily trafficked hotels never took long to
fade. In 1890, the Chemeketa was given a complete redecoration
and its name changed to the Willamette. An account of the
"new" hotel's grand opening in the September 12th
Capital Journal newspaper that year contained this sidelight:
"The celebration was delayed several weeks 'by reason
of a mistaken shipment of silverware whereby a breakfast service
was sent instead of a dinner service.'" It's a distinction
long since lost in public dining rooms across the country.
To further add to the comfort of their guests, the hotel
management in 1897 installed steam heat throughout the building.
But the Chemeketa-Willamette's reputation was gradually diminishing.
Newer, more modern hotels were built in other cities around
the state, and the Willamette was relegated to second-class
stature.
It was still the best Salem had to offer, and the officers
of State government still centered their extra-official wheeling
and dealing there, but the hotel was no longer the epitome
of elegance. Its stature had gone down so far by March 5,
1909, that it led to this editorial lament in the Capital
Journal: "Salem's big four needs - - modern hotel, miles
of paving mountain water, and the Fair Grounds boulevard."
Whether prompted by its own editorial influence or now, on
July 13th of the same year the Capital Journal at least was
able to headline: "To Spend $60,000 on Willamette Hotel."
The story said, "The reconstruction of the hotel will
be entirely new, except the walls and foundation. The furnishings
will cost about $25,000, and there will be nothing throughout
that is not up-to-date, and will place this city in the first
stand of Pacific Coast hotels."
One major manifestation of the 1910 remodeling is still readily
apparent in the 1970s. The elegant mansard roof and those
28 stately chimneys were removed and the walls of the building
extended straight up.
With but few changes, the Marion stayed in the state imposed
on it in 1910 until 1948, when it was redecorated under the
direction of Pietro Belleschusi, the Portland architect
then at work designing a new courthouse building for Marion
County. According to a new report of the time: "Some
lawmakers are wondering if the change will have any effect
on Oregon's politicking. Many a deal has been coked up in
the antiquated, high-ceilinged rooms, often 'smoke-filled'
during Legislative sessions." The speculation was unfounded:
No more redecoration could ever displace the Marion as Oregon's
unofficial, subsidiary seat of government.
During the early 1950s, the construction of large, easily
accessible motor hotels, or motels, spelled the end for many
metropolitan hotels. But, again, the Marion - -perpetually
on the edge of financial insolvency - - refused to succumb.
Its owner, Union Securities Co., decided to meet the threat
head-on.
In an expansive echo of that 1910 headline, the Capital Journal
of March 1, 1956, announced "Marion Hotel to Spent Million."
In 1959, the hotel expanded to the southeast of its block,
leveling the Sick's brewery building, for a 52-unit motel,
swimming pool, and large parking lot. In the next few years,
the hotel was expanded from 115 rooms to 245. A large
"motor hotel" complex was added to the old structure,
and its convention and banquet facilities were greatly expanded.
In 1963, the remainder of the block became part of the hotel
with the addition of 75 more modern motel units. One notable
acquisition was the old Salem National Guard Armory on the
same block. It became the Marion's "Starlight Ballroom
" and the remodeled auditorium and convention hall facility.
Despite the investments, however, the expansion plan was
somehow all wrong. For one thing, the new complex turned its
back on the old hotel structure. Those arriving at the Manor,
in effect, entered through the "back door" on the
Commercial-Mill Streets side of the building.
In addition, the new motel complex was a labyrinthine affair
which seemed to hide rooms rather than make them easily accessible.
A tired Legislator, after a long day's work, likes to fall
easily into bed, not wander around in a state of confusion
wondering which door his key fits.
The expanded Marion did not provide that luxury.
Despite its new appearance, the old place was again close
to financial disaster. One of its principal stockholders was
Harry Hawkins, president of Commonwealth, Inc., Portland investment
bankers and property developers. Hawkins took a personal interest
in the Marion property, and is reported to have spent substantial
amounts of his own money in keeping the operation afloat.
Nothing seemed to help, however, and the Marion, looking
a little more tired and worse for the wear, again fell to
foreclosure. The only bidder at the sheriff's sale was General
Acceptance Corp., a New Jersey investment company which held
the $2.4 million mortgage on the place. GAC has turned the
property over to MacMillan Inns, Inc., to operate. The new
management intended to propagate the tradition of the Marion,
but were only able to afford a "modest capital investment"
to keep the place together. Charles Fyock, who managed both
the Marion Hotel and the Senator Hotel in the 1970s, blamed
the hotels' business decline mostly on insufficient convention
business, weak support from local businessmen, and the draining
off of the tourist trade to clusters of new motels along the
freeway.
In spite of its wear and tear, the 100th birthday
of the historic Marion Hotel was a major community event.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Marion, State and
local officials were invited to participate in the "Opening-Day"
ceremonies on December 26, 1970. An enormous three-tiered
cake bearing 100 candles was set up in the lobby of the hotel,
and in attendance at the cake-cutting was Secretary of State
Clay Myers, who served as Master of Ceremonies for the opening-day
celebration.
Others who participated in the ceremonies included - -
* Thomas Vaughn, Director, Oregon Historical Society.
* Dr. Herbert Spady, President, Marion County Historical Society.
* Pat McCarthy, Chairman, Marion County Board of Commissioners.
* Lewis H. Judson (92-years-old), the oldest member of the
pioneer Judson Family of Salem.
* C.A. Schaefer, President, Salem Area Chamber of Commerce.
* Dr. Vern Miller, Mayor, Salem.
Cutting the cake was guest of honor Senator Robert Elfstrom,
a former mayor of Salem from 1947 to 1950.
Celebration activities featured in the week-long centennial
celebration included - * Displays of photos from the files
of the late Ben Maxwell, Marion County's unofficial historian.
* A Gay Nineties luncheon at an "Old-Fashioned"
price.
* Daily tours of the hotel, especially the "Lincoln Room."
* Spinning wheel demonstrations.
* A Gay Nineties fashion show.
The Marion Hotel limped into its hundredth year after its
celebration, featuring a Motor Hotel at which Legislative
members still cut deals. On November 12, 1971, the Marion
Hotel came to its demise as a fire engulfed the historic hotel.
What remained after this fire was the more modern, 1960s
wing portion of the hotel. The Motor Hotel was operated by
the Red Lion Hotels in the 1980s and included a Black Angus
steak restaurant with the motor hotel, many civic groups held
their meetings in the conference rooms and ballroom.
By the end of the 1990s, the hotel was closed, seeking another
rescuer. It came from the City of Salem supporting efforts
to acquire a downtown convention center in 2002 which will
have an adjoining hotel complex with it. This historic place
of so much of Oregon’s history will again be a gathering place
where decisions are made which will affect its very future.
Compiled by Monica Mersinger
Bibliography:
Capitol Journal newspaper, section three, Wednesday,
December 23, 1970
Statesman Journal newspaper, April 29, 1991
Statesman Journal newspaper, January 11, 1970
"The Chinese In Salem", by Ben Maxwell, Marion
County History, Volume 7, pages 9 to 15. Marion County Historical
Society
Marion County HISTORY, Vol. 10, Pg 56(10th in a 15-volume
set)
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