A shop that shares the history of two buildings still stands as one of Salem's landmarks - - Whitlock's Vacuum and Sewing Center.

The Meyers Building was built in 1906. In 1897, Joseph Meyers bought the property. Prior to that time, it was the Marion County Courthouse.

Joseph Meyers came to the United States from Nova Scotia, Canada, when he was a boy. He bought the "White Corner" general merchandise store at the southeast corner of Commercial and Court Streets. He and his wife, Ellen E. Harvey Meyers, had two sons - - Henry W. and Milton Meyers. They purchased from their father the Joseph Meyers Mercantile Store in 1906. Meyers store reopened and operated for 14 years before the Miller Mercantile Company bought it in 1920.

Peter D'Arcy purchased his property from Joseph Meyers and his wife in September of 1908.

The D'Arcy Building was constructed the next year, in 1909. A 1½-story building that housed a movie theater was built. By 1926, the building was raised to two stories and its use changed to a retail shop.

D'Arcy was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1853. His parents brought him to the Pacific Northwest in 1854. The family moved to Salem, Oregon, three months later, where he graduated from Willamette University and began reading law in 1873. He was admitted the Oregon Bar in 1876. Two years later, he became the first clerk of the Oregon Supreme Court - - established in 1878.

In 1884-85, he served as municipal judge of Salem. Salem citizens elected him mayor in 1890-91. He was one of the earliest members of the Salem Chamber of Commerce and served as its president in 1914. D'Arcy also was a a lifetime member of the Oregon Historical Society. He died in 1933, and his wife Teresa D'Arcy passed away less than three months later.