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Adaptive Reuse in Downtown Salem -- Gayle Caldarazzo-Doty

3/26/2015

 
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Roth/McGilchrist Buildings, 1950s
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Roth/McGilchrist Buildings, 2015
March 19, 2015 Episode

The Downtown Historic District in Salem seems to be on the verge of a modern-day revival!  In the recent past, improvements have been revitalizing many of our treasured buildings.  The boom began with the J.K. Gill Building which was transformed into a restaurant at ground level (Wild Pear) with a much-sought-after apartment above, followed by the ambitious renovations and restorations of the Metropolitan Building, the Salem Arts Building, the old Anderson/Electric Apartment Building, and the Gray Building (home of The Brick restaurant and the new Amadeus restaurant).  The second levels of these buildings are once again providing prized residential opportunities as well as popular office and business locations.  Who knew hiding behind the various Chinese restaurants housed at 440 State Street was the colorful art deco façade of the mid-1930s Gray-Belle Restaurant?

The latest jewel to enhance the restored glory of Historic Downtown Salem are adjacet 1916 Roth/McGilchrist Buildings, former homes of Roth Company Grocery, the YWCA, McGilchrist's Furniture, Woolworth's Five & Dime, and more recently, Heath Florist.  Community activist Gayle Caldarazzo-Doty always had a dream to own an Italian market to celebrate the family-centric culture of the Italian family she joined through the marriage to her first husband, local educator Guido Caldarazzo, but this had been suppressed by the needs of their busy family and school life.   With Guido's passing came a need to reinvent herself and the dream began to resurface. 

Years later, the potential for giving life to this dream became apparent when she learned that her new husband, Doug Doty, also always wanted to live and work in the downtown area.  They began the arduous job of searching for the right property when they learned of the availability of the McGilchrist Building, located on an active corner in downtown, but whose sale must include the adjacent Roth Company Building.   Both Gayle and Doug could envision how the building could be returned to its former grandeur and, with knees shaking, purchased the building. And so their restoration saga began. 

After more months of construction and unexpected challenges than they ever anticipated, the Roth-McGilchrist Buildings recently opened with Doug's newly-merged CPA firm as the anchor tenant, along with nine other new businesses--one of which is Gayle's Italian Market--and their new apartment above.   They are quick to credit the amazing team that came together to help them realize this dream: C/B Architects, David Holton Design, the staff of the State Historic Preservation Office, as well as the staff of the various City of Salem departments who worked so relentlessly with them to bring this project to fruition.

Gayle and Doug are happy to share their experiences in taking on such a monumental project with others.  Come check out their new place--they'll proudly show it off!

Historic Bush House & Deepwood Museum & Gardens

3/19/2015

 
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Bush House Museum
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Deepwood Museum
March 19, 2015 Episode

We are very lucky to have two long-time historic treasures in our town, Historic Bush House Museum and Deepwood Museum & Gardens, both run by amazing organizations.  If you have not recently visited these wonderful venues, you should make a point to do so soon!

Curator/Managers Roth Sutherland and Sarah Pearson joined us in the studio to talk about their roles in caring for the sites as well as what makes each site unique.  Ross described to us that the 1877 Bush House, the home of the prominent businessman and publisher Asahel Bush II and his family for 75 years, was donated in its entirety--furnishings, outbuildings and grounds--to the City of Salem in the late 1940s.  It has been operated by the Salem Art Association since 1953.  Having the original furnishings provides a very realistic view into how an affluent family of the time truly lived their lives.  On the other hand, having so many artifacts in place makes hosting inside events unfeasible.  To our great luck, however, the large park-like grounds house the Bush Barn Art Center and Gallery and also offer the perfect tree-filled site for the very popular Salem Art Festival held each July.  You can learn more about the museum at its website:  salemart.org/programs/bush-house-museum

Sarah explained that Deepwood Museum & Gardens was formerly known as Historic Deepwood Estate.  Aside from the ornate Queen-Anne style house built in 1894 for druggist and land speculator Luke A Port, the site is also known for its extensive gardens, designed by historic landscape architects Elizabeth Lord and Edith Schryver, and its system of nature trails. Because this house was the home of many families over the years, furnishings were not left in place, but the original Posey Brothers stained glass windows and the warm golden woodwork throughout the house remain.  This has allowed Deepwood the opportunity to host many indoor events like teas and weddings.  For more information on the museum and its events, check our its website: www.historicdeepwoodestate.org

Ross and Sarah are also the Chair and Vice Chair, respectively, of the Salem All-Star Forum, a benefit of Salem being designated as a Heritage All-Star Community.  The forum brings together representatives of the area's heritage and cultural community to share their concerns and skills and to collaborate on fundraising and educational events for the public, thereby strengthening the individual organizations.  If your organization would like to become involved, check out their website for more information: https://salemallstarforum.wordpress.com

Photos: TN Green, Jr.
      

Sarah & Keith Chilcote - Ultimate Preservationists

3/13/2015

 
March 12, 2015 Episode
There are many facets of historic preservation:  repair, replacement, renovation, restoration, rehabilitation, and even relocation!  Sarah and Keith Chilcote chose the ultimate way to preserve the 1898 West/Klein house on Oak Street SE in Salem  when it was scheduled for demolition to accommodate the growth of Salem Hospital--they picked it up and moved it! 

In for a penny, out for a pound--or at least the one dollar sales price--the work began.  They cut through the foundation walls, removed the roof, and then folded the remaining four walls onto themselves, similar to a collapsed cardboard box.  They then loaded the pieces onto flatbed trucks and drove them through town to a new address a few miles north and east--the 2900 Block of "D" Street NE!   After reconstruction, this would become the Chilcote's home, and the first of three houses they would relocate to this site in order to allow these buildings to continue the use for which they were intended--sheltering Salem families.   The other homes were in the way of the State of Oregon's development of the North Capitol Mall area:  the 1910 German Methodist Episcopal South Church parsonage at 774 Winter Street NE, and its neighbor, the 1896 Queen-Anne-style Long/Moon house at 772.

The Chilcotes credit the success of their initial project to both their extended family, for providing them experience assisting with the relocation an earlier house, and Salem Hospital, for trusting this young couple to pull off this monumental task at all, as well as providing the demolition work.   They've gone on to restore other houses that remain in place, such as the storied Lovelady house in Dallas where they lifted it up and built a basement beneath so it would stand for a few more generations.  During the process of restoration, their ongoing search to locate sources of period building materials would lead them into a new business of architectural salvage, American Antique Hardware.  Sarah tells us they have a website  historic property owners can access, or check them out on the online auction site Ebay.  

Though they say they may be done with such major projects in this season of their lives, every time they take a drive, they seem to discover another grand old lady who could be ever so much more....
PicturePrior to Relocation, late 1990s


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At Home at the New Address
Photos: TN Green, Jr.

Oops... We're all volunteers, you know...

3/6/2015

 
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March 5, 2015 Episode

Well, although this was in no way our first on-air bobble, it was a good one.  Not quite as good as when folks tuned in to hear our show at noon and were treated to all they wanted to know about pet health when the "Paws for Thought" show, which typically follows our show, was mistakenly misnamed and was cued up in place of ours (we share the same engineer-extraordinaire).  Once discovered by an observant listener or two, this was corrected so that our show ran right after "Paws" and we had a good laugh--hope the pet folks did too.   You just can't take yourself too seriously in the world of community radio--or anywhere else, for that matter!

Today's show was scheduled to be a conversation with Sarah and Keith Chilcote about their experience relocating historic homes in order to preserve them.  Instead our listeners were treated to us chatting with Joy Sears of SHPO, who was originally slated for next week.   We love when we get an opportunity to share with you some of the lesser-known benefits available to historic property owners, and the staff of the State Historic Preservation Office, part of the Cultural Heritage section of the Oregon Parks & Recreation Department, are surely a benefit.  Not only do they manage the federal National Register of Historic Properties program for our state, they have a wealth of information and expert assistance available regarding tax incentive and grant programs, educational opportunities, as well as the technical expertise to help you maintain your historic properties.  


Joy Sears,
is the technical restoration expert at SHPO, among other duties.  She has been helping property owners preserve and maintain their properties for a number of years.  As a member of Salem's HLC for several terms, she offered a wide construction knowledge that helped the commissioners fully understand the plans and specifications of the projects they reviewed.  She often provided restoration-advice articles for their quarterly newsletter, and it is in that regard that we are so pleased to have her join our SHM team.  Joy will be recording Restoration Tips on various subjects that will air on our show periodically. 

We know you will enjoy hearing Joy's segments as much as we are excited to provide them for you.  If you have any specific questions or concerns about your historic property, feel free to email them to us at
SalemHistoryMatters@gmail.com,  or use the form on our Contact Us page, and we'll be sure she sees them.

TUNE IN NEXT WEEK and enjoy our conversation with Keith and Sarah Chilcote.




    Your Hosts

    Deb Meaghers and Christy Van Heukelem, historians and authors, are passionate about the history of Salem and the entire mid-Willamette Valley.  We love sharing our enthusiasm for our rich historic legacy with others.  

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    Deb
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    Christy

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