The Chehalis Downtown Historic District is located in Chehalis, Washington and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. One of three NRHP districts in the city, including the Hillside Historic District and Pennsylvania Avenue-West Side Historic District, the district represents three separate development periods. The community was an important timber hub and freight exchange stop between south Puget Sound and Portland, Oregon.
The historic district is home to the St. Helens Hotel and is located in the northeastern part of the city and includes North Market Boulevard, Northwest Pacific Avenue, Northeast Cascade Avenue, Northeast Boistfort, Front Way, and Northeast Division.
History
19th century The current downtown is a third civic center of the city. It was originally at West Main Street close to the railroads tracks. Elizabeth (Eliza) Barrett Saunders had platted three blocks from her Donation Land Claim of three hundred twenty acres. Three blocks of development were the start of a town. Buildings were constructed around 1870 including the first Lewis County Courthouse. With
The second downtown began down West Main Street at the comer of Chehalis Avenue and West Main Street. Barrett platted five parcels between 1881 and 1883. By 1891 this center included the city's first opera house (Tynan Opera House), and the Barrett Block housing a bank and hotel. In 1892 two fires destroyed the second city center. The majority of the buildings were wood; arson was suspected. The district was known for the Chehalis Fountain which was replicated at the Vernetta Smith Timberland Library.
The third center grew up on Market Boulevard. Buildings had been completed a couple of years before the fires. In 1889 the First National Bank. In 1891 the Chehalis Improvement Company constructed the first of two buildings, the Improvement Block. In 1892 the Columbus Block was completed in celebration of Christopher Columbus landing in the Americas four hundred years earlier. Soon after, construction of a fourth retail office structure, the Commercial Block, established an impressive modern building. Only the original bank building is gone, razed in 1949. Between 1890 and 1894, the Chehalis Land and Timber Company constructed the St. Helens Hotel. The district was also home to the East Side School, located in what was known as the "School Block" before moving out of the downtown area by 1912.
20th century
A large fire occurred during the morning hours of August 2, 1912 beginning in the Bush Block at the Staeger Bros. book and stationary store. Over $14,000 in damages were reported, including at the Chehalis Bee-Nugget newspaper and the post office, both located in the block.
The growth of the downtown business core led to the first parking law within the district in 1927. Limiting all automobiles to two hours during the day, the law was made necessary by a lack of parking due to local citizens and business people anchoring their vehicles in spaces for the entirety of the day. These actions prevented customers and farmers from stopping, leading to a loss of business. Along with a rise in minor automobile and pedestrian accidents at the intersection of Market and Boistfort streets during the 1930s, the first stoplight in the district was placed at the junction in September 1936. The traffic signal was not publicly announced before its installation but was immediately well-received. Despite changes, accidents were still common, noted most by the death of long-serving Chehalis postmaster Lloyd Sullivan, who was struck by a truck while crossing Market in late-August 1953.
During the 1949 Olympia earthquake, damages occurred to several buildings in the downtown core, including the Security State Bank building which lost a section of decorative railing. The quake, which lasted between 35 and 40 seconds during the late morning of April 13, 1949, also shattered windows and caused bricks to fall away from façades.
Market Street, beginning at the St. Helens Hotel, was converted into a northbound one-way thoroughfare in 1960. The district underwent major renovations in the mid-1970s with the build of curbed landscaped islands in the crosswalk areas. Although mostly appreciated by businesses in the downtown core, noticing that customers had easier access to both sides of Market Street, the improvements were derided by citizens soon after. Given the nickname, "Melhart's Maze", after Mayor Roy Melhart who helped to initiate the change, the islands were considered difficult to navigate for larger vehicles. Additional improvements in 1977 included the build of concrete parking strips and a new layer of asphalt.
The 1970s revitalization included a full conversion of the St. Helens Hotel into apartments, with the revival of the inn's retail spaces and the construction of a new coffee shop and restaurant on the ground floor. Remodeling took place at the Virgil R. Lee Insurance building, the George Sears Drug Store, and the St. Helens Theater. Businesses removed neon signs for less intrusive handmade advertising and economic conditions were noticeably improved.
On the afternoon of July 11, 1997, a large fire swept through parts of the historic district, partially destroying the Hotel Washington. Starting at a Red Cross office building, the flames spread to the hotel, which at the time was being used as a furniture store. The fire was contained by the evening after the combined use of of foam retardant and water. Within a year, both buildings were rebuilt and reopened under the ownership of Frank and Barbara Mason. The Mason's, under their construction company, had previously renovated the district's Judd Building and Marketplace Square.
21st century Beginning in the early 2000s under a program known as the Chehalis Historic Preservation Commission, the city began to honor older homes, including those in the downtown district, that are connected to the history and heritage of Chehalis. Houses accepted into the designation receive a brass plaque that includes the year the structure was built and the name of either the architect or original owner.
In 2009, the Chehalis Community Renaissance Team (CCRT) initiated the Historic Downtown Chehalis Walking Tour, publishing a free booklet to guide visitors to notable buildings in the downtown core. Two years later, the CCRT, in coordination with businesses in the districts, as well as donors, began installing cast iron plaques to denote structures on the tour. In the following weeks, forty buildings received the tour markers.
The city, in coordination with Experience Chehalis, launched a multi-year downtown revitalization program, known as the Imagine Downtown Chehalis project, in 2024. The plans include the restructuring of main streets in the city's historic core, including Market and Boistfort, with attention to traffic flow. Additional upgrades to enhance community participation, economic opportunities, and safety are included with betterments in street lighting and sidewalks. The project's master plan was adopted by the city council in April 2025.
The first phase of the efforts, also referred to as the Downtown Rejuvenation Project, is estimated to cost approximately $8.1 million. A proportional grant, with a maximum allotted amount of $4.0 million, was authorized by the state's Transportation Improvement Board (TIB). The TIB grant will cover almost half of the initial start of the project, focusing on infrastructure and transportation improvements in the downtown core. The remaining costs are to borne by the city under several capital funds, including taxpayer approved collections under a Transportation Benefit District separate from the city's general fund. Upgrades to underground electrical and water lines, along with construction to remodel the north and south entrances to the downtown area, were announced to begin in 2027.
Description of Properties The majority of the buildings are in the nineteenth-century commercial, many with metal awnings or canopies of a non-historic character. In the 20th century, the architect Jacque “Jack” DeForest Griffin was responsible for the creation of several buildings constructed in the 1920s, including the Renaissance Revival-style Elks Building in 1920, the Italian Renaissance inspired St. Helens Theater in 1924, the home of the Lewis County Public Utility District on Prindle Street, the Advocate Building, and several other extinct structures in the downtown core.
Market Boulevard: southwest side 553-555 N. Market Boulevard, ca. 1900, Little Gem Lunch – 1915 Shakespeare & Co/American Legion A single story, nineteenth-century commercial building that appears to have been altered circa 1910s. The building is faced with raked brick having tiles set into a diamond design forming a horizontal row of nine diamonds just above the awning and beneath the cornice. The flat roof line has a shed, standing seam, metal roof at the front with a plain cornice framed by piers. Between the decorative row of tiles and the awning is two window sections. The entrance off Northwest Pacific is intact with a plain facade of window. The entrance consists of recessed doors framed by windows.Chehalis Downtown Historic District (Third Civic Center of Chehalis), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form; Jennifer Watson, intern; Lauren McCroskey; Lewis County Historical Society; City of Chehalis; United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service; National Park Service, Washington, D.C.; 11-21-97
551 N. Market Boulevard, 1894, Murphy & Johnson Saloon Diversified Games This nineteenth-century commercial building is two stories. The second story has a plain facade with four windows. The original brick has been covered with stucco, but the roof line and window are intact. A fire on July 11, 1997, caused damage to the windows; however, the building remains a contributing resource.
545 N. Market Boulevard, 1889,
Hotel Washington is a four-story, nineteenth-century building. In 1889 it was operated by Mr. Berry and Mr. Loomis. Four piers split the facade into three sections. The windows on the upper level are semi-elliptical, with rock-faced sills. The upper story on the Northwest Pacific Avenue side is clad with pressed metal in a brick pattern. The entrance, on Market Boulevard, is a glass door with the lettering, "Washington Hotel." On the north side there remain remnants of an advertisement. There was a fire on July 11, 1997, which caused minor damage.
539 N. Market Boulevard, 1900, Cupid's Helper; 1920, Foster Bakery Mint City The two-story building uses a common bond brick with a flat parapet roofline. A decorated cornice has five paired brackets. The upper story has windows four across. The Northwest Pacific side has a row of four windows in the upper story. The lower story has a row of three windows. The southwest end of the building has a gabled dormer in wood and no window.
535 N. Market Boulevard, 1918, Fechtner's Jewelry Shop Having a related style to 539 N. Market, this a single-story structure is of a common bond brick and a flat parapet roofline. Fechtner's Jewelry has been in operation, in Chehalis, since 1903.
531 N. Market Boulevard, 1918, Claude Day Fruits/Howard's Meats Sweet Inspirations Related in style to 539 N. Market next door, it is a single-story building with common bond brick and a flat parapet roofline.
525 N. Market Boulevard, 1900, Northern Brewery Company Brunswig's Shoe Shop This building is single-story with a plain facade faced in stucco over common bond brick. This is one of the few district buildings retaining its transom windows, a row of eleven. Its roofline is flat.
455 N. Market Boulevard, 1920, Elks Building
The Elks Building was constructed in 1920 at an estimated cost of $100,000. The lot was purchased by the Chehalis lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the structure is three-stories in height.