A Historic Look at Corvallis' Second Street, Part 3

Part of what makes Corvallis so charming is its art installations and pet-friendly nature. Sitting at the northwest corner across Madison Avenue from the First National Bank building, in front of the historic L.G. Kline building is a bronze sculpture of a beloved dog known all around town, “Cassie.” Interestingly, the bowl was installed four years after the statue. Take a few steps west on Madison Avenue to find the National Registry’s plaque telling about the historic L.G. Kline building and its ornate pressed metal façade. This building was built by the first generation Kline, the same family who built the department store one block south. If you get a chance, peek inside the store to see the original embossed tin ceiling.

One of the more recognizable buildings in the center of downtown is the former Benton County State Bank that features a large, curved window on the corner overlooking both 2nd and Madison. Note the two large columns and imagine broad marble stairs leading to the original entrance when it opened in 1907. In the lower window a sign from another former business remains, a restaurant called The Night Deposit. As you walk east (toward the river) on Madison Avenue to read the National Register plaque, be careful of the old railing protecting two sets of stairs - these once led to Turkish baths and a barber!

As you meander past the Benton County State Bank building, look down at the sidewalk near the curb. You’ll see a preserved impression of a rifle and the name “HODES.” This landmark is a reference to Gustave (aka “Gun”) Hodes, early pioneer, gunsmith and founder of the Hode’s Gun Store. Established in 1857, he sold shotguns, pistols, rifles, cutlery, sewing machines, spy glasses, fishing tackle, baseballs, and other sporting goods. Originally located in Orleans across the river, the flood of 1861 washed away all the businesses and caused him to move the center of Corvallis, opening shop in 1862. Sidewalks were first installed in Corvallis on Second Street, starting at Monroe Avenue and going to Madison Avenue around 1906-1907, so this ode to Hodes came after his death in 1903, most likely created by one of his heirs.

The building that houses the current popular bar was once a livery, in the days before automobiles. On this spot in 1869, tragedy struck when the stables, owned by Reuben Kiger, pioneer settler of Kiger Island south of town, succumbed to flames. The following decade saw another chapter unfold from 1872 to 1883, when Solomon “Sol” King, part of the large family who settled nearby King’s Valley, managed a livery business on the premises until it met the same fiery fate. The resilience of the location endured in 1885, as the only brick livery in Corvallis, R. Montgomery Livery was built, thriving until the onset of the automobile era in 1905 prompted its closure.

The building underwent a transformation in 1912, becoming the home furnishings store Brauer & Conley. Fast forward to the 1940s, and the Peacock Tavern took residence, having previously established itself around 1924 in the nearby E.W. Fisher building. In the roaring 1920s Wallace and Effie Tarpley ran the original restaurant, the Peacock Cafe, offering entertainment which included jazz players who played Dixieland music for three days and three nights straight.

The legacy of the Peacock reached new heights in 1986 when it earned a spot on Playboy Magazine's "100 Best College Bars," cementing its place in local lore.

Next stop north of the Peacock is the grand Majestic Theatre, the town’s oldest remaining theater, and where you’ll come across the “Sidewalk Stars,” showcasing the importance of this building’s history to the community. Built in 1913 by Johnson Porter, grandson of a Corvallis founding settler, the original decor featured a vibrant color scheme of "old rose" and gold, Louis XV frescoes, and 800 leather-finished chairs. While living in an apartment in the theater, Porter leased it to Samuel Whiteside (who would go on to build and own the Whiteside Theatre on Madison Avenue) and Charles Small, Corvallis theater pioneers. They ran it as a combination theater and ‘moving picture’ house, hosting international and local musicians and singers, vaudeville acts, opera stars, and college plays. Back then, performances cost 35¢ and entertainers would stay at the Hotel Julian next door.

In the 1930s, The Majestic transformed into a motion picture house, sharing its stage with the occasional plays of OSC (now OSU). In 1949, the theater was redesigned, modernized, and relaunched as The Varsity, dedicated exclusively to showcasing films using the latest technology called “cycloramic screen,” a new lobby feature with the “Candy Bar,” and a soundproof baby cry room. The Varsity closed in 1982, inspiring a community effort to bring back The Majestic. The City bought the property in 1985 as a performing arts center, the townspeople fundraised over $1 million to renovate it, designated it as a Local Landmark in 1989, and reopened it by 1990. Renovations and fundraising efforts (as seen with the “Sidewalk Stars” and sponsorships of the above glass canopy) are ongoing, bringing live performances that you can attend for a little more than 35¢.

Next to the Majestic is a four-story imposing square brick building known as Hotel Julian. On this site in 1892-1910 stood Corvallis’ first brick hotel, called the Corvallis Hotel (not to be confused with the other Hotel Corvallises). It was said to be among the finest in all of Willamette until the advent of the automobile. In 1911, Julian McFadden drastically transformed the hotel, named it after himself, and changed the architectural style from Queen Anne style with Victorian details to the utilitarian Georgian style. McFadden came from a prominent Corvallis family and was a state senator. He’s remembered as the “father of horse racing” for bringing thoroughbred horse racing to Oregon, creating one of his era’s finest commercial horse breeding, training and racetrack (“Pleasure Acres”), plus establishing the State Racing Commission.

The Great Depression changed the hotel’s fortunes, and it went through ups and downs, changing hands several times over the decades. In 1984 the Julian Hotel joined the National Registry of Historic Places, saving it for preservation, living on as affordable apartments and storefront businesses.

The Visit Corvallis offices face one of the free parking lots on Second Street, with a view of the buildings from Monroe Avenue to Madison Avenue across the street. What was here before it was turned into a parking lot in the 1960s? Since Second Street was once Main Street, this block had many different businesses over the centuries. The Taylor Building, to the north of the L.G. Kline building on the corner, was built in 1906 and for many years housed meat markets. On the side facing the parking lot you’ll see a rough brick wall. This is all that’s left of the Whitehorn building, a saloon built in 1897. Tommy Whitehorn ran his saloon for almost 20 years, moving on to become one of the founders of the Corvallis State Bank in 1913. Whitehorn and Taylor had a “shared wall” agreement, so that wall stayed when the rest of the Whitehorn structure was torn down.

On the other side of the parking lot you’ll see a dark red edifice, the E.W. “Brick” Fisher building. Take a look at the three windows on the second story and imagine a building spanning from the corner of Monroe to the middle parking lot entrance, and long enough to have around 11 windows. What you see now is what’s left of the oldest 2-story building and second oldest commercial building in town having been built in 1868. Lewis Kline, an early pioneer and tailor, first set up shop in the southern part of the building (before he built his own place on the corner of Madison Avenue, and started building a general store turned department store with his son, Simon, on the east side of the street closer to Jefferson.) The Fisher building’s other tenants included a drugstore (that sold books), Pacific Telephone & Telegraph, the original restaurant for the Peacock, another restaurant after that, and eventually law offices.

On the corner of Second Street and Monroe Avenue you’ll see a pub, Squirrel’s Tavern, started in 1974. Peep inside to see an antique back bar that came from a 1900s sailing ship. Fisher built this section in the 1870s with the architecture matching his other buildings. In 1913 that part of the Fisher block became Corvallis State Bank, with remodeling done to suit the new renters (including the Justice of the Peace having offices on the second floor).

Monroe marks where Second Street shifts from SW to NW, and looking north you’ll see the entire block filled with stores mostly built during Corvallis’ 1920s expansion, post WWI and pre-Depression. There were grocers (one built in 1904 on the corner remains the same shape), auto stores, a meat market, furniture stores, laundry services, and even a movie theater. Standing by one of the Waterdance sculptures, you’ll see two of the murals created as part of the Corvallis Mural Project, "Cultural Transformation" and "Maya." In 1922 during the early Prohibition years, where there’s now a corner parking lot, stood the Mar Wong Noodle Shop that was “popular with the after-dance crowd, and if a fellow didn't have his own flask he could get one out of the woodpile behind.”

Although Second Street continues on for a while and turns back into Highway 20, this Second Street stroll ends at Jackson Street where Sky High Brewery offers a grand overview of the city from their third floor or even better, their rooftop garden.

The base building of Sky High was built in 1946 housing different businesses over the years, including an auto shop selling Frazer cars, a movie theater, and Blackbeard’s Thrift Shop. In 2012, instead of replacing the roof, the owner built upwards using recycled, upcycled and eco-friendly materials and methods. The core beams came from a salvaged redwood tree from a local grocer south of town. You may recognize the same modern sustainable-ethos style of building from the beginning of your stroll in the Confluence Building.