This tour is a guide to the locations of more than 25 historic sidewalk markers found in five neighborhoods around Corvallis, Oregon, including the downtown area, the Avery Helm Historic District, Central Park, Franklin Square, and the College Hill West Historic District.
Concrete sidewalks first appeared in Corvallis in 1906 starting on Second St. from Monroe to Madison Avenue and in 1910 from Monroe to Adams. During the next three decades some twenty plus contractors were employed to lay sidewalks and pave streets in emerging residential and commercial districts. As each sidewalk section was completed contractors would mark their finished work with an embossing stamp with their name and the date. Over 150 markers have been found and identified and many more may yet be discovered and recorded. Today the city protects the historic stamps. Whenever damaged sidewalks are replaced or repaired the markers are saved and returned to their original locations.
