Built c. 1900, the IOOF Lodge is two stories tall and is of a commercial style with a brick cladding. Character defining features of the style exhibited in this case include high parapets concealing flat or slightly sloped roofs, simple cornice details, large store front windows often with transoms above and low bulkheads below, recessed entrances, slightly raised pilasters separating the bays, a belt course between first and second stores, and masonry construction.
The 1884 Sanborn Fire Insurance map shows the New IOOF on the second floor and a Masonic Lodge on the second-floor next door with a stairway between them. Some kind of merchandise business was on the lower floor. Per the 1892 Sanborn map, the IOOF Lodge was on the second floor and a tavern was on the first floor, and a man named Vaun moved into the first floor, from the north end of the block, and opened a watch shop. The address was 410 Main Street. He sold the two stores to Charles Morris in 1893, and Charles Morris added eye glasses to his inventory.
Per an article in the March 7, 1929 Itemizer Observer, “Fire on the afternoon of March 1, 1929, at the Odd Fellows Hall. The fire broke out in the IOOF kitchen and the building was a total loss. It damaged the Bee Hive Department Store, Retzer’s Jewelry Store, and Masonic Lodge rooms in the Butler Buildings. Brick walls kept the fire confined but turned the building into a ‘veritable furnace.’ and stopped the fire from consuming the entire block.”
The jewelry store at this address, 837 Main Street, has quite a history. In 1920, Mr. Morris sold the store to Ruth Retzer who owned the store for 29 years. In 1949, the store was sold to Mr. & Mrs. Sjolund and ten years later, in 1959, the store was purchased by Don and Lavina Brixius which was subsequently deeded to their son, Bob Brixius, in 1987 making the Brixius Jewelry business over sixty-six years in the same family. Beyond that, this long chain of ownership since 1892 makes this business the oldest independent jewelry store in one continuous location in the state of Oregon
Of interest, there is an active apartment on the second floor above the jewelry store.
REFERENCES
- “Central Block Swept by Fire,” Itemizer-Observer, March 7, 1929.
- Sanborn Maps
- Advertising in Dallas High School yearbooks
- Interview with Bob Brixius, 9/27/2025
- Polk County Records