This signature building, to include its conjoined twin on the east side at 115 SE Court Street, is likely the most photographed building on the Courthouse Square.
In remarkably original condition, this building represents a classic example of Commercial Italianate architecture found in downtowns all over America from the 1850s through to the early 1890s. Inspired by widely available pattern books, their romantic appeal, adaptability and eye-catching ornate facades, made them extraordinarily popular to include historic downtowns all over Oregon.
The IOOF Building is a grand example of the style exhibiting its most signature features including symmetry and verticality, bracketed cornices, tall arched windows, considerable variety of ornamentation, inscriptions and, originally, a brick façade (still visible on the east and south sides of the building). The street-facing brick facades were covered with plaster sometime around the turn of the last century, but the look is in keeping with the building’s historic character.
One of the most interesting features of the façade are the decorated cast iron pilasters and columns, very common elements of the Italianate style because their strong structure allows for large expanses of glass that are perfect for window displays. The pilasters on this building contain information of historic interest, most having the words cast into them “Dallas Foundry 1890” and a couple of them with the added information, “E. Biddle Prop.” Ed Biddle built the Biddle-Soehren House at 1121 Main Street c. 1900, a property on the Local Landmarks Register. In 1918, Carl Gerlinger bought into Ed’s Dallas Ironworks, expanding it a year later into Dallas Machine & Locomotive Works, next becoming Gerlinger Carrier, which eventually merged with Towmotor, later acquired by Caterpillar Tractor in 1965. These structural cast iron columns and pilasters from the Dallas Foundry are found on many of the buildings in our Historic District, some of them covered up over the years with plywood and plaster waiting to be revealed.
The building has housed a variety of businesses and activities over the years. Here are examples of businesses occupying the first floor.
Carriage Shop – Though documentation may be lost, the first occupant of the first floor of the building in 1890 was noted as a “carriage shop,” though the configuration of the building causes that use to be questionable.
The Bee Hive Store – The Bee Hive was a retail store specializing in clothing, shoes, dry goods started on the first floor of the building by P. A. Finseth c. 1899 and was in place there for 25 years until it moved to the Crider Building at 857 Main Street, a Local Register property. An advertisement for its traditional summer sale can be found in the August 1, 1912 Polk County Itemizer newspaper.
Hyde & Long Grocery – Started some time after The Bee Hive Store moved in 1924, the Hyde & Long Grocery store was photographed on site in December 1942. Later it became simply Long’s Grocery owned and operated by Mary Long. By 1965, in addition to a banner sign at the entrance “Long’s Grocery,” a large projecting sign at the corner proclaimed it as “Long’s Food Market”, a name that never really stuck in the local consciousness. It featured both fresh produce and an excellent meat market run by Tommy Talen during the 1950s-60s era. It closed c. late 1960s, likely due to competition from large chain grocery stores, a big loss to the character of downtown.
Shortstop Inn – Later, the Shortstop Inn opened at the location as a tavern. It replaced the Court Street lower façade with used barn boards, a rustic fashion of the times. The Inn closed after the turn of the century and the barn boards were eventually removed during a subsequent renovation.
In its early years, the upper floor was also very active as a social gathering spot. Listed below are some of these activities in chronological order.
IOOF Lodge Activities – A c. 1890 photo depicts the members of the IOOF (“Oddfellows”) Lodge – 34 of them – in front of the lodge. Around that time, the IOOF had become the largest fraternal organization in the country with lodges in every state. Membership in these lodges tended to be more common among the lower middle class and skilled workers and not as common with white collar workers and professionals who seemed to favor the Masons over the IOOF. In c. 1900, the lodge moved to a newly constructed building at 837 Main Street, a Local Register property, where its three intersecting ovals symbol is present above the upper windows on its façade.
Clubs and Organizations – Over the succeeding years, several social clubs, professional offices and related activities found a home on the second floor. These included the Dallas Men’s Athletic Club a club active during the early Bee Hive years, followed by the more elaborate dues paying La Creole Club which originated around 1910. This Club had pool tables, card tables and comfortable chairs for socializing. No food or drink was served, but some gambling was evident. In the pre-WWII era and perhaps later, there was a high school youth center that welcomed young people as a place to socialize.
Professional Offices – There is made mention of professional offices in the upper floor of the space, but there is no record available of what they may have been. The conjoined building across the hall had offices on the second floor, for professionals such as attorneys and doctors.
The building is currently under restoration to include seismic strengthening which should help preserve this wonderful historic landmark for generations to come.
KEY REFERENCES:
- Images of America, Dallas
- City of Dallas Local Landmarks Register
- https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn94049693/1912-08-01/ed-1/seq-1.pdf
- State Historic Preservation Office, Grant Application #9515, undated, c. March 2023