Shrock Motor Company and Commercial Bank: Midcentury Style on Chemeketa at Church

As Salem Bike Vision says that "Union Street will be the key East-West Bike Corridor," I hope they do not lose sight of Chemeketa Street. It is twice is long as Union Street, going out to 24th instead of stopping at 12th, and it connects more directly to the heart of downtown. There is also now the proposed project on the old City Hall site, and housing conceptually proposed for the former State Insurance building site, both on key corners with Chemeketa. Union Street is crucial with its direct connection to the Union Street Bridge, but Chemeketa has always seemed more axial. Alas, the City has not improved it further, and the sharrows installed back in 2010 have seemed feeble and a temporizing dead-end rather than prelude to anything greater.

Chemeketa is pretty nice for walking, though, and on the north side of Chemeketa and Church, opposite the empty transit mall patio and the former Statesman offices, are two interesting midcentury modern buildings. And it turns out, their history is somewhat related.

Commercial Bank building (streetview, May 2012)

The earlier one, on the northeast corner, is now occupied by Amerititle. It had been a Hudson dealership, Shrock Motor Company, constructed in at least two phases between 1946 and 1948. Here's a clip on the second phase on the alley. The architect, Frederick Eley, later competed for the new County Courthouse, whose commission went to Pietro Beluschi. Eley might be someone we return to later.

September 17th, 1948

In May of 1954 Hudson merged and formed American Motors Corporation. About the same time, and it cannot be a coincidence, Clarence Shrock sold the property.

March 26th, 1954

A bank temporarily leased it.

September 21st, 1954

Commercial Bank was building a new office across the street.

September 21st, 1954

It opened a year later.

June 4th, 1955

That row of windows at the sidewalk level has been a nice detail. Its design seems to have come from a national office elsewhere, not from anyone local, and maybe some time there will be more to say on that.

The corner links up with other items of interest here.

October 7th, 1954

The First Presbyterian Church of 1894
then a Lutheran Church, the predecessor to St. Mark's
(Salem Library Historic Photos)

Back in 1928 when First Presbyterian built their new church on Winter and Chemeketa (itself moved to the current site on Court and Chemeketa), a nascent Lutheran congregation purchased the old church. We may return to this another time as there was an unfortunate nativist element in the rhetoric of formation. From April 7th, 1927:

"There has been a need for a purely American Lutheran Church in Salem for some time" according to Mr. Victor Schneider, local realtor who is authorized to secure signatures on the charter membership list. "While it is right and proper for those who feel so inclined to worship in a foreign language there are many who prefer to have a congregation where all the work is conducted in the American language and in the American spirit." he said.

By the 1950s, St. Mark's wanted its own, larger and more modern church, and it moved to its new site and handsome building on Winter and Marion.

• "First Presbyterian Observes 150th Anniversary this Year" (2019)
• With notes on St. Mark's modernist church, "More Modernism by the Civic Center" (2023)

The old Presbyterian/Lutheran church was demolished. In the photo above, a bit before demolition, you can see on the left hand side the edge of the new bank building. The current building, a bit of a shoebox, has been enlarged, and the original proportions of the building lost.

Original building on left, additional phases (2015)

Originally it seemed to have a modernist delicacy, but now it is a clunkier jumble, especially as it faces Church Street.

Mid-century styles really had a moment on Chemeketa Street.

• The original Lipman's (now much remodeled)
  
• The Belluschi First National Bank (and here)
  
• The Capital Journal Building
• First Federal Bank and its homage to City Hall
• Commercial Bank and Shrock Motor Company
• The Belluschi offices for the Statesman, also at this intersection
  
• St. Joseph's
• Extension of the Capitol Mall buildings between Court and Center Streets, starting with the State Library

Mid-century forms as a whole are not the favorite here on the blog, and frequently enough redevelopment seems preferable to preservation. In Salem, they're often low, single-story buildings, oriented more to parking lots than sidewalks, too often expressing a kind of anti-urbanism. But while they are around, they sometimes have interesting details, and some of them are worth stronger efforts at preservation. At between 50 and 80 years or so of age, they are at that point in the lifecycle of buildings.

With the UGM/State Insurance site, the JC Penney building and Liberty Plaza, Belluschi Pond & Crater, the north patio and void at the Transit Center, and the Statesman building site, there's tons of opportunity along Chemeketa, and hopefully it can become even more walkable and more bikeable, with much less emphasis on car travel.

Chemeketa is nice now, but it could really be awesome.