Rainier #17: Sammons Building

102 B Street East

Sammons Building on September 5, 2005.

This corner was originally the location of the Knights of Pythias Hall, built in 1901. The building had a public meeting hall on the first floor, with the second floor used for lodge purposes. The building served as an “opera house” and was also used for high school basketball games and school entertainment. In 1914, it housed the eighth grade and high school until the new high school building was built in 1915. In August 1916, the Knights of Pythias Hall burned down when a spark from a steam roller working on Harrison (now First) Street lit the building’s roof on fire.

Historic view of Rainier, with the old Knights of Pythias Hall on the far left. (Michael Clark collection, used with permission)

After the fire, the Knights of Pythias did not immediately rebuild, and when the Odd Fellows built their new hall in 1920, the Knights of Pythias used it as their meeting space as well. In May 1925, Grove Sammons bought the lot from the Knights of Pythias in order to built a new building after his building on A street was lost in the fire of June 28, 1924 and he sold the lot to I. B. Lindeman. This building was competed in October 1925. It originally housed the Bailey & Zimmerman grocery, which opened on December 15, 1925.

Sammons Building on July 13, 2008.

Roger Bailey had started his business in 1916, and Ernest Zimmerman became his partner in 1923. After moving into the Sammons Building in December 1925, Bailey and Zimmerman sold their business to Glen W. Williams and Charles S. Furer in June 1928, and the business was renamed Rainier Mercantile Company.

Sammons Building on February 24, 2011.

By July 1934, Carl Robert Hallberg had purchased the building from Grove Sammons for use as his own grocery store. He also purchased the building next door. Rainier Mercantile moved to the McKay Building, and Hallberg Grocery & Market moved in over Armistice Weekend (Veterans Day Weekend) 1934 with the official grand opening on December 15.

Sammons Building on February 25, 2011.

In 1946, Hallberg sold the grocery business to Roland Curteman and Floyd Stehman, but the store retained the Hallberg Grocery & Market name and Hallberg still owned the building. Stehman had worked for Hallberg since 1929 and Curteman since 1933. On July 1, 1969, Curteman became the sole owner of the business when Stehman retired. On January 12, 1976, Curteman sold the business to Donald J. and Vella Painter. In March 1977 the Painters renamed the business Mountain View Market.

Sammons Building on February 8, 2014.

Eventually the Mountain View Market closed and this corner became home to Elam's Home Furnishings, which expanded down the block over the years to take up almost the entire block, which wasn't easy, as the floor of each storefront is at a different elevation. Elam’s opened a second store in Longview that eventually handled the bulk of the business, and the Rainier location closed in 2007. The corner then became home to Rainier Appliance, with various small local businesses in the other storefronts. In 2011, Rainier Appliance moved to the former home of the Rainier Marina Market on A Street, and Bell Studios moved to this corner.

B Street Building on July 13, 2008. This building was connected to the Sammons Building by Elam’s Home Furnishings.

This building in the 100 block of East B Street was part of Elam's Home Furnishings until 2007. Note that it is a completely separate building; Elam's built a small structure between the buildings and cut through the exterior walls to connect them. The buildings are now separate again and the individual storefronts are available to local small businesses.

Continue to 18: Old Post Office Building…