Historic Downtown Salem #76: Arthur H. Moore Building

237-245 High Street NE

Arthur H. Moore Building on September 9, 2006

The Arthur H. Moore Building was built in 1924. Arthur H. Moore was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1873 to State Supreme Court Judge F. A. Moore and Emma Moore. When Arthur was four years old, the family moved to St. Helens, Oregon. Arthur married Elida Ryan in 1896 and the couple moved to Salem in 1898, where Arthur worked as an independent carpenter, and later worked for the Oregon State Hospital. In 1912, Arthur Moore opened a bicycle shop in the Skiff Block at 421 Court Street. In 1923, Arthur and Elida Moore bought parts of two lots here from Thomas G. and Anna Bligh and F. C. and Mary J. Stone. A one-story house was on the parcel, which Moore presumably removed in order to build this building in 1924.

Arthur H. Moore Building on September 9, 2006

Moore moved his bicycle shop into the ground-level shop at 241 High Street and rented apartments on the second floor. In the late 1920s, the Moores took up residence on the second floor themselves. Arthur Moore was active in Salem civic and social activities, served on the Salem City Council and on the Salem Civil Service Commission. In 1946, Moore expanded his bicycle shop to include hunting, fishing, boating and camping equipment. Elida Moore died in the late 1930s. The couple’s two daughters, Ruth Moore and Helen Bradley, acquired the property in the early 1940s, and Arthur Moore died following a lengthy illness in 1949. The building’s storefront area was apparently significantly altered around 1980. Recent occupants include a shoe repair shop and Pocket Money payday loans & check cashing.

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