Rainier #13: Poetsch Building, Tucker Building & Lindeman Building

100 Block A Street East

 

From right to left: Poetsch Building, Tucker Building, Lindeman Building, and Bryant Building on September 5, 2005.

These buildings were built to replace those destroyed in the fire of June 28, 1924, and were mostly complete by December of that year. They are the third group of buildings to stand on this block, as the 1924 fire was the second fire to burn this block to the ground. The two story building in the foreground was originally known as the Poetsch Building, and was the third building to stand on this site.

View of A Street showing the large two-story Dietz Building.
(Michael Clark collection, used with permission)

This site was originally occupied by the Dietz Building, which was built in the 1890s. On July 5, 1900, a fire started in the Dietz Building that quickly spread to destroy all of the buildings in this block. At the time of the fire, the Dietz Building housed William J. Dietz’s general store and Dr. Alexander P. McLaren’s drugstore on the first floor with a lodge room on the second floor that was used by several lodges. Dietz rebuilt after the fire. The new Dietz Building housed the original hall for Lodge 151 of the International Order of Odd Fellows, which Dietz was a charter member of when it was formed on March 2, 1901. The Odd Fellows built their own building in 1920 and moved out. Around 1920, William J. Dietz sold the building to Paul Poetsch. The concrete curb in front of the current building still reads “POETSCH - SON . 1922” but I don’t know of the date signifies when Poetsch bought the building, or simply when the curb was placed. Poetsch did own the building in September 1922, when Lodge 1435 of the Loyal Order of Moose leased the space. They began meeting in the space in November 1922.

New Poetsch, Tucker and Lindeman Buildings.

Poetsch rebuilt after the fire of June 28, 1924. The new Poetsch Building was built by Phillbrick & Nickelson of Tacoma, Washington. The first occupants were to move in on December 1, 1924. On the first floor from east to west were E. E. Rosebraugh, general merchandise; E. M. Young, jeweler; and W. A. Rader, confectionary. The first two were occupants of the previous building. The upper floor offices would be ready on December 10; occupants included Fred W. Herman, attorney; Dr. E. J. Perkins, optometrist; Judge W. A. Wood; Dr. W. H. Rockwell, naturopath; and Dr. F. B. Davis, dentist. Herman and Rockwell were also occupants of the previous building.

Fred Tucker and an employee in front of his store.
(Michael Clark collection, used with permission)

Next to the Poetsch building is the one-story Tucker Building, built by Phillbrick & Nickelson of Tacoma, Washington, for Fred J. Tucker’s Rainier Hardware Company. Tucker sold the business to his nephews Joe and Bernard Oliva on July 1, 1947.

1972 Newspaper Photo showing A Street Buildings.

By October 1949, Rainier Hardware had already expanded from its own building into the rear of the west-side bay of the Poetsch Building with a doorway cut through the wall. That month, Rainier Hardware expanded again, taking over all of the west-side bay of the Poetsch Building. This forced the Phillips barber shop to move from the front of the west-side bay to the front of the east-side bay. The other tenant, Bair Electric, vacated, and the remaining space in the center bay and the rear of the east-side bay was rented by M. L. Brooks for use as a pool hall. The center bay later became the offices of Wes Kimble Realty.

This photo of a train running down A Street in the 1980s shows the Coast-to-Coast Hardware store occupying the entire Poetsch Building in the background.(Cliff West Photo)

Rainier Hardware was originally affiliated with the Marshall-Wells Hardware Company. Marshall-Wells was purchased by Coast-to-Coast Hardware in 1958, though the Rainier Hardware store displayed both names into the 1970s. Joe and Barney Oliva sold their business to their sons Joedy and Steve Oliva in August 1975. Eventually, Rainier Hardware expanded to fill the entire first floor of the Poetsch Building.

Poetsch Building as the Rainier Marina Market on July 13, 2008.

Coast-to-Coast merged with True Value in 1997, but this building kept Coast-to-Coast signs for some time after. In 2002, Rainier Hardware moved down the street to the Ellis Block at 102 A Street West. Except for a brief stint as an auction house, the Poetsch and Tucker buildings remained vacant until becoming the Rainier Marina Market, which opened on April 26, 2008 and closed December 18, 2010.

A Street on July 13, 2008.

In 2010, while still the Rainier Marina Market, the brick facade of the second floor was rebuilt, altering the building’s appearance and removing its original masonry details. In 2011, Rainier Appliance moved into the Poetsch Building. The Tucker Building has been separated from the Poetsch Building and is rented separately to other tenants.

New Façade of the Poetsch Building on February 25, 2011.

The other one story building is the Lindeman Building. Before the fire on June 28, 1924, Grove Sammons had a building on this site that housed his furnishings store, the Sammons & Laing barber shop, and lodgings. After the fire, Sammons sold the lot to I. B. Lindeman, who built a new building for his dry goods store. The building was built as a one story building with a mezzanine and a basement.

In April 1943, Lindeman’s dry goods store switched places with his furniture store in the Ellis Block on the other side of A street. The stores switched back on August 11, 1945, when Lewis K. Wallin (Lindeman’s son-in-law) took over the furniture and variety stores.

On August 7, 1946, Lindeman sold the building and dry goods store to Mr. & Mrs. John Rupprath. They then sold out to the Weiby Brothers on September 17, 1946. Henry A. and Clint H. Weiby also operated stores in Silverton and Beaverton. The business was initially advertised as Weiby Bros. but by December 1946 the advertisements simply said Weiby’s. Weiby’s remodeled the building in early 1947.

Weiby’s lasted into the early 1980s. After the store closed, the building was purchased by Joedy and Joyce Oliva. Fred Bell Studios rented the building for many years before moving to the Sammons building on the highway in 2011. In 2013 the building was sold and remodeled into two storefronts; with the west side occupied by Dr. Perry Fiscus’s dental office, and the east side by a barbershop.

Continue to 14: Bryant Building…

Rainier #12: Odd Fellows Hall

103 C Street West

Odd Fellows Hall on September 5, 2005.

This building was built in 1920 by the Rainier lodge of the International Order of Odd Fellows. The Odd Fellows lodge had previously been located on the second floor of the Dietz Building. Construction began on April 19 and the building was dedicated on June 10. The second floor featured a large lodge room measuring 45’-6” by 40’ with an anteroom, washroom and six lockers. In the back of the second floor was a club room measuring 23’-10” by 17’-9”, a dining room measuring 17’-9” by 18’-10”, a kitchen measuring 9’ by 12’ and restrooms. The first floor was originally occupied by a garage, and the basement was occupied by a blacksmith. In addition to the Odd Fellows, the hall was also used by the Woodmen of the World, the Knights of Pythias, the Loyal Order of Moose, the Rebekahs, the Women's Benefit Association of the Maccabees, the Women of Woodcraft, and the Pythian Sisters.

Odd Fellows Hall on February 25, 2011.

The building has not been used as a lodge hall in many years. The Rainier Odd Fellows lodge gave up its charter on September 7, 1968, and the building reverted to the state lodge, and was later sold to local interests. At some point the second floor was once used as a roller rink. The building has also been used as a chiropractor's office. It is currently used as office space.

Continue to 13: Poetsch Building, Tucker Building & Lindeman Building…

Rainier #11: Rainier Elementary School

305 West Third Street

Old Rainier Elementary School on September 5, 2005.

Rainier’s first official school building was built in 1885 and was located at what is now the corner of East Fourth and D Street. Up until then school had been held in various locations by private contribution. The original school was converted into a home in 1895 when the school moved to a new building on this site.

View of Rainier, showing schoolhouse as built in 1895.
(Michael Clark collection, used with permission)

The first school was built on this site in 1895, and was expanded in 1907. At that time the school was a large wood-frame building.

View of Rainier in January 1910, showing expanded school.
(Michael Clark collection, used with permission)

Rainier schoolhouse.
(Michael Clark collection, used with permission)

The town rapidly outgrew the school, and the city began searching for a site for a new high school. No suitable site could be found, and the high school ended up being built on the back of the existing school building in 1915. The new high school was a large modern 4-story building, with the lower two floors of concrete and the upper two floors stucco, but it wasn't enough. Rainier would end up taking in high-school age students from the small schools outside of town, and in March 1926, the new Rainier Union High School opened. The 1915-built high school became a part of the adjacent elementary school.

1915 Rainier High School
(Michael Clark collection, used with permission)

On April 13, 1949 at 11:57 a.m., a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck near Olympia, Washington. The earthquake caused $1.5 million in damage, including significant damage to Rainier Elementary School. The stucco walls of the former high school built in 1915 were severely cracked, and that portion of the building was quickly condemned. Interestingly, the older wooden section was declared no less safe than before the earthquake, but it was still long overdue for replacement. On June 17, 1948, contracts were let for the demolition of the stucco part of the building to L. E. Darharsh of Longview, Washington, for $7,600, and work was to begin on the 27th. After demolition, a new flat roof was built over the concrete walls of the lower two floors of the 1915 building, which included the gymnasium and boiler room.

Old Rainier Elementary School on September 5, 2005.

Architects Wolfe and Phillips of Portland designed the new elementary school. The building was designed to feature as many as 20 classrooms, though only 10 were initially built. (Most of the original plan would eventually be built; for example, two new classrooms were built in 1955.) The new building was built in sections to allow the old wooden building to remain as long as possible before being demolished to make room for the last section of the new building. On August 16, 1949, the contracts for construction of the new building were awarded to the Bickford Construction Company of Portland for $197,800. The new elementary school was opened to the public on August 25, 1950, and opened to students for the new school year on August 28. Because the school was built in sections and was designed for expansion, it has a somewhat rambling style, and ended up bearing almost no resemblance to the impressive and unusual structure it replaced. Almost.

Old Rainier Elementary School on February 24, 2011.

On the east side of the building, the remains of the 1915 High School are in plain sight. The concrete walls with the large blanked windows were originally the bottom two floors of the 1915 High School. Originally two more tall floors towered over above those two lower floors which are cut into the hill as a foundation. Today, there is no second floor, except in the southeast corner. Behind the unblanked windows on the second floor is one classroom (beneath it is the boys' locker room) that seems to be left over from the original school. A staircase in the gym leads up to a door, that looks like a closet door. Behind that door is the room. Another door on the room's west wall has a tilting glass transom and leads to what seems to be a closet. But, that was the room's main door, and I think the "closet" used to be part of the corridor. At one point the room was used as a band room, but in 2004 the chalkboard still had arithmetic problems on it from when it was last used.

Old Rainier Elementary School on February 25, 2011.

Around 1990, a nature trail was built behind the school by the Friends of Fox Creek. Even though the school is no longer used as a school, the Fox Creek Trail remains and is maintained for use by the general public.

Old Rainier Elementary School on February 25, 2011.

In 2004, the Rainier School District sold the building to the Riverside Community Church. The church rents out most of the classrooms to others, including the Rainier School District's charter school North Columbia Academy. As for that one classroom from 1915, it became the home of the Longview, Kelso & Rainier Model Railroad Club until 2014.

Model train swap meet in the old Rainier Elementary School gymnasium on December 9, 2006.

Longview, Kelso & Rainier Model Railroad Club meeting room on December 9, 2006.

Longview, Kelso & Rainier Model Railroad Club meeting room on December 9, 2006.

Continue to 12: Odd Fellows Hall…

Rainier #10: McKay Building

107 First Street

McKay Building on September 5, 2005.

This old commercial building dates from sometime after 1910. As it was known as the McKay Building, I assume it was built by Joe McKay shortly after he took over the Rainier Pharmacy in 1916.

McKay Building on July 13, 2008.

In the fall of 1934, Rainier Mercantile moved from the Sammons building on the highway to this building. On January 1, 1950, Robert Clement, who began working for the business in February 1946, took over and the business became Bob’s Market. Clement officially closed Bob’s Market on December 31, 1954, though he continued limited operation into January to liquidate his inventory. On February 13, 1955, Howard Chase opened Chase’s Cash Market in the building. Chase’s business was novel at the time in that it did not use credit accounts and required cash payment for all purchases. Chase later purchased the building.

McKay Building on February 25, 2011.

Chase’s Market closed in June 1970, and since then the building has been home to a variety of businesses. It was the home of More Power Computer Upgrades until 2015. There were vending machines for soda and candy in the alcove on the left that ended up being abandoned and forgotten for many years. The alcove has been enclosed and is no longer accessible, but the vending machines may still be in there.

Continue to 11: Rainier Elementary School…

Rainier #9: Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church

211 East Second Street

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church on September 5, 2005.

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church was built in 1909 and dedicated in 1910. Its timeless architecture hasn't been changed much since then.

Continue to 10: McKay Building…

Rainier #8: Kliks Building

119 First Street

Kliks Building on September 5, 2005.

This building was built around 1908. It has a basement underneath, and there were once glass blocks in the adjacent sidewalk on B Street to let light in. I don't know the building's original use, but on January 27, 1940, Charles T. Bross moved his hardware store into this building from a building on East 2nd between A and B Streets. Bross had originally been in the plumbing business in Rainier since 1912 and transitioned to hardware in 1931. After World War II his son Fred F. Bross took over operation of the business.

Kliks Building on July 13, 2008.

Bross Hardware closed in the summer of 1965. On June 11, 1973, the Mr. Bojangles pizza parlor, owned and operated by Sandy Bryant, opened in the building, which was now owned by Leroy Nelson of Columbia River Floor Coverings. By the 1980s it was called Busy Bee's Pizza, and had a glass box inside acting as a honeybee hive. A pipe through the wall let the bees get outside. It has been known as Luigi’s Pizza as it is today for many years.

Kliks Building on February 24, 2011.

Kliks Building on February 24, 2011.

Kliks Building on February 25, 2011.

Continue to 9: Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church…

Rainier #7: State Bank of Rainier

203 A Street East

State Bank of Rainier Building on September 5, 2005.

There's something about banks that makes them hide the age of their buildings. This bank opened as the State Bank of Rainier in 1906. John Dibblee was one of the original directors. The building has been remodeled twice. In 1961 it was enlarged and given a modern appearance, and in the 1980s some of the west side of the building was removed to make room for a drive through window. The bank has changed its name several times. On October 1, 1970, the State Bank of Rainier merged into the Oregon Bank. In 1988 it became Security Pacific Bank. Bank of America took over in 1992.

This picture of a train running down A Street in the 1980s shows the bank building on the far left before its last remodel. This is the appearance it received in the 1961 remodel.
(Photo by Cliff West.)

The branch nearly closed in 2005, but a massive letter-writing campaign by Rainier residents convinced Bank of America to keep the branch open. In late 2012, Bank of America again announced it was planning to close the branch. This time, there was no apparent effort to save it, and the branch closed as scheduled on March 22, 2013.

State Bank of Rainier Building on July 13, 2008.

Continue to 8: Kliks Building…