This tour was created by local historian, the late John Ritter. John was a professor at Linfield College in McMinnville and loved history. He was a local celebrity and “go to” person for all things history in Salem. John passed away in 2021 and left this tour in Travel Salem’s hands to continue bringing history to the residents and visitors of Salem in creative ways. John was a true storyteller, and we are excited to share the history and lore of downtown Salem.

This tour won’t actually be going underground, but will still explore what remains of Salem’s underground scene from above ground as well as in the basement of existing buildings.

Architecture

Note the iron façade of Wild Pear and adjacent buildings. In the 1840s James Bogardus of New York City developed the idea of using cast iron for decorative facades since iron was far cheaper than traditional carved stone. The iron could be painted to give the appearance of stone. Most of the buildings in downtown Salem have iron façade fronts and the ornate facades mimicked Gothic, Classical and Italianate designs which were the most popular designs imitated.

Elevator shaft covering and elevators from the 1880s

Notice the metal covering on the sidewalk. Most businesses used elevators to load merchandise into basement storeroom areas, so as not to bother shoppers. Most are no longer operable.

In the 1880s, many elevator drive mechanisms were powered by steam and water hydraulic pistons, but these elevators used "traction" where the elevator cars were pulled up by hand by means of rolling steel ropes over a deeply grooved pulley, commonly called a sheave. The weight of the car was balanced by a counterweight.

The Gray Building

If you look across the street, you will notice the Gray building, on the northwest corner of State and Liberty, has narrow windows. Those upper floors were referred to as “Hooker Rooms.” In the 1880s many bordellos were housed in locations that looked out over a central area where there was more traffic. Chinese Americans had one of the largest and most successful immigrant and opium smuggling rings on the West Coast. Girls and women from Hong Kong, and opium, were used in bordellos. They would board in Hong Kong and stop in Salem.

Capitol Center Tower

The Capitol Center was built in 1926 and is the tallest office building in Salem. It is the only building in Salem with gargoyles, and is the only building in Salem designed by a German Architect.

Purple stone tunnels

Many tunnels were dug to connect basements of buildings. People could travel between buildings without being seen above ground. Most of the tunnels were filled in during sewer construction and sidewalk repairs – but pieces of that world still exist.

The basement of Capitol Tower was used to deposit gold dust in the main bank vault. The banker would meet Chinese miners at midnight, weigh and record the gold, then store it in the vault under the miner’s name. The vault walls are four-feet-thick concrete and the door has etchings of many of the transactions.

Sidewalks

The need for the underground space in this time was due largely to the fact that minorities were not supposed to be seen on the sidewalks. Salem’s Chinese population first came from the California goldfields. They dug many of Salem’s tunnels and the Chinese residents of Salem ran laundries, restaurants, and general merchandise shops. For years, the Chinese and Native people could be shot for transgressions. Important to note for this tour- that’s why the Chinese recreated below ground and not above. Chinese were continually harassed and persecuted until they were expelled in the early 1900s.

Under the purple glass

The glass was originally clear and allowed light to the tunnels. Over time, metal in glass turned them purple.

The northeast corner of Liberty and Ferry marks the place of the first Salvation Army church in Salem in the late 1880’s.

Topography of Salem

The topography of Salem was very different 150 years ago. The bank of the Willamette River sloped down to the water to facilitate steam ships loading and unloading. Ferries were used to cross the Willamette River at Ferry Street. Also, during flood times Trade Street was a long river slough that steamboats could maneuver in and about.

Go to Peppermint Flats Alley

Peppermint Flats Alley was named for the mint that used to grow in this part of town.

Notice the great elevation change on the south part of the alley that bisects Trade Street. The dip used to be the elevation of the downtown area before The Great Trade Street Slough was filled in. There are several creeks running underneath the city which were all used for waste removal and transportation.

The Elsinore Theatre was built in 1926 with architecture inspired by European castles. Over the years, it has housed silent cinema, vaudeville, drama, Mickey Mouse Club meetings, big-production dance shows, talkies, music, and community events.

George Sun was the unofficial mayor of Salem’s Chinatown located in this alley and lived above what is now Salem Print.

The back of the shops used to be their front door. They could take a flat boat all the way to the First Methodist Church.

Masonic Temple

Notice the large multi-storied county and bank building (Willamette Valley Bank) on the Northwest corner of High Street and State Street. This was built by the Freemasons in 1912 and has a secret Mason initiation room on the top floor that is only accessible through a hidden stairway, and was strictly used to initiate new members. Freemasons are the oldest fraternal organization in the world and began during the Middle Ages in Europe as a guild of skilled builders. With the decline of cathedral building the focus of the society shifted. Today, Freemasons are a social and philanthropic organization.

Cherry Lane Alley is named for Salem’s nickname of Cherry City and the areas abundance of Cherry orchards. Many places in Salem are named for the cherry, including the public transit called Cherriots.

Men’s Jail

Notice the metal bars over the windows (pointed at with yellow arrows in the image above) on the first level and big glass blocks in the pavement – this was the first city jail.

Look at the small box on the wall on the left (circled in yellow in the image above). This was the visiting box, where people could talk to the inmates one at a time. The jail could hold 25 inmates, had 4 showers and 3 bathrooms.

There was a tunnel that went from underneath the jail to the county courthouse across the street. Inmates could be walked in chains from the jail and vice versa. This tunnel was found (which is mostly filled in) when ES Ritter & Co. (John Ritter’s father), wrecked the old courthouse and the tunnel was exposed. A new courthouse was built out of the neo-classical style, as many buildings downtown were.

Stop at the alley door to the right of the Metropolitan building and look at the steel trap door that is there. This was an entrance to the tunnel system.

Women’s Jail

Walk north 20 paces and point out the barred windows to the women’s jail - notice a much smaller speaking box (circled in yellow). The women’s jail could hold 10 women and had one shower and 1 toilet.

The bricks were made at the Penitentiary brickyards. They made 700,000 brick per year for 50 years (35 million bricks). Most old buildings downtown were made to last with prison-made brick.

The alley is full of historical interest, but not the architectural entry way that spans the alley- that feature is new.

Notice the purple glass blocks at the NW corner of the alley, adjacent to the bookstore. This was more glass to provide some light into the tunnels.

Look back across the street and in the middle of block (now Lafky Attorney building) across from the Book Bin, you can see two windows almost facing each other

During the summer months, girls from the bordellos sat in the windows. Farmers, ranchers, etc. would come by and the girls would call out to them to come up and visit them. That was called ‘’window shopping.’’

The Historic Grand Theatre and Hotel

The Grand Theatre and hotel were built in 1900 and owned by the Fraternal organization, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

The Governor’s Cup used to be a whiskey bar, and Valiant the Sandwich, next door, used to be primarily a beer bar. The two establishments were owned by the same man, and there was a large French Door that separated the two places. Only whiskey would be served on the left and on the right only beer was served.

Wexford Alley was named for the Wexford Theater that used to be located at 467 NE Court St. (next door to Whitlock) built in 1910. Its tenure was short-lived, as the building burned in 1915, and the same developer built the current building, the New Wexford Building, in 1916 without a theater.

Look at the grasshopper city art 20ft up on the wall. The “grasshopper” made of copper and is 5 feet long by 2.5 feet wide and 2 feet tall. It was created by sculpture Wayne Chabre in 1988.

Salem’s Final Gunfight

Wexford Alley is the location of Salem’s last gun fight. In 1912, two cow hands were drinking whiskey in the bar and got into one heck of an argument. One named Frederick George said, “okay, I know a way we can settle this, follow me outside.” Mean old Mitchell the “Coon Man”, (he had coon hounds) followed him into the narrow alley, they faced off, drew their pistols, and shot each other dead. The sheriff was called, and he went to each body and said, “I’m arresting you for murder, and you’ll both hang until dead. Oops your already dead, case dismissed.” The bodies were hauled away and buried. That was the last gunfight in downtown Salem.

You are now standing in front of the best-preserved opera house in the west - the Reed Opera House.

If you look up, you will see the Rose window. It is original to the building (1870s) and restored a few years ago to its original glory. The Reed is now home to shops, businesses, restaurants, and a beautiful ballroom.

Standing in front of the Reed on the SW corner of the Reed Opera House

Over a million bricks were used in the construction of the Opera House. All bricks were made at the prison brick factory. The iron grate air vents (above door) to the buildings next door to the Reed were used to bring fresh air into the tunnels. The stairwell that leads up to a large room, that was formerly a dance hall, was quite busy during The Prohibition. The sheriff was very polite and always called ahead to inform the patrons that a raid was about to take place, so everyone could exit the hall.

Turn the corner to be outside the Reed on Court Street (outside of the apothecary)

Across the street, where a specialty kitchen store is currently located (Lullu's Tutto Cucina), used to be Doughton’s Hardware, a long time Salem landmark. You could get anything you wanted at Doughton’s.

Doughton’s was previously the site of a Chinese herb and tea shop. Suie Lee and her husband sold imported tea and spices from Hong Kong, and next door to them was a Chinese tailor shop operated by a relative of theirs. You could go there and order a suit, made in Hong Kong and it would be delivered in the packet (regularly scheduled) by steamship in one month.

Next to that is the Dairy Lunch, that used to be the place of a Chinese deli that sold barbecued duck, cured hams and all sorts of Chinese specialty foods. This was called Little China Town as opposed to Big Chinatown that was located across from the Elsinore Theatre.

As you cross Commercial Street look northeast across the street to Salem Summit on the right-hand.

Notice the ornate iron façade that was discussed at the start of the tour. There is a tunnel that went from this building across the street to what used to be Nopps Art and Pawn Shop (now Isaacs). In the basement, there is a full-length shooting gallery stretching across the street where men used to sight in their rifles during inclement weather.

Stop in front of Ritters. This was the location of Salem’s only underground disco which was below the McGilchrist building where Ritter’s restaurant is now located. Encisco’s was a thriving disco which featured mirrored walls, plush carpet, a large dance floor and a huge wall to ceiling mirror in the 1970’s-80’s.

During Prohibition, a large distillery operated here for 10 years making corn whiskey. At night, they would vent the steam and mash out into the sewer and a street vent.

Downtown Salem has a diverse, interesting, and sometimes scandalous and controversial history. We hope this tour has shed some light on downtown and why the district as a whole, as well as many individual buildings are on the National Historical Register. By remembering this history, we can celebrate how far we’ve come and those who came before us and ensure this history and lore is not lost.

BONUS:

To see the purple tiles from under the street, visit Engelberg Antiks at 148 Liberty St. NE.