Republic Drug Store 1918 - Republic, WA - Washington Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Republic Drug Store, Slagles' Drug Store

The Republic Drug store is one of the town's few two storey brick buildings. It has apparently changed little since it was built for J.W. Slagle in 1918. The most slgnificant change is the removal of the stair and railing which formerly led into a barbershop located in the front of the store's full basement. There is also a patch in the front of the store which probably indicates removal of a freight chute or elevator at some time. A large shop window has been replaced with a wooden panel due to occasional damage by automobiles missing the corner at the stop light.

With these exceptions the building is probably much as it appeared in J.W. Slagle's day. It is made of an unusually tough brick from the old Clayton Brickyard, laid in common bond. This buiding is half of a block of two identical buildings. The parapet which surrounds the sloping roof on front and sides is decorated with a sort of brickwork corbeling. Below the corbeling is a series of recessed rectangular depressions below which lies a regularly spaced row of second floor windows.

These windows are partially painted over to provide privacy for the lodge hall which occupies that floor. A metal fire escape has also been added to accomodate the lodge.

The first floor windows reflect the fact that the S.E. corner of the building has been set up as a separate office. They cluster on either side of a door with transom near the rear of the building. The rear windows and rear door surrounds are arched. The sidewalk on the south side is partially taken up by the metal doors of the business district's only freight chute. The main facade has apparently changed very little since it was originally built. It still features a recessed entry flanked by display windows and the movable canvas awning has been retained. The interior has also been changed very little and still contains an unusually well-maintained stamped metal ceiling.

Equipment in the rear of the drugstore includes a vault which was salvaged from the ruins of the old county court house after it burned in the 1930s. For a number of years this area also housed the local liquor store. In 1946, Mr. Slagle sold the store and the business to his sons who continue to operate it as the Town's (and the County's) only drugstore.

History
The Republic Drugstore and its attached neighbor, the Republic Parts House, were built in 1918 by J.W. Slagle, Ivan Zwang and Mr. A.A. Eustice. Mr. Slagle's drugstore was planned first and its full basement of native stone was largely finished in 1917 when the entire block burned~ filling the basement with ash and hot coals from neighboring buildings.

By the time the building was completed, in 1918, demand for rental space had dwindled so drastically that the second floor was used as a dancehall rather than office space as originally planned. Most of the first floor was devoted to Mr. Slagle's drug store, with some office space in back. For much of its career the office was occupied by the Republic Post Office and later by the ASCS. For some time the basement housed a barbershop, with access by a stair on the 6th St. side of the building. The former dance hall now houses lodge rooms. (Second floor lodge rooms were once common above first floor business establishments but this is the only one remaining in northern Ferry County).

Evaluation of Significance
This building has considerable local significance due to its continuity of ownership and use and its association wlth Mr. J.W. Slagle, the pharmacist who came to Republic in 1904 to sell out a bankrupt drug store and stayed to become one of the town's leading citizens and mayor. It is also significant as an almost unaltered representative of the many "fireproof" structures built in 1918 and as the possessor of the county's original vault and an exceptionally fine and well-maintained stamped metal ceiling.
While the quote above is from WISAARD, (the Washington Information System for Architectural and Archaeological Records Data), pages are not accompanied by a specific URL.