Chemeketa Lodge No. 1 Odd Fellows Buildings - Salem, Oregon
Posted by: 
ddtfamily
N 44° 56.429 W 123° 02.215
10T E 497087 N 4976339
Also known as I.O.O.F. Temple; Grand Theater
Waymark Code: WMFQ82
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 11/17/2012
Views: 2
This Romanesque revival complex was built in 1900 and served as meeting hall for Chemeketa Lodge #1 for 95 years. John Philip Sousa performed at the grand opening. Noted architect Walter D. Pugh, designer of Salem's Bush-Breyman and Bush and Brey Block buildings, was co-designer (with Marris Whitehouse) of this structure. The complex is actually four separate, interconnected buildings that are designed to compliment each other. A 1921 annex, featuring a red tile overhang, was added as a hotel and bus depot.
In addition to serving as the Odd Fellows Lodge, this structure, from it's opening, also was the site of the Grand Theater opera house until 1950. The theater declined after the Elsinore Theatre opened, but has recently resumed operations at this site. Chemeketa Lodge #1 now meets at a hall in West Salem.
The annex portion of the site (the orange-tinted structure) was submitted and accepted as part of the Chemeketa Odd Fellows/Grand Theatre site in the National Register and does not have a separate listing in the NRHP database (see page six of the nomination form). But the building annex does have a separate plaque showing the 1921 construction date of the annex. Yet because it truly is an addition to the main building, it is considered part of the same NRHP site.