Once on the edge, area now in the middle of Corvallis

Babs Sether gestured to a red brick wall in the middle of the Benton Center, saying it was once the outside of Washington Elementary School.

Sether was a student there in the 1950s, when the elementary, a nearby cannery and Corvallis High School were literally at the edge of town.

“Ninth Street was on the way to the country,” said Sether, 59, the Benton Center coordinator. “I still remember the cannery. The only smell that wasn’t pleasant was the beets in the fall.”

The old Washington school building is now a satellite campus for Linn-Benton Community College, the cannery is the Cannery Mall, and there are miles of businesses and houses to the north.

Things have changed north of campus and north of downtown, areas that were once the frontiers of Corvallis, but now are in the midst of the city.

Wilkins and Job’s Additions

There was a sense of optimism about Corvallis in the late 1880s, with a new public school, a new courthouse and a recently completed railroad to the coast.

And then there were Wilkins Addition and Job’s Addition northwest of downtown.

“Benton’s Big Boom!” screamed a grocer’s advertisement in the April 26, 1889, edition of the Corvallis Gazette.

“Basically, Corvallis went to Ninth Street before Job’s Addition. That and nearby Wilkins Addition doubled the size of the town,” said Mary Gallagher, collections manager for the Benton County Historical Museum.

The 24-block Wilkins Addition was platted in 1888, just north of the college. Job’s Addition, with 32 blocks, was created just north of that the following year by banker Beniah Job and his wife, Addie Job.

Beniah Job also donated a block to the city for a park between 15th and 16th streets and Polk and Taylor avenues that became known as Franklin Square.

The fortunes of Corvallis, and of Job, turned with the Panic of 1893, however. The railroad went bankrupt, development stagnated, the Hamilton and Job Co. Bank shut its doors, and Job and his brother, a partner in business, left town.

Housing gradually pressed west into Wilkins and Job’s additions, and there was a horse-drawn streetcar that took riders to the new neighborhoods. (The streetcar was a bit of a joke, because it regularly fell off the rails and riders would have to put it back on.)

“The density was fairly low until about 1913, when the city brought sewer service to this part of Corvallis,” said Doug Sackinger, a member of the Job’s Addition Neighborhood Association, during a historical tour of the area May 20.

The bungalow, for which people could buy building plans, was the primary housing style of the time, and Wilkins and Job’s additions reflect that.

Many of the distinctive single-family dwellings remain.

But there also is a diversity of architecture in the area, including Victorian-style dwellings, and homes built in every decade since 1900, said Ross Parkerson, another member of the neighborhood association.

Even 100 years ago, houses in Wilkins and Job’s additions had out-of-town owners who rented to Oregon Agricultural College students and faculty.

Wilkins Addition developed in tandem with the college and is now home to numerous apartment buildings, fraternity houses, a sorority and single-family dwellings. It’s essentially a suburb of Oregon State University.

“That whole chunk of area between Monroe and Harrison to Kings, I don’t think there’s a single owner-occupied home there anymore,” said Patricia Daniels, a Corvallis City Council member.

Things were different 10 years ago, she said.

Job’s Addition, however, still has a mix of college students, professionals, families and retirees.

Residents there worry about OSU’s spreading influence. More and and more families are moving out, more and more bungalows are being converted for student housing or being torn down to make way for apartments, they said.

A lack of parking, trashed yards and loud college students migrating to and from the bars downtown are some of the issues facing locals there.

But proximity to OSU also is a plus for the neighborhood, because plays, concerts, lectures and athletic events are in easy walking distance.

Newspaper advertisements from 1889 touted the location of the additions, because both were close to downtown, the courthouse and the college. This is still a great advantage for the area.

Much like Corvallis is centrally located in Oregon, with an easy journey to the coast, the mountains, Portland and Eugene, Wilkins and Job’s additions and the high school area today are centrally located in the city.

Corvallis High School

When Corvallis High School was built at its current site in 1935, after being in the area that is now Central Park, there was debate about putting it at the edge of town. The area north of Buchanan Avenue had little development until after World War II.

The Job’s Addition Neighborhood Association now stretches north past the high school and encompasses blocks to Beca Avenue, an area that wasn’t included in the original addition.

The association was formed in 2003 because of the controversial high school construction. Some locals strongly opposed it, but residents said it made them look at their neighborhood with fresh eyes.

The 1,350 Corvallis High School students aren’t as big of an issue as the OSU students, locals said. The high school, at 1400 N.W. Buchanan Ave., has more parking than it did before the new building was built, and many students are able to walk or bike to school, said Principal Jay Conroy.

Two strong demographics are present in the high school, Conroy said. More than a quarter of the teens are TAG (talented and gifted students) and more than a quarter of the teens are on free and reduced-price lunch programs. The two aren’t mutually exclusive categories, of course.

The high school also serves as a destination for residents throughout Corvallis, with sporting contests and other community events, such as concerts in the new auditorium.

The new building is open and modern, with lots of natural light.

“We’re lucky. It’s a beautiful place,” Conroy said.

The Cannery Mall

and Benton Center

The Benton Center and Cannery Mall area still marks a transition on Ninth Street, much as it once marked the edge of the city.

“You look to the south, and you see residential development. You look to the north, and you see a thriving commercial and institutional element,” said Colleen Clancy, director of the Benton Center.

That section of town, once underutilized, is enjoying a bit of a renaissance.

The cannery opened in 1919, and operated for decades before making way for the Cannery Mall in 1978. The facility, at 777 N.W. Ninth St., had many tenants in the 1980s, but then had years of high turnover and vacancy rates.

The addition of Borders Books and Music in summer 2001 and a renovation around that time seem to mark a turning point. However, while the mini-mall once mainly relied on shops, there currently is a mix of retail and office space.

“It’s almost full now,” said owner Jim Winkler of Portland, who purchased the Cannery in March.

“It’s a nice piece of property with a nice location, with a lot going on around it,” he added.

To the north is Avery Square, 815 N.W. Ninth St., which was developed as a retail mall in the mid-1980s and had problems with occupancy. Today, it’s all office space, with 450 people working in the building — 350 employed by Samaritan Health Services, said Kelley Kaiser, chief executive officer of Samaritan Health Plans.

Samaritan Health Services moved into Avery Square in 2002, and purchased the site in 2005, Kaiser said.

Washington Elementary School, which opened in 1924, closed in 1975. Shortly afterward, Linn-Benton Community College began holding classes in the building, at 757 N.W. Polk Ave.

A $4.7 million renovation and construction in 2003 and 2004 created more rooms, and the Benton Center is seeing many more traditional college students now, Clancy said.

“It’s been wonderful, because we can actually help the students now instead of sending them to Albany,” said Sether, the Benton Center’s coordinator.

About 13,000 different people take at least one class there every year, Clancy said.

The success of the area actually is creating some problems, Clancy said. Lack of parking is an issue for both the Benton Center and Avery Square, she said.

More commercial development is occurring in that area of Ninth Street, including a Carl’s Jr. restaurant that recently opened across from the Cannery Mall.

Laurie Cassel, an agent with the Farmers Insurance office at 1025 N.W. Ninth St., in the old Sunny Brook Dairy building, summed up the renewed sense of optimism in the fast-growing district.

“This is a great place for a business to be. Location, location, location,” she said.

Kyle Odegard covers the city of Corvallis and Benton County government. He can be contacted at kyle.odegard@lee.net or 758-9523.

NEIGHBORHOOD POINTS OF INTEREST

— Kermit E. Roth Gateway Park, located at the northwest corner of Second Street and Harrison Boulevard, is named after the OSU graduate, lumber company man and community volunteer. The land for the park, which welcomes visitors to town, was acquired by the city in 1987.

— The Gorman House, 641 N.W. Fourth St.

— The Caton House, at 602 N.W. Fourth St., may be the oldest house in Corvallis at its original site. The Greek revival-style structure was built between 1855 and 1859, and Jesse H. Caton, an 1843 Oregon trail pioneer and one of the first settlers in Benton County, lived there until his death in 1863, at age 64. Stella Brown, a local bootlegger, also lived at the property during the 1930s.

— One of the most shocking murders in the history of Corvallis happened on Fifth Street near Polk Avenue on Dec. 16, 1928. Lewis “Hippo” Dickerson, an Oregon Agricultural College football coach and former star player, was stabbed as he walked a Benton Hotel waitress home from work. The woman’s jealous ex-fiancé — who was drunk and stole an 8-inch butcher knife from the Peacock Cafe — was the killer. He was sentenced to life in prison.

— Mayor Charlie Tomlinson’s House is a rental at 429 N.W. Seventh St., but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t love the neighborhood. His favorite thing? “Walking. I can walk to City Hall to the office. I can walk to the library.”

— The Charles Gaylord House, in Washington Park at Seventh Street. For more details, see right.

— Washington Park was once the playground and athletic fields for Washington Elementary School, which was just to the west. Children still play at the 4.4-acre site.

— Linn-Benton Community College’s Benton Center, 757 N.W. Polk Ave., has been the site of learning since 1924, but back then, it was Washington Elementary School. LBCC started using it as an extension center in the 1970s, and a $4.7 million renovation was completed in 2004.

— In 1919, a cannery opened along Ninth Street and operated for decades. The spot later became the Cannery Mall. After years of high vacancies, the renovated mall, at 777 N.W. Ninth St., is returning to form with a retail and office mix.

— Since 1991, Taylor Street Ovens has provided jobs and more meaning to life to developmentally disabled workers. The bakery and deli at 1025 N.W. Ninth St. currently has 16 such employees, and makes more than 2,000 cookies every day. Its home is the old Sunny Brook Dairy building.

— The new Corvallis High School building, 1400 N.W. Buchanan Ave.

— Franklin Square, between 15th and 16th streets and Polk and Taylor avenues, is Corvallis’ oldest park. The 1.4 acres were donated to the city by Beniah Job. Corvallis would not have another park until 1915, when it purchased land with Benton County that later became known as Pioneer Park. The Job’s Addition Neighborhood Association will hold its potluck picnic at the park from 2 to 6 p.m. Aug. 26.

— Franklin School, 750 N.W. 18th St.

— Fred Meyer, 777 N.W. Kings Blvd., was built in 1969, and was the first example of one-stop shopping in town. The supermarket replaced a trailer park. Major renovations to the site occurred in 1993-1994 and 2005. Oregon State University students are a big part of the retailer’s customer base.

— A section of the 3.5-mile Dixon Creek runs through the neighborhood, starting at 16th Street and Beca Avenue and flowing through Corvallis High School on its way to the Willamette River. The urban area of this creek, which serves as a large storm water collector for the city, has ducks, fish and other critters living in it. And litter, too.