Merchant Hotel (Portland, Oregon) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Merchants Hotel
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U.S. Historic district
Contributing property |
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Viewed from the northwest in 2016
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 Location in Portland, Oregon
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| Location | 121 NW Second Avenue, Portland, Oregon |
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| Built | 1880–1884 |
| Architect | Warren Heywood Williams |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| Part of | Portland Skidmore/Old Town Historic District (ID75001597) |
| Designated CP | December 6, 1975 |
The Merchants Hotel is a really old building in Portland, Oregon. It used to be a fancy hotel! You can find it at 121 N.W. Second Avenue in an area called Old Town Chinatown. This building is an important part of the Portland Skidmore/Old Town Historic District. This district is a special area listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. This means it's recognized for its history and special design.
The Merchants Hotel is one of the few buildings left on the West Coast that shows off Victorian style. It also features Italianate design and cast iron architecture. This means it has cool details like tall windows, fancy decorations, and strong iron parts. The building takes up half of a city block, stretching from Second to Third Avenues along N.W. Davis Street.
Contents
A Look Back: Hotel History
The Merchants Hotel was built by three brothers: Louis, Adolph, and Theodore Nicolai. It took four years to finish! The first part of the hotel, on Second Avenue, was ready in 1880. The section on Third Avenue opened a few years later, in 1884.
Luxury in the Old Days
This hotel was very fancy for its time. It even had one of the first hydraulic elevators in Portland! Imagine how cool that must have been back then. By 1889, the hotel had grown to cover half of the city block. Later, in the 1890s, a musician named Eugene Stebinger bought the hotel.
Modern Times: From Hotel to Offices
The Merchants Hotel stopped being a hotel in the middle of 1967. Soon after, a company called Skidmore Development Company bought the building. At that time, the ground floor had a grocery store and an appliance store.
Renovation and New Life
In 1968 and 1969, the building got a big makeover. The upper floors were turned into office spaces. In December 1968, a furniture store moved in, becoming the first new business after the remodel. In 1971, the building was painted bright green with white trim, making it stand out.
The makeover was a big success! By 1972, the shops inside were doing very well. In 1979, a newspaper called The Oregonian wrote that the Merchants Hotel went from being almost empty to a very important part of the Old Town business area. This was thanks to the ideas of Bill and Sam Naito from Skidmore Development Company.
Today's Merchants Hotel
In 2004, the building had a major safety upgrade to make it stronger against earthquakes. Today, many different businesses are in the Merchants Hotel. You can find Old Town Pizza there, which is a popular place to eat. The Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center, which includes the Japanese American History Museum, is also in the building. There's even a place called The Faux Museum.
Some people say the building is haunted by a ghost named Nina!
