Nov
24
2007
Wilbur F. Boothby 1840-1946
Wilbur Boothby was prominent in Salem as a merchant, contractor and supervising architect for nearly fifty years. He prepared plans for the 1878 house of newspaper publisher and banker Asahel Bush. Located in Bushs’ Pasture Park it is now an historical museum and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1872 Boothby took the contract to build the Marion County Courthouse which was later demolished. In 1880 Boothby oversaw the construction of the State’s Insane Asylum Building located in Salem. He served as supervising architect and superintendent of construction of what is now known as the “J” Building. He was also involved in the construction of the old State Capitol and the State Penitentiary.
Continue Reading »
Oct
19
2007
Thomas Kirkbride revolutionized the care of the mentally ill, when he was working in Pennsylvania. He conceived the design for mental health care that became the blueprint for the design and construction of the Oregon State Hospital.Thanks to http://uchs.net/HistoricDistricts/kirkbride.html for the below information:
The movement to improve the treatment of the insane during the nineteenth century is an outstanding chapter in the history of American social and humanitarian developments. Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride occupies a prominent position in that story, for he built a hospital for the mentally ill in Philadelphia prior to the Civil War that influenced the construction of similar institutions in thirty-one other states. Furthermore, the concept behind Kirkbride’s hospital, that the insane should be treated with the same personal consideration as other ill people, motivated a new understanding of, and regard for the mentally ill.
Continue Reading »
Oct
19
2007
Over the years Salem has lost many of its’ historic buildings. Victorian mansions such as the Patton house that once occupied what is now the Capitol Mall were demolished in the late 30’s and 40’s. Buildings considered “dated” were also lost in the 60’s and 70’s, including Salem’s City Hall and the old Marion County Courthouse.However there are many stories of successful preservation too. The Historic Elsinore theatre, The Bush House, Mission Mill, Historic Deepwood Estate, and the numerous historic treasures in our three Historic Districts all have been saved and embraced by the community.
Oct
19
2007
Wilbur F. Boothby, architect of the Oregon State Hospital’s “J” Building, was also a prominent designer and builder of many of Salem’s now historic buildings. He was the architect for the Asahel Bush House, the old State Capitol (destroyed by fire), the elaborate Italiante style Marion County Courthouse (now gone,) and the State Penitentiary. He also designed and built the entire 23 bay South Eldridge Building on Commercial St NE. Today only the southern-most seven bay section of the 1889 Eldridge block remains housing Greenbaums and The Art Department.The rest of the buildings were torn down in the 1970’s to create the Chemeketa Parkade.
Continue Reading »
Oct
19
2007
Twenty three years ago the Capitol Planning Commission created the J-Building Sub –Committee to review the issues surrounding the Mental Health Division’s proposal to demolish buildings 42, 43, 44, 45 and 46 of the Oregon State Hosptal J-Building complex. The Sub-Committee requested the Department of General Services and Human Resources to study “whether or not renovation was economically feasible, and to look at viable alternative uses for the building, given its potential historic significance.”The request for demolition was withdrawn pending results of the study.
Continue Reading »
