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New
life,
national recognition,
for an old building |
The former Krohn's Appliance building, which originally housed
a JC Penney's, is under consideration for listing on
the National Registry of Historic buildings |
By Gunnar Olson, Newberg
Graphic reporter
E-mail Gunnar at golson@eaglenewspapers.com
|
The old Krohn’s building wouldn’t be getting the attention it is
if it weren’t a historical landmark.
If it were just another old building, Jane Carlsen and John Estrem
wouldn’t have bought it and started the dusty task of renovation. Carlsen said the
building was built in 1927 for the JC Penney Company. It was one of many of the same
design the company built in small towns across the nation in the 1920s and 1930s, but few
of them remain in good condition today. One of them is on 516 E. First St. in Newberg.
This was the primary reason the Newberg couple purchased the building earlier
this year.
“We were only interested in historical buildings,” Carlsen said.
And since she and Estrem, her husband, found a building that fit their criteria,
they’re moving forward with plans to open a yoga center in its upstairs. “Had we
not found one, I wouldn’t have opened the yoga center in one of the malls or
something.”
The building’s historical significance was also reason enough for the
Oregon State Advisory Committee to consider recommending the building for the National
Registry. Then it’s up to the National Park Services for final approval — a
“rubber stamp,” in the view of Estrem.
The ceiling of the building has already been stripped of its old plaster and
lathe, and come Jan. 1 Carlsen anticipates the opening of the yoga center. Also scheduled
to open that day is the business that will be leased out on the ground floor — a pet
store.
The building has housed many businesses over the decades. Carlsen said JC
Penney was in the building for 50 years. According to Denise Reilly, reference librarian
at the Newberg Public Library, the building was also home to a clothing store for a time,
and, not too long ago, to Dick Krohn’s Appliance Center.
Carlsen said the building has been underutilized of late, largely due to fire
codes. Currently, the mezzanine has only one exit, and only seven people can legally
inhabit that space at one time. Plans are to add an upstairs entrance in the back of the
building.
Other renovation include installing glass from the top of the half walls of
the mezzanine to the ceiling. For the sake of preserving the building historically, the
original ceramic tile in front of the store will be stripped of old paint and restored,
the maple floors inside will be cleaned up, and the bronze pieces between the panes of
glass in the picture window will also be retained.
Carlsen and Estrem, who own a building in Portland that is also on the
National Register, are enthusiasts of historic buildings not only for the sake of owning a
piece of history. They said they believe strongly in the revitalization of downtowns.
Estrem said when they were looking for businesses to lease the main floor,
one of their requirements was that it be a retail store. That way it’s not simply a
pretty storefront to drive past, he said. People will actually walk in and out of a place
such as a pet store. |
|
From Oct. 18,
2003, Newberg Graphic
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