Beauchamp Building (Stayton, Oregon)

Title
Beauchamp Building (Stayton, Oregon)
LC Subject
Architecture, American Historic buildings
Alternative
Stayton Pharmacy (Stayton, Oregon)
Creator
unknown (architect)
Photographer
Vogel, Charlene
Description
The Beauchamp Building is a two-story, pre-cast concrete block building of Early Twentieth Century Commercial style with a hint of Mission Spanish Revival in the parapet cap. Constructed in 1913, the building is situated at the downtown intersection of Third Avenue and High Street in the rural town of Stayton, Oregon. Surrounding the Beauchamp Building is a mix of late-nineteenth and twentieth century commercial and residential buildings, along with vacant lots and surface parking lots. Built on the last twenty-five-foot wide lot, on the north end of the most consistent row of two-story fireproof buildings within the Historic Downtown Area of Stayton MPD boundary, this two-part building reveals the formal architectural composition that concrete block buildings assumed in the town during the 1910s. Although small in footprint, 2500 square feet per floor, and with a rectilinear footprint on a concrete foundation, the Beauchamp Building is the tallest pre_cast concrete block building in Stayton. The character features of the building's exterior are the original fenestration of the building, the second story one-over-one wood windows, transom windows, the plate glass windows, the pre-cast concrete blocks, and the three building entryways, which are all in their original locations. The concrete building also retains readily observable block patterns and ornamentation, indicative of the pre-cast concrete block construction. The interior layout of the building features two main rooms on the first floor that function as two separate retail spaces and are separated by a lobby with an interior staircase and two restrooms, and one large open room on the second floor, which is divided and partitioned into open office space. The interior is in good condition and retains its character features, including baseboards, plaster walls, window and door trim, and over seventy-five percent of the original wood floors. Numerous alterations were made to the building in the 1950s, including the removal of the tin cornice, changing the appearance and materials of the eastern storefront, the dentil frieze was replaced with plywood, and the entire exterior, excluding doors and glass, was covered in a fibrous slurry material. While these alterations happened in the mid-twentieth century, two major renovations, one in 1997 and one in 2018/2019, have restored much of the character and feeling of the original building by using historic documentation and photographs to restore the building's historic appearance. These restoration efforts included restoring the interior layout of the floorplan to reflect the original floorplan, scraping and sanding the plain face blocks on the exterior to remove as much fibrous material as possible to restore the blocks to their original appearance, and restoration of five concrete columns, dentil frieze, two concrete belt courses, the stepped parapet, and the two entries. Plans to rebuild the tin cornice are in place. Overall, the Beauchamp Building retains its character defining features and its integrity of feeling, location, setting, workmanship, and association, and remains a representative example of pre-cast concrete block building. Further, the maintenance and restoration efforts that removed modern materials meet the requirements of the MPD as they restore the historic appearance, are compatible with the building's original design, and the storefront facades no longer are covered in modern materials.
View
interior: formerly Beauchamp's Hall, the beauty of the original flooring and window glass melds history with the newly remodeled space. The windows contain ninety percent of the original wood and original weights and more than fifty percent of old wavy glass. They are functional, containing one hundred percent brand new cording. View is looking east
Work Type
specialty stores pharmacies (health facilities ) dance halls
Date
1913
View Date
2018
Identifier
OR_MarionCounty_BeauchampBuilding_0009
Rights
In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Dc Rights Holder
Oregon. State Historic Preservation Office
Source
Oregon. State Historic Preservation Office
Type
Image
Format
image/tiff
Measurements
5000 square feet
Material
concrete, synthetics, glass
Set
Building Oregon
Primary Set
Building Oregon
Is Part Of
Historic Downtown Area of Stayton MPS
Institution
University of Oregon
Citation
Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/SHPO/