Salem in 2010

 World Events

• Natural disasters: earthquake in Haiti, floods in Pakistan, Chilean miners rescued after 69 days trapped in tunnel collapse, and December snow storms that disrupt holiday air travel.
• Deepwater Horizon oil rig explodes causing massive environmental and economic losses in Gulf of Mexico and adjoining southern states.
• Health Care reform (Obamacare) passes in Congress.
• November Congressional elections give Republicans majority in House of representatives, Lame Duck session boosts President Obama's agenda with compromise tax-cut extensions, repeal of DADT in military, arms control treaty with Russia, medical care for 9/11 rescue workers and a food safety bill.
• Wikileaks, directed by Julian Assange, releases more than 250,000 American diplomatic cables, 100,000 marked "secret" or "confidential" in the goal of revealing or compromising actions by the U.S. government and influencing national elections.
• Technology: iPad introduced, popular Facebook inspires the movie (The Social Network), Twitter and YouTube redefine social communication and influence elections.
• Academy Awards: "The King's Speech" (US). "In a Better World"(Denmark).  Prize-winning books: Lord of Misrule, Jaimy Gordon and The Tinkers, Paul Harding.

In Salem
Courthouse Square, occupying an entire block of downtown Salem for the last ten years, has been the subject of both pride and debate: it provided a convenient hub for Sale-Keizer bus users and an office building for Marion County (across High Street from the courthouse itself). But leaking windows and uneven floors inside, along with paving irregularities in bus lanes caused increasing concern. In July, employees heard an internal explosion that engineers determined was probably the rupture of a steel cable within a concrete slab. Further investigations led to the entire area being evaluated as too dangerous for occupancy and so was evacuated. The $34 million facility is empty, enclosed by a chain-link fence. The construction responsibility and future for the property was debated until a solution was negotiated in 2012: the structure will be repaired with the bus parking and garage first on the list.  A nearby, temporary transit hub is being used and county offices have been relocated.

When You Visit

Residents acquainted with the history of downtown remember this as the site of the Senator Hotel, conveniently located across High Street from the former city hall. The photograph above is taken here. A closer view shows the early excavations in the bus lanes.
At the time of the closure, a walk following the fence around the property might begin south of this location on High Street where the you see the five-story office building behind the clock. Cross the street to see public art work has been placed in front of this Marion County Business Services Building. Turning onto Court Street, you pass the Chinese restaurant that was forced to close. Next you see the doors of the Marion County/Transit District office entrance. Looking back to the west, you see the historic Grand Theater. Turning north at Church Street you will see the office building on the left and pass the central structure that continues through the parking bays from the clock tower on High Street. As you completed the walk on Chemeketa Street, signs were posted to prohibit crossing the fence.
The loss of the property for public and county use had a negative effect on more than the one business that was on the site itself. However, the reclamation of Courthouse Square was completed in 2014 and the complex is again in use for bus transportation and county offices.

Other Local Events

• Anna Peterson was chosen as next mayor after a congenial and dignified campaign was conducted by her and rival candidate Chuck Bennett. Bennett will remain on City Council.
• National television zoomed in on our Oregon School for the Deaf as "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" rebuilt a boys' dormitory and the boosted school revenue with a new facility for their Haunted House site for Halloween events
• Yes, Trader Joe is coming to Salem ~ a building formerly occupied by Albertson Grocery on South Commercial is being refitted for a summer 2011 opening.
• Local supporters of the Oregon Ducks celebrated a winning season and a possible college football championship.
• Marion County Courthouse was the scene of two trials for murder after a failed bombing of a Woodburn bank caused the death of two police officers. The jury voted death as penalties for Bruce and Joshua Turnidge.

Although the majority of Boise Cascade buildings are gone, no new construction has begun in 2009.

Master Plan for Pringle Square

• The economic downturn effects downtown housing: many new condos remain vacant. Plans for development of Boise property also stalls. Access to the riverfront section of this new Pringle Square development is handicapped by the railroad tracks that run though the property.

• After tenure of 12 years, Willamette University President M. Lee Pelton accepts an offer at Boston's Emerson College. A native of Kansas, he held leadership roles at Colgate University and Dartmouth College before becoming the first African-American president of an independent college when he became Willamette president in 1998.
• Salem Art Association charges admission for the July Art Fair at Bush's Pasture Park, a city-owned property, citing increased expenses in producing the well-recognized event that is a prominent part of the cultural life of the city. It is also considered an economic boon to Salem as a tourist attraction.
• Former Governor Kitzhaber is re-elected. He previously served two terms from 1995 to 2003. First elected to the Oregon House of Representatives, Kitzhaber served in the Oregon State Senate for twelve years, eight of them as Senate President. In 1994, Kitzhaber ran for Governor, winning comfortably. He was re-elected in 1998 by a wide margin. After completing his second term, Kitzhaber returned to medicine and campaigned for better public access to health care. This year he defeated the Republican nominee, former NBA player Chris Dudley.
• Mexico extradites Salem fugitive accused in the 2009 murder of 21-year old Montez Bailey in Northgate Park.
• The year ends with a 9 p.m. celebration and lighted "ball drop" for hundreds of visitors to the A. C. Gilbert Discovery Village.

Salem in 1949

World Events

• Communists establish People's Republic of China led by Mao Zedong.
• Germany is divided with Communist Federal Republic the east. NATO is established.  FBI condemns popular movie and literary celebrities as Communist Party members in the second US "Red Scare".
• David Ben-Gurion is elected president in first Israel election,  
• Present Truman introduces "Fair Deal" to aid education, health care and fair employment practices, most rejected by Republican Congress.
• Rainier III becomes monarch of Monaco on the Riviera.
• English astronomer, Fred Hoyle, uses the term "Big Bang" to explain the theory of an expanding universe. B-50 Superfortress "Lucky Lady" makes the first non-stop flight around the world.
• The last six surviving veterans of the Civil War meet in Indianapolis.
• "Hopalong Cassidy" is first western TV series. South Pacific" is a hit on Broadway; Milton Berle, "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" are TV stars. This year's movie about the late Huey Long, "All the King's Men", will win Academy Award. Pulitzer Prize novel: Guard of Honor, James Gould Cozzens.

In Salem
By a vote of 357 to 130, West Salem becomes a part of the city of Salem in a ceremony attended by both city councils. The original settlement had been near Rickreall Creek, with the platting of a town called Cincinnati, a later settlement was known as Eola, a thriving community for several years until the flood of 1890. The less hilly farmland north of Eola was subdivided into West Salem Addition. In 1912, Walter Gerth opened a grocery store at Gerth and Edgewater Streets; an early cannery, owned by Bruce Cunningham, became the Blue Lake Cannery. In 1913, after the completion of the railroad bridge, West Salem citizens voted to approve a city charter.
The West Salem City Hall was a Public Works project in the 1930s and an important community center. It was the location of the first Chemeketa College classes and the West Salem Branch Library in 1986. Later the small library was moved to a leased location in the shops across the street, then to Walker Middle School, and finally to the building on Glenn Creek. It remains Salem's only Branch Library.

When you visit
The former City Hall is now an office building and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Three bridges now span the Willamette River that divides the city of Salem. Marion and Center Streets have vehicle bridges (with a pedestrian lane), but the former Union Street Railroad Bridge and Trestle carry pedestrians and bikers only. Wallace Road, to the north, and Edgewater Road to the west, remain the dominant highways. In the ten years leading up to 2008, West Salem was growing as a residential area with many new subdivisions climbing the hills of former orchards. This expansion is now leveling off with less construction and new business.
The West Salem Neighborhood Association was founded in 1975. This is a unique organization in Salem as the meetings are conducted as a "town hall" and every resident present, not just a Board member, is allowed to vote on measures under consideration. This encourages a wider participation in neighborhood affairs and the meetings are well attended. Meetings are the 1st. and 3rd. Mondays of the month at 7 p.m. at Roth's IGA, 1130 Wallace Road. The public is welcome.

Other events

• The City Council adds an eighth member to represent West Salem.This has been the number of Council members since that time. As the population grows, however, the districts for which they are elected have been altered, making them bigger.
• The 1920s Oregon Pulp and Paper Company has grown to be the largest Salem employer (except for the state) with 600 workers. It is an important element in the lumber industry and the economy of the city, but also is the greatest polluter of the city's air.
• The first Art Fair is conducted on the lawn of the Marion County Courthouse with 10 artists in attendance. The fair will move the next year to Willson Park and remained there until the Salem Art Association occupies Bush House in 1953. The fairs have been held in Bush's Pasture Park since that year.

Barnes Home: 1911 -1949

• The construction of the third Oregon State building on the North Capitol Mall, the Transportation Building, begins with the demolition of residences between Chemeketa and Center, along Capitol Street. One of the most prominent was the home where the Barnes family had lived for 40 years. A family photograph taken in 1911 shows a far different scene than one taken when the house was unoccupied and waiting the wrecking ball in 1949. 

• Students pose for a school portrait at the 1887 Washington School (formerly East School at Center and 12th Street) on the last day of school, June 1. It was the last class to be held before demolition for the construction of a Safeway store. As one of Salem's tallest buildings, it had been a favorite spot for photographers.
• A large tombstone, estimated to weigh 400 pounds and presumably from the grave of Jason Lee or the Lee plot, found its way to the Willamette University campus in a mysterious manner.
• The first bridge on South River Road across the Willamette River to Independence was constructed.
• Chief of Police Frank Minto is remembered with a funeral procession through downtown streets and by the entrance to City Hall. He had served with the Salem Police Department for 26 years.
•  By 1949 Sick's Brewery on Commercial Street is one of only two breweries in Oregon and among Salem's largest taxpayers. The building was torn down in 1955 and the Convention Center stands there today. The brewery industry was important in the days before Prohibition.