Chemeketa House - Salem, Oregon - 1871
Posted by: 
ddtfamily
N 44° 56.351 W 123° 02.450
10T E 496777 N 4976196
Chemeketa House, now site of the Grand Hotel & Salem Conference Center
Waymark Code: WMFHGA
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 10/21/2012
Views: 2
Chemeketa House, built in 1870, was a hotel on the corner of Ferry & Commercial streets in Salem, Oregon. According to a historic marker now found at the site, the hotel was "Oregon's premier hotel. It featured 17-foot ceilings in the lobby, hot and cold running water, speaking tubes, and strategically placed comfort stations with self-acting water closets" throughout the building." The building also contained a saloon and according to the advertisement, it featured "best quality wines & liquors" along with billiard tables and the "finest cigars - always on hand."
In 1911, the site was renamed the "Marion Hotel" and became known as a place for "backroom politics." On November 12, 1971, a fired razed the 101-year old hotel. A Red Lion hotel took it's place, but was sold and demolished prior to the construction of the current Grand Hotel in 2005. The Grand Hotel includes the Salem Conference Center, featuring more than 30,000 square feet of meeting space.
GPS coordinates are for the corner of Commercial & Ferry, mentioned in the advertisement. This is the Conference Center side of the current complex.