Central Area in Salem in Marion County, Oregon — The American West (Northwest)

Bush-Breyman Block

c.1889

— Salem Downtown Historic District —

Bush-Breyman Block Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, October 14, 2025

1. Bush-Breyman Block Marker

Inscription. This Queen Anne style block, designed by Walter D. Pugh, was built by Asahel Bush and Werner Breyman. It housed retail stores on the ground floor with professional offices on the second floor. The original building was twice the size: the northern portion was damaged by fire in 1960 and subsequently demolished, leaving only a solitary column.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1889.

Location. 44° 56.456′ N, 123° 2.426′ W. Marker is in Salem, Oregon, in Marion County. It is in the Central Area. It is on Commercial Street Northeast, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 141 Commercial Street NE, Salem OR 97301, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Oregon Wine Country

and in the Willamette Valley.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast,

in the Pacific Northwest,

and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

in the Cascade Range,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Watkins-Dearborn Building (within shouting distance of this marker); Breyman Brothers Block (within shouting distance of this marker); Durbin Building (within shouting distance of this marker); Salvation Army Building (within shouting distance of this marker); Smith & Wade Building (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct

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line); Anderson Building (about 300 feet away); New Breyman Block (about 300 feet away); Catlin & Linn Building (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Salem.

Also see . . . National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form (1978). Statement of Significance:

The Bush-Breyman Block is significant to the city of Salem as the intact southerly portion of a major business block in the Queen Anne Style dating from 1889. The rehabilitated building once housed the professional offices of several of Salem's leading figures and is thereby linked with the area's legal and governmental history. Moreover, with its neighbor, the Capitol National Bank of 1892, the Bush-Breyman Block forms one of the strongest features of a concentration of early commercial buildings along a twoblock segment of the city's historic business thoroughfare. The predominant architectural character of this segment of Commercial Street is one of two-story brick masonry construction with cast iron fronts ranging in date from the late 1870s through the 1890s.

The 1889 Queen Anne Style store and office building was part of Salem's first urban redevelopment. In 1879, the city had established a fire district to facilitate better
Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, October 14, 2025

2. Bush-Breyman Block Marker
The markers are designated by the green arrow in the photo.
insurance rates and encourage the building of fire-resistant structures within the district. In 1889 bankers and merchants of Salem bought and tore down two blocks of wooden stores, replacing them with 18 brick structures. This building was designed by local architect Walter D. Pugh as part of the redevelopment for Asahel Bush, merchants and financiers. Two of the stores were built for the Breymans and three for Mr. Bush. The Bush portion was damaged by fire in the 1960s and that part of the structure was demolished for a parking lot. The Breyman portion of the facade is intact, except the street level store fronts which were remodeled in 1911, 1926, and 1965. For some the two stores have been combined as one, while upstairs, the only major change has been the recent lowering of ceilings to conceal upgraded services.

Walter D. Pugh, architect of the Bush-Breyman Block, designed many buildings in Salem and in Oregon. His brick Thomas Kay Woolen Mill (1895) in Salem is listed in the National Register. Cast iron employed in construction of the Bush-Breyman Block was produced by the local Salem Iron Works. The bricks came from the George Collins brickyard near the State Penitentiary.

(Submitted on October 18, 2025, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon.)

Bush-Breyman Block image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, October 14, 2025

3. Bush-Breyman Block

Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, October 14, 2025

4. Bush-Breyman Block

Credits. This page was last revised on October 20, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 18, 2025, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon. This page has been viewed 41 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 18, 2025, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.