Courthouse Square

James Norman, 2001, General view of the Courthouse Square Transit Center (Formerly the Senator Block), view looking Southeast from high street. Clock tower and buses visible, WHC Collections 2003.016.0009

Courthouse Square is the fifth tallest building in Salem.  Other tall buildings in Salem include Capitol Center, the First Methodist Church, the Oregon State Capitol and the Equitable Center. There are more than 300,000 bricks and paving stones in the building and transit mall.  There are 90 miles of telephone and data cable in the building.  There is enough concrete in Courthouse Square to pave a sidewalk from Salem to Portland.  The Courthouse Square building has 152,000 square feet, the transit mall is 67,000 square feet.

Courthouse Square is a “green” designated building using earth friendly construction materials.

A dedication ceremony for Courthouse Square was held on September 29, 2000. Dignitaries present included former U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield who acquired the federal funding for the transit portion of the project. Bus operations at the on-street transfer facility on High Street ceased at the end of the day on Saturday, September 30, 2000, and began at the new R. G. Andersen-Wyckoff Transit Mall on  Monday, October 2, 2000. The first phase move of employees from the Customer Service, Operations Supervisors, and Security Offices at 183 High Street to the first floor of Courthouse Square coincided with the beginning of bus operations there. The second phase move of administrative employees from 3140 Del Webb Avenue to the new fifth floor offices at Courthouse Square was made the week prior to the opening of business there on Monday, November 6, 2000.

By John Whittington, Salem Area Transit.

Back

Bibliography:

The Cherrioteer.   Salem Area Transit, Special Edition, Courthouse Square Edition, 10/18/00. Source: Salem Area Transit, Salem, Or.

Salem Area Mass Transit District, A Brief History. Courlette Hiscocks. July 2000.

This article originally appeared on the original Salem Online History site and has not been updated since 2006.