Franklin Building/Masonic TempleOur volunteer Richard has been cataloging and scanning commercial photos from the Robert McEwan Photo Studio.  Today he found this photo of the Masonic Building in Salem circa 1951 or earlier (based upon the businesses advertised on the windows and their listings in Salem City Directories).

The Masonic Building, also known as the Franklin Building, is located at the NW corner of State and High Streets in Salem.  Designed by Ellis Lawrence, the founder of UofO’s School of Architecture, it was completed in 1912.  By 1951 it housed a variety of different businesses.  On the ground floor level was the Red Cross Pharmacy (499 State St) located at corner of the building facing State and High streets and the Ace Fountain Lunch (147 High Street N.), facing High Street.  Also visible in the picture, but not part of the Masonic Building is Gay’s Candy Store at 135 High St N with a delivery truck from Kennedy’s City Cleaners backed into a parking space on the street in front of it.

Office signs in the windows of uppers floors of the Masonic Building read:

4th Floor
State Farm Insurance, Carl T. Pope Law Office, Tyrone Gillespie.

3rd Floor
Roy H. Wassam Law Office, Metropolitan Life

Although the negatives this photo came from aren’t that old, but they were stored in some less than ideal locations in the past and are starting to deteriorate.  The bubbles and discoloration in the image are the result of that deterioration.  Part of processing these negatives is scanning and making a digital copy to preserve them.