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	Merchants Hotel
	U.S. Historic district; Contributing property
	Portland Historic Landmark
	Viewed from the northwest in 2016
Location	121 NW Second Avenue, Portland, Oregon
Coordinates	45°31′27.4″N 122°40′21.7″W / 45.524278°N 122.672694°W
Built	1880–1884
Architect	Warren Heywood Williams
Architectural style	Italianate
Part of	Portland Skidmore/Old Town Historic District (ID75001597)
Designated CP	December 6, 1975

The Merchant Hotel, also known as the Merchants' Hotel, is a historic former hotel building in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is located at 121 N.W. Second Avenue in Old Town Chinatown. It is a contributing property in the Portland Skidmore/Old Town Historic District,^[2]^: 18–19 which was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1977.^[2]^: 103 It is one of the few remaining examples of Victorian Italianate, cast iron architecture on the West Coast.^[3] It occupies half of a city block, specifically along the south side of N.W. Davis Street from Second to Third Avenues.^[4]

History

Brothers Louis, Adolph, and Theodore Nicolai were original owners of the hotel. It took four years to build, and the Second Avenue section was completed in 1880. The Third Avenue section opened in 1884.^[5] A luxury hotel, it boasted one of the first hydraulic elevators in the city and by 1889 had grown to take up half of the city block.^[6]^[7] The hotel was purchased by musician Eugene Stebinger in the 1890s.^[8]

In addition to its use as a hotel, the building "has also housed a bar, brothel, billiards hall, and most notoriously, a cracker factory", wrote author Bart King in 2007.^[9]

1960s to present

The last use of any part of the building as a hotel ended in mid-1967.^[7] In late 1967 or early 1968, Skidmore Development Company purchased the building along with two adjacent buildings.^[10] Ground-floor space along the N.W. Third Avenue side was being used by a grocery store and an appliance store at that time.^[7] A renovation and restoration was carried out in 1968–1969.^[7]^[11] In December 1968, a furniture store became the first post-remodel tenant, occupying one-quarter of the ground-floor space.^[11] The upper floors were remodeled as office space. In 1971, the building was repainted in bright green with white trim.^[4] The renovation was deemed a success, and the shops were described in 1972 as "thriving".^[4] In a 1979 article, The Oregonian wrote that the "former Merchants Hotel in Old Town went from virtually abandoned building to cornerstone of Old Town business district, thanks to vision of Bill [Naito] and Sam Naito,"^[12] of Skidmore Development Company.

The building received a $2 million seismic upgrade in 2004.^[3] Among the current tenants are Old Town Pizza^[13] and the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center,^[14] which includes the Japanese American History Museum. The Faux Museum is in the corner storefront at N.W. Second and Davis.^[15]

References

^ Portland Historic Landmarks Commission (July 2014), Historic Landmarks -- Portland, Oregon (XLS), retrieved February 1, 2015.
^ ^a ^b Portland Bureau of Planning (April 4, 2008). "National Historic Landmark Nomination (Revised Documentation): Skidmore/Old Town Historic District" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Merchant Hotel Building to Receive Seismic Upgrade". Portland Business Journal. March 22, 2004. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c "North Burnside: Saving some of the last century [regarding building preservation and restoration in Old Town]" (January 2, 1972). The Sunday Oregonian, p. F1.
^ "Merchants Hotel". Historic Resource Inventory, City of Portland. Oregon Historic Sites Database. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
^ red, rose. "Portland Skidmore/Old Town Historic District, Portland, Oregon - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com". waymarking.com. Groundspeak inc. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Developer Will Restore Merchant Hotel Building" (August 14, 1968). The Oregonian, Section 1, p. 22.
^ Hines, Rev. H.K. (1893). An Illustrated History of the State of Oregon (First ed.). Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co. p. 377. ISBN 9780665152344.
^ King, Bart (2007). An Architectural Guidebook to Portland (2nd ed.). Oregon State University Press. p. 146. ISBN 978-0-87071-191-6.
^ "Portland Block To Get Jackson Square Look" (January 17, 1968). The Oregonian, Section 2, p. 6.
^ ^a ^b "Old Hotel Remodeled For New Role" (December 7, 1968). The Oregonian, Section 1, p. 15.
^ Alesko, Michael (May 12, 1979). "Preservation efforts honored as old Portland finds new life". The Oregonian. p. C5.
^ "Old Town Chinatown dining". Travel Portland. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
^ Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center :: Visit
^ Now Open: The Faux Museum | Blogtown, PDX | Portland Mercury