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133-634: The historic district is home to the St. Helens Hotel and is located in the northeastern part of the city and includes North Market Boulevard, Northwest Pacific Avenue, Northeast Cascade Avenue, Northeast Boistfort, Front Way, and Northeast Division. The current downtown is a third civic center of the city. It was originally at West Main Street close to the railroads tracks. Elizabeth (Eliza) Barrett Saunders had platted three blocks from her Donation Land Claim of three hundred twenty acres. Three blocks of development were

266-615: A peristyle of the Grand Palais (a large exhibition hall). Claude's associate, Jacques Fonsèque, realized the possibilities for a business based on signage and advertising. By 1913 a large sign for the vermouth Cinzano illuminated the night sky in Paris, and by 1919 the entrance to the Paris Opera was adorned with neon tube lighting. Over the next several years, patents were granted to Claude for two innovations still used today:

399-593: A "bombardment" technique to remove impurities from the working gas of a sealed sign, and a design for the internal electrodes of the sign that prevented their degradation by sputtering. In 1923, Georges Claude and his French company Claude Neon introduced neon gas signs to the United States by selling two to a Packard car dealership in Los Angeles . Earle C. Anthony purchased the two signs reading "Packard" for $ 1,250 apiece. Neon lighting quickly became

532-487: A 2005 remodel, an original mosaic tile floor was found under carpeting in the lobby and front entrance. Window frames, existing from the hotel's build, were found to contain sawmill stamps, with labeling such as "Ship to W.F. West". The large, painted sign which had adorned the side of the hotel for decades, signifying its name and importance, was no longer in place at the time of the NRHP nomination. The original entryway into

665-427: A blazing white napkin over his arm flashed on and off over a large Café. Puget Sound Power and Light Company cut through the rain and darkness, bright blue and cheery. Cafês, theatres, cigar stores, stationery stores, real estate offices with their names spelled out in molten colour, welcomed me to the city. Neon tube signs are produced by the craft of bending glass tubing into shapes. A worker skilled in this craft

798-566: A brief time in January 1976. A change in owners occurred a few months later and the site officially began to be reconstructed for use as an apartment complex. The conversion was undertaken in 1977 and the hotel was renamed as the St. Helens Inn, holding a grand opening on October 1, 1977. Also known as the St. Helens Apartments or the Chateau St. Helens, the building's appeal began to wane after

931-409: A ceramic donut aperture) which contains in the interior surface of the shell a light dusting of a cold cathode low work function powder (usually a powder ceramic molar eutectic point mixture including BaCO 2 ), combined with other alkaline earth oxides, which reduces to BaO 2 when heated to about 500 degrees F, and reduces the work function of the electrode for cathodic emission. Barium Oxide has

1064-521: A cold climate, since the helium increases voltage drop (and thus power dissipation), warming the tube to operating temperature faster. Neon glows bright red or reddish orange when lit. When argon or argon/helium is used, a tiny droplet of mercury is added. Argon by itself is very dim pale lavender when lit, but the droplet of mercury fills the tube with mercury vapor when sealed, which then emits ultraviolet light upon electrification. This ultraviolet emission allows finished argon/mercury tubes to glow with

1197-436: A common bond brick with a flat parapet roofline. A decorated cornice has five paired brackets. The upper story has windows four across. The Northwest Pacific side has a row of four windows in the upper story. The lower story has a row of three windows. The southwest end of the building has a gabled dormer in wood and no window. 535 N. Market Boulevard, 1918, Fechtner's Jewelry Shop Having a related style to 539 N. Market, this

1330-604: A hazing ritual where freshmen students were dunked in the basin. The basin was transferred to the Chehalis Municipal Rose Garden where it was used as a planter. The remaining piece of the Flower Club's fountain has been considered lost since after the 1949 Olympia earthquake , with speculation that the basin rusted away, was simply removed as garbage, or destroyed in the cleanup after the earthquake. The district hosts several buildings recognized by

1463-405: A high current is forced through the low-pressure air in the tube via the electrodes (in a process known as "bombarding"). This current and voltage is far above the level that occurs in final operation of the tube. The current depends on the specific electrodes used and the diameter of the tube but is typically in the 150 mA to 1,500 mA range, starting low and increasing towards the end of

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1596-506: A lack of care and upgrades, reaching a low of 11 tenants by 2003. New owners that year led to a tenancy rebound by 2005, with apartment vacancies listed as only five or six. After another sale of the hotel in 2005, a years-long effort to upgrade the site was begun. At the time, the downtown district around the St. Helens was considered a "bad part of town" and the new owner evicted troublesome renters and authorized stricter tenant application requirements and conduct rules for tenants. The site

1729-619: A landmark for the city located approximately 50 miles (80 km) to the southeast, was a three-story wood building located in the new downtown district of Chehalis. It was constructed between 1890 and 1894 by the Chehalis Land & Timber Company (CL&T) and an investment group noted for the construction boom of the Market Street downtown area, the Chehalis Improvement Company. The first portion of

1862-420: A long 20 mm tube filled with argon/mercury) to 27 Torr (3.6 kPa) (for a short 8 mm diameter tube filled with pure neon). Neon or argon are the most common gases used; krypton , xenon , and helium are used by artists for special purposes but are not used alone in normal signs. A premixed combination of argon and helium is often used in lieu of pure argon when a tube is to be installed in

1995-456: A loss of business. Along with a rise in minor automobile and pedestrian accidents at the intersection of Market and Boistfort streets during the 1930s, the first stoplight in the district was placed at the junction in September 1936. The traffic signal was not publicly announced before its installation but was immediately well-received. Despite changes, accidents were still common, noted most by

2128-499: A multi-year downtown revitalization program, known as the Imagine Downtown Chehalis project, in 2024. The plans include the restructuring of main streets in the city's historic core, including Market and Boistfort, with attention to traffic flow. Additional upgrades to enhance community participation, economic opportunities, and safety are included with betterments in street lighting and sidewalks. The majority of

2261-452: A per-watt basis, incandescents produce 10 to 20 lumens , while fluorescents produce 50 to 100 lumens. Neon light efficiency ranges from 10 lumens per watt for red, up to 60 lumens for green and blue when these colors result from internal phosphor coatings. A highly opaque special black or gray glass paint can be used to "black out" parts of a tube, as between letters of a word. In most mass-produced low-priced signs today, clear glass tubing

2394-563: A popular fixture in outdoor advertising. The signs – dubbed "liquid fire" – were visible in daylight; people would stop and stare. What may be the oldest surviving neon sign in the United States, still in use for its original purpose, is the sign "Theatre" (1929) at the Lake Worth Playhouse in Lake Worth Beach, Florida . The next major technological innovation in neon lighting and signs

2527-439: A possibly inebriated Chehalis judge, W.W. Langhorne, threatened murder at the hotel. Langhorne, who brandished a pistol, stated he would "fill Edward K. Hunter with lead". The matter led to additional investigations of the judge, showing a record of abuses of his power and office. A masked man shot a St. Helens night watchman during a robbery of silverware in 1902. The guard, armed with a revolver and not seriously injured, wounded

2660-627: A program known as the Chehalis Historic Preservation Commission, the city began to honor older homes, including those in the downtown district, that are connected to the history and heritage of Chehalis. Houses accepted into the designation receive a brass plaque that includes the year the structure was built and the name of either the architect or original owner. In 2009, the Chehalis Community Renaissance Team (CCRT) initiated

2793-557: A record and do "something different" for pushing a wheelbarrow across the United States over several years, was a guest during his travels in October 1950. The Lasky Production Company rented out 40 rooms for two weeks in December 1922 during a potential film production. The Chehalis-Bee Nugget suggested wives "tether their husbands to an anchor" while the actresses, declared as "very fine looking ladies", were in town. A week later,

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2926-502: A showcase for antique items. Tenants had private access to a multi-purpose room on the second floor. A final touch was the inclusion of mailboxes once used at the Tenino post office. Several renovations were planned after the 2003 sale, including $ 100,000 worth of upgrades to the retail space. After the St. Helens Inn was sold in 2005, the new owners began a $ 300,000 renovation that took almost 7 years to complete. The hotel's condition at

3059-473: A single-story structure is of a common bond brick and a flat parapet roofline. Fechtner's Jewelry has been in operation, in Chehalis, since 1903. 531 N. Market Boulevard, 1918, Claude Day Fruits/Howard's Meats Related in style to 539 N. Market next door, it is a single-story building with common bond brick and a flat parapet roofline. 525 N. Market Boulevard, 1900, Northern Brewery Company This building

3192-399: A small metal shell with two wires protruding through the glass to which the sign wiring will later be attached. All welds and seals must be leak-proof at high vacuum before proceeding further. The tube is attached to a manifold which is then attached to a high-quality vacuum pump. The tube is then evacuated of air until it reaches a vacuum level of a few torr . The evacuation is paused, and

3325-611: A text can be written or a picture drawn, including various decorations, especially in advertising and commercial signage . By programming sequences of switching parts on and off, there are many possibilities for dynamic light patterns that form animated images . In some applications, neon tubes are increasingly being replaced with LEDs , given the steady advance in LED luminosity and decreasing cost of high-brightness LEDs. However, proponents of neon technology maintain that they still have significant advantages over LEDs. Neon illumination

3458-432: A variety of bright colors when the tube has been coated on the interior with ultraviolet-sensitive phosphors after being bent into shape. An alternative way of processing finished neon tubes has also been used. Because the only purpose of bombardment by electrical means is to purify the interior of tubes, it is also possible to produce a tube by heating the tube externally either with a torch or with an oven, while heating

3591-559: A variety of factors, including the growth of the downtown area with its newer, more modern buildings, the build of the Burlington Northern Depot , and heavier use of the automobile on the Pacific Highway (eventually known as Highway 99) that traveled past the hotel. The original structure was sold and moved in mid-1917, minus the front porch and tower, three blocks to the north on Washington Avenue. It became

3724-433: A very high internal impedance), since the tube has a negative characteristic electrical impedance . Standard tube tables established in the early days of neon are still used that specify the gas fill pressures, in either Ne or Hg/Ar, as a function of tube length in feet, tube diameter and transformer voltage. The standard traditional neon transformer, a magnetic shunt transformer, is a special non-linear type designed to keep

3857-468: A work function of roughly 2 eV whereas tungsten at room temperature has a work of 4.0 eV. This represents the cathode drop or electron energy required to remove electrons from the surface of the cathode. This avoids the necessity of using a hot wire thermoelectric cathode such as is used in conventional fluorescent lamps. And for that reason, neon tubes are extremely long lived when properly processed, in contrast to fluorescent tubing, because there

3990-548: Is 30 mA for general use, with 60 mA used for high-brightness applications like channel letters or architectural lighting. 120 mA sources are occasionally seen in illuminating applications, but are uncommon since special electrodes are required to withstand the current, and an accidental shock from a 120 mA transformer is much more likely to be fatal than from the lower current supplies. The efficiency of neon lighting ranges between that of ordinary incandescent lights and that of fluorescent lamps , depending on color. On

4123-399: Is an evolution of the earlier Geissler tube , which is a sealed glass tube containing a "rarefied" gas (the gas pressure in the tube is well below atmospheric pressure ). When a voltage is applied to electrodes inserted through the glass, an electrical glow discharge results. Geissler tubes were popular in the late 19th century, and the different colors they emitted were characteristics of

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4256-480: Is coated with translucent paint to produce colored light. In this way, several different colors can be produced inexpensively from a single glowing tube. Over time, elevated temperatures, thermal cycling, or exposure to weather may cause the colored coating to flake off the glass or change its hue. A more expensive alternative is to use high-quality colored glass tubing, which retains a more stable appearance as it ages. Light-emitting tubes form colored lines with which

4389-413: Is known as a glass bender, neon bender or tube bender. The neon tube is made out of 4 or 5-foot long straight sticks of hollow glass sold by sign suppliers to neon shops worldwide, where they are manually assembled into individual custom designed and fabricated lamps. Tubing in external diameters ranging from about 8–15 mm with a 1 mm wall thickness is most commonly used, although 6 mm tubing

4522-452: Is no wire filament as there is in a fluorescent tube to burn out like a common light bulb. The principal purpose of doing this is to purify the interior of the tube before the tube is sealed off so that when it is operated, these gases and impurities are not driven off and released by the plasma and the heat generated into the sealed tube, which would quickly burn the metal cathodes and mercury droplets (if pumped with argon/mercury) and oxidize

4655-413: Is now commercially available in colored glass tubes. The tube is heated in sections using several types of burners that are selected according to the amount of glass to be heated for each bend. These burners include ribbon, cannon, or crossfires, as well as a variety of gas torches. Ribbon burners are strips of fire that make the gradual bends, while crossfires are used to make sharp bends. The interior of

4788-489: Is single-story with a plain facade faced in stucco over common bond brick. This is one of the few district buildings retaining its transom windows, a row of eleven. Its roofline is flat. 455 N. Market Boulevard, 1920, Elks Building The Elks Building was constructed in 1920 at an estimated cost of $ 100,000. The 50 foot (15 metres) lot was purchased by the Chehalis lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and

4921-525: Is situated on the south end of the Chehalis Downtown Historic District , an NRHP-listed district. The first St. Helens Hotel was a wooden inn built in the late 19th century and owned by William West, a prominent Chehalis pioneer. Due to a growing, modern city and an increase in travelers through the region, the hotel was rebuilt of brick and expanded between 1917 and 1921. The West family continued full or partial ownership of

5054-469: Is the slow absorption of neon gas into the glass walls, but even this process can take over 50 years. This extended lifespan makes neon lights ideal for architectural lighting in homes, where they can be shaped to fit tight spaces and provide years of illumination. Neon sign makers bend heated glass tubes , carefully following a pattern. They use a blow hose to keep the tube's shape and avoid overheating sections. Bends are tricky, requiring quick work before

5187-457: Is two stories. The second story has a plain facade with four windows. The original brick has been covered with stucco, but the roof line and window are intact. A fire on July 11, 1997, caused damage to the windows; however, the building remains a contributing resource. 545 N. Market Boulevard, 1889, Hotel Washington Hotel Washington is a four-story, nineteenth century building. In 1889 it was operated by Mr. Berry and Mr. Loomis. Four piers split

5320-436: Is used for tenants to access their living spaces and there were 52 total apartments recorded at the time of the NRHP nomination; fifty-five apartments were listed by 2003. The 1917 four-story annex, when built, measured 90 feet (27.4 m) long and contained 40 rooms, most with a private bath and outside views. The ground floor contained 4 retail spaces and the exterior was pressed gray brick with terra cotta trim. During

5453-410: Is used frequently by artists and architects , and (in a modified form) in plasma display panels and televisions . The signage industry has declined in the past several decades, and cities are now concerned with preserving and restoring their antique neon signs. Light emitting diode arrays can be formed and covered with a light diffuser to simulate the appearance of neon lamps. The neon sign

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5586-438: Is used to produce only about one-third of the colors (mostly shades of red and orange , and some warmer or more intense shades of pink ). The greatest number of colors (including all shades of blue , yellow , green , violet , and white , as well as some cooler or softer shades of pink) produced by filling with another inert gas, argon, and a drop of mercury (Hg) which is added to the tube immediately after purification. When

5719-458: Is valuable to invoke the 1940s or 1950s nostalgia in marketing and in the historic restoration of architectural landmarks from the neon era. Architecture in the streamline moderne era often deployed neon to accent structural pigmented glass built into the façade of a 1930s or 1940s structure; many of these buildings now qualify for inclusion on historic registers such as the U.S. National Register of Historic Places if their historic integrity

5852-667: The Improvement Block . In 1892 the Columbus Block was completed in celebration of Christopher Columbus landing in the Americas four hundred years earlier. Soon after, construction of a fourth retail office structure, the Commercial Block , established an impressive modern building. Only the original bank building is gone, razed in 1949. Between 1890 and 1894, the Chehalis Land and Timber Company constructed

5985-540: The Kenneth Arnold . A mural of a butterfly flying over flowers, known as Garden Delight , is situated at the main crossing of Market and Boistfort and was completed in 2020. The mural, Lifting Up Chehalis , meant to inspire visitors to photograph themselves for social media, is installed on Boistfort Avenue, the location of the city's farmers market. Additional artworks include paintings done by local artists on utility boxes, trash can lids, and benches. The effort

6118-539: The Second World War , phosphor materials were researched intensively for use in color televisions. About two dozen colors were available to neon sign designers by the 1960s, and today there are nearly 100 available colors. Suddenly we were in down-town Seattle and lights were exploding around me like skyrockets on the Fourth of July. Red lights, blue lights, yellow lights, green, purple, white, orange, punctured

6251-664: The St. Helens Hotel . The district was also home to the East Side School, located in what was known as the "School Block" before moving out of the downtown area by 1912. A large fire occurred during the morning hours of August 2, 1912 beginning in the Bush Block at the Staeger Bros. book and stationary store. Over $ 14,000 in damages were reported, including at the Chehalis Bee-Nugget newspaper and

6384-405: The lintels and window sills are cream-colored. Molding that separated the third and fourth floors during the second phase of the construction was continued further up the façade when the final, top two floors were completed. The ornamentation, specifically noticed in the cornices and brick, does not wrap around the building, marking an obvious back side of the hotel on Cascade Avenue. The hotel

6517-425: The phosphor layer. Different phosphor-coated tubing sections may be butt welded together using glass working torches to form a single tube of varying colors, for effects such as a sign where each letter displays a different color letter within a single word. "Neon" is used to denote the general type of lamp, but neon gas is only one of the types of tube gases principally used in commercial application. Pure neon gas

6650-416: The $ 1.0 million Goodyear Tire plant in 1957 at the newly created Chehalis Industrial Park , a welcome dinner was held at the St. Helens. The St. Helens during the 1940s was considered to be expensive in the area, with breakfast costing a quarter and dinners exceeding 65 cents. Basic rooms were listed at $ 1.25, while a larger hotel room with a private bath was $ 4.00. Apartment rent at the completion of

6783-476: The 1970s remodel to convert the hotel into an apartment building. The hotel footprint is of irregular shape, mostly triangular due to the wedge-shaped nature of the grounds. The roof of the structure is flat and the façade is built of gray brick, with details such as cornices and dentils . The ground floor contains round-arched windows while the upper sections contain ten-over-one double-hung sash casements. The annex windows are rectangular with transoms and

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6916-409: The 1976-1977 remodel was between $ 135 and $ 300 per month. The National Register of Historic Places nomination remarked that the St. Helens Hotel "retains considerable integrity both in its exterior appearance and in the continuing usage of interior space" though the interior lost historic details after several renovations since the 1970s. The St. Helens Hotel, listed as the St. Helens Inn, was added to

7049-653: The CHPC honor in 1993. In 2003, the CHPC awarded the Chehalis Theater with a listing and plaque recognizing the historical importance, and restoration efforts, of the movie house. St. Helens Hotel The St. Helens Hotel , also known as the St. Helens Inn, is located in Chehalis, Washington and has been registered on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) since 1991. The historic hotel

7182-480: The Carnegie building, is located on the same wedge-shaped grounds across from the hotel. The St. Helens Hotel is listed as six-stories tall and built of brick. The style of the structure and the attached annex are considered as simplified Neoclassical architecture . The hotel is the tallest building in Chehalis and the exterior has remained largely unaltered. The interior has undergone several renovations, including

7315-406: The Chehalis Historic Preservation Commission (CHPC). The commission recognizes historical value and the subsequent preservation of homes and buildings in the city. Buildings honored with the designation receives a brass plaque that denotes the year of construction and the name of either the architect or original owner. The Star Tavern building, a row house built in 1901 on Chehalis Avenue, received

7448-576: The Historic Downtown Chehalis Walking Tour, publishing a free booklet to guide visitors to notable buildings in the downtown core. Two years later, the CCRT, in coordination with businesses in the districts, as well as donors, began installing cast iron plaques to denote structures on the tour. In the following weeks, forty buildings received the tour markers. The city, in coordination with Experience Chehalis, launched

7581-472: The Hotel Washington. Starting at a Red Cross office building, the flames spread to the hotel, which at the time was being used as a furniture store. The fire was contained by the evening after the combined use of 1,000,000 US gallons (3,800,000 L; 830,000 imp gal) of foam retardant and water. Within a year, both buildings were rebuilt and reopened. Beginning in the early 2000s under

7714-604: The Lewis County Public Utility District on Prindle Street, the Advocate Building, and several other extinct structures in the downtown core. 553-555 N. Market Boulevard, ca. 1900, Little Gem Lunch – 1915 A single story, nineteenth-century commercial building that appears to have been altered circa 1910s. The building is faced with raked brick having tiles set into a diamond design forming a horizontal row of nine diamonds just above

7847-704: The Marketplace Square building in the center of downtown. At the north end of Market Street is the Chehalis Theater which was built in 1938 as the Pix Theater. Next to the theater is a long running arts-and-crafts and book business known the Book 'n' Brush which occupies a space originally used for a retailer known once as "The Big Department Store". A street clock , known as "the Big Clock",

7980-438: The NRHP on October 8, 1991. Early reporting noted that the St. Helens had an "air of superior neatness and order" and that the hotel makes a "pleasing impression". The hotel was known as the only first-class stop between Portland and Tacoma, and travelers were inclined to "Stop With Bill", a phrase meant to denote visitations with William West due to his popularity. The hotel was the city center for civic gatherings and remained

8113-407: The St. Helens Hotel, was converted into a northbound one-way thoroughfare in 1960. The district underwent major renovations in the mid-1970s with the build of curbed landscaped islands in the crosswalk areas. Although mostly appreciated by businesses in the downtown core, noticing that customers had easier access to both sides of Market Street, the improvements were derided by citizens soon after. Given

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8246-490: The St. Helens expansion was completed in 1920, adding two stories and increasing the room total to 150. The new St. Helens Hotel opened on January 3, 1919, with a banquet sponsored by the Chehalis Citizen's Club. Another banquet was held on the premises that day to celebrate the formation of a Lewis County congress to address construction needs and concerns. When the hotel was fully completed, an official opening

8379-552: The St. Helens was placed under the oversight of the William F. West Foundation, a scholarship program, until 1976. Pemerl retired in 1973 and sold his ownership stake to John and Joy Bellour that year; John was a retired Seattle businessman and hotelier . Bellour's ownership lasted until early 1976, bought out for approximately $ 275,000 via bankruptcy proceedings in April by Lewis County Savings and Loan. The purchase officially ended

8512-793: The Sticklin Apartments, named after Louis J. Sticklin, a noted undertaker in the Twin Cities who purchased and converted the old inn. The apartment building was condemned after suffering a large fire in 1978; it was ultimately razed in 1982. The St. Helens Hotel was constructed in several phases by one of the architects of the Lumber Exchange Building in South Bend, Washington , Charles E. Troutman, and owner, William F. West, namesake of W.F. West High School . Announcements and initial details, beginning with

8645-546: The West's family ownership of the hotel. The savings and loan , under the Lewis Service Corporation, sold the hotel in 1984 to a Los Angeles-based partnership that included a Chehalis family, selling the inn four years later in 1988 to Ernie Pruett and Dee Reynolds, who reopened the hotel that March. The site was sold once again to Francelene Davidian before coming under ownership to Don Portnoy who purchased

8778-605: The annex. Losses were estimated as high as $ 50,000. Two fires involving the hotel's laundry room occurred in late February 1975, spreading to the second floor. Smoke reached the top floors but firefighters had the flames out within minutes; damages were confined to the laundry area and a meeting room. The hotel is located at the south end of the Chehalis Downtown Historic District at a triangular junction of Cascade Avenue, Market Boulevard, and Park Street. A recreation spot known as East Side Park

8911-462: The awning and beneath the cornice. The flat roof line has a shed, standing seam, metal roof at the front with a plain cornice framed by piers. Between the decorative row of tiles and the awning is two window sections. The entrance off Northwest Pacific is intact with a plain facade of window. The entrance consists of recessed doors framed by windows. 551 N. Market Boulevard, 1894, Murphy & Johnson Saloon This nineteenth-century commercial building

9044-546: The buildings are in the nineteenth-century commercial, many with metal awnings or canopies of a non-historic character. In the 20th century, the architect Jacque “Jack” DeForest Griffin was responsible for the creation of several buildings constructed in the 1920s, including the Renaissance Revival -style Elks Building in 1920, the Italian Renaissance inspired St. Helens Theater in 1924, the home of

9177-540: The celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Chehalis-Bee Nugget newspaper in 1932. On December 28, 1932, a birthday dinner to celebrate the 50th year of the city's incorporation was held at the St. Helens. Another 50th anniversary celebration at the hotel was held in August 1934 in honor of the formation of the city's well-respected Coffman-Dobson Bank & Trust Company. After the opening ceremonies of

9310-414: The ceremonies was such that waiters and staff were hired from Chicago. One of the purposes of the hotel was to entice an intentional shift of the commercial and downtown core to Market Boulevard. Also known as Market Street, the thoroughfare was a dirt road in the city's early beginnings, becoming a plank road after 1906. By as early as 1912, the street was paved with brick. Market Street, beginning at

9443-563: The construction of a new coffee shop and restaurant on the ground floor. Remodeling took place at the Virgil R. Lee Insurance building, the George Sears Drug Store, and the St. Helens Theater . Businesses removed neon signs for less intrusive handmade advertising and economic conditions were noticeably improved. On the afternoon of July 11, 1997, a large fire swept through parts of the historic district, partially destroying

9576-605: The death of long-serving Chehalis postmaster Lloyd Sullivan, who was struck by a truck while crossing Market in late-August 1953. During the 1949 Olympia earthquake , damages occurred to several buildings in the downtown core, including the Security State Bank building which lost a 3.5 foot (1.1 metres) section of decorative railing. The quake, which lasted between 35 and 40 seconds during the late morning of April 13, 1949, also shattered windows and caused bricks to fall away from façades . Market Street, beginning at

9709-516: The early 1990s are used, especially when low Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) is needed, such as in locations near high-fidelity sound equipment. At the typical frequency of these solid state transformers, the plasma electron-ion recombination time is too long to extinguish and reignite the plasma at each cycle, unlike the case at power line frequency . The plasma does not broadcast high frequency switching noise and remains ionized continually, becoming radio noise free. The most common current rating

9842-547: The eclectic, such as aliens and Bigfoot. A large welcome mural, focusing on the founder of the city, Elizabeth Barrett Tynan Saunders, as well as the history of airplanes, is located at the north end of downtown. It has a small nod to the city's connection to the Kenneth Arnold sightings in 1947. Three murals decorate the adjoining public bathroom facilities, each containing specifics about the city's railroads and community togetherness, including another UFO themed artwork,

9975-442: The electrode with a radio frequency induction heating (RFIH) coil. While this is less productive, it creates a cleaner custom tube with significantly less cathode damage, longer life and brilliance, and can produce tubes of very small sizes and diameters, down to 6 mm OD. The tube is heated thoroughly under high vacuum without external electrical application, until the outgassed gases can be seen to have been totally depleted and

10108-598: The facade into three sections. The windows on the upper level are semi-elliptical, with rock-faced sills. The upper story on the Northwest Pacific Avenue side is clad with pressed metal in a brick pattern. The entrance, on Market Boulevard, is a glass door with the lettering, "Washington Hotel." On the north side there remain remnants of an advertisement. There was a fire on July 11, 1997, which caused minor damage. 539 N. Market Boulevard, 1900, Cupid's Helper; 1920, Foster Bakery The two-story building uses

10241-492: The first phase known as the "annex", were released throughout 1916. Initial plans included an elevator and mezzanine . The build was of such expectation that the Twin City Automobile Company signed a lease for showroom space on the bottom floor before construction began. The work on the annex began in early 1917 and the hotel was fully complete by 1921. The annex, a four-story structure located behind

10374-546: The gases within. They were unsuitable for general lighting, as the pressure of the gas inside typically declined with use. The direct predecessor of neon tube lighting was the Moore tube , which used nitrogen or carbon dioxide as the luminous gas and a patented mechanism for maintaining pressure. Moore tubes were sold for commercial lighting for a number of years in the early 1900s. The discovery of neon in 1898 by British scientists William Ramsay and Morris W. Travers included

10507-415: The gasified form by the vacuum pump. The greatest impurities that are driven off this way are the gases that coat the inside wall of the tubing by adsorption , mainly oxygen, carbon dioxide, and especially water vapor. The current also heats the electrode metal to over 600 °C, producing a bright orange incandescent color. The cathodes are prefabricated hollow metal shells with a small opening (sometimes

10640-478: The glass hardens. Mistakes are a pain, potentially forcing a restart. Tubes are welded together, pumped clean, and filled with mercury. Any mistake after filling means scrapping the whole thing, as mercury fumes are dangerous. Completed tubes are connected in series, with proper insulation to prevent damage. A cold cathode electrode is melted (or welded ) to each end of the tube as it is finished. The hollow electrodes are also traditionally lead glass and contain

10773-538: The historic inn for $ 950,000 in 1995. Partnering with his brother in 2000, the brothers owned the property until October 2003 when they sold the historic hotel to the Huntington brothers for approximately $ 667,000. Up until the sale, the hotel was in the process of foreclosure and was possibly slated to be put up for auction. Two years later in March 2005, the hotel was sold again. At a sale price of $ 1.4 million,

10906-417: The hotel outright by the end of that year. The sale did not materialize and under W.F. West's management, the hotel was converted into the brick St. Helens Hotel recognized by the NRHP. West retained a controlling stake after retiring in 1948, and he leased the building that year to a former bellhop at the hotel, Louis Pemerl, who oversaw the management of the facilities. West died on September 20, 1963, and

11039-437: The hotel since its inception until 1976, when the St. Helens underwent a full conversion as an apartment house. Named after Mt. St. Helens , the hotel was a center for civic activity in the city during its peak and hosted numerous events and guests during its run as a hotel. The St. Helens is the tallest building in Chehalis and is the core marker of the downtown district. The first St. Helens Hotel, named after Mt. St. Helens,

11172-406: The hotel to be built was its turret . A bar, known as the St. Helens Tavern, opened at the site in 1891 and the hotel opened for business on May 12, 1891 after a grand ball and banquet. The downtown district was decorated with lights and over 1,000 invitations were sent to prominent people in the state. Another opening was held on May 1, 1894, at the completion of the hotel. The extravagance of

11305-413: The hotel was removed during the remodeling of the building into apartments. Beginning in the 1920s, a soda shop and cigar store were opened on the ground floor retail space. The fountain shop was begun under Bill Smith who sold it in 1936 and it became known as The Saunder's Fountain. The Lowery family purchased the store in 1967, giving it the moniker, D and B Fountain and Tavern. A billiard room

11438-549: The hotel, was constructed before the original wooden inn was removed. The second stage involved the building of the four-story front section of the hotel. Estimated to cost $ 35,000, it was begun by the spring of 1918 and finished later that year, containing 100 rooms. By June 1919, West realized that the hotel needed another expansion due to continuing demand for accommodations, announcing the build of two additional floors which were to include sleeping porches and 35 additional rooms; construction began in April 1920. The final facet of

11571-539: The hotel, was converted into a northbound one-way thoroughfare in 1960. An addition was added in 1904 and with an increase in travelers to the city, a brick annex was constructed and completed in 1910. The $ 20,000 annex was connected by a hallway to the wooden inn and contained a larger basement and store front, with an added veranda on Market Street. A total of 26 rooms, decorated in Flemish green, were built and six were private, family-oriented suites. Modern amenities of

11704-594: The hotel. Financial issues led to a lack of heat and rooms failing building codes and fire safety requirements. Tenants were asked to leave the premises upon request from Joy Bellour in October 1975. After the sale of the hotel in 1976, a $ 1.0 million conversion from hotel to apartments began. Early planning included creating apartments specifically for senior citizens, enlarging the restaurant, and an increase in parking spaces for tenants. Additional outlines included keeping some hotel services, such as room service, but no overnight accommodations. The renovation relocated

11837-539: The inn was purchased by Daylight Development, a Bellingham -based company. Charles C. Kramer, who was a prior manager of the St. Helens Hotel in 1894, committed suicide by morphine overdose at the Grand Central Hotel in Tacoma after he was forced out of the St. Helens. He was under suspicion of forging checks, as well as struggling with addiction. during his time in Chehalis and at the St. Helens. In 1895,

11970-401: The interior gases and cause immediate tube failure. The more thorough the purification of the tube is, the longer lasting and stable the tube will be in actual operation. Once these gases and impurities are liberated under pre-filling bombardment into the tube interior they are quickly evacuated by the pump. While still attached to the manifold, the tube is allowed to cool while pumping down to

12103-445: The largest hotel in Chehalis into the mid-20th century. The St. Helens is the tallest building in the city and a distinct marker of the historic downtown district. The hotel is included in the Chehalis city logo. Neon signs In the signage industry, neon signs are electric signs lighted by long luminous gas-discharge tubes that contain rarefied neon or other gases. They are the most common use for neon lighting , which

12236-442: The lowest pressure the system can achieve. It is then filled to a low pressure of a few torrs (millimeters of mercury) with one of the noble gases , or a mixture of them, and sometimes a small amount of mercury. This gas fill pressure represents roughly 1/100th of the pressure of the atmosphere. The required pressure depends on the gas used and the diameter of the tube, with optimal values ranging from 6 Torr (0.8 kPa) (for

12369-436: The main entrance and lobby and the ground floor business space was remodeled, including the removal of the long-standing coffee shop. The conversion was fully completed by 1977. Apartments were updated with new appliances, flooring, paint, and furnished with cable television, a new amenity at the time. A new coffee shop was built along with a new lounge known as the St. Helens Landmark that contained an elaborate forest scene and

12502-410: The nickname, "Melhart's Maze", after Mayor Roy Melhart who helped to initiate the change, the islands were considered difficult to navigate for larger vehicles. Additional improvements in 1977 included the build of concrete parking strips and a new layer of asphalt. The 1970s revitalization included a full conversion of the St. Helens Hotel into apartments, with the revival of the inn's retail spaces and

12635-431: The night in a million places and tore the black satin pavement to shreds. I hadn’t seen neon lights before. They had been invented, or at least put in common use, while I was up in the mountains and in that short time the whole aspect of the world had changed. In place of dumpy little bulbs sputteringly spelling out Café or Theatre, there were long swooping spirals of pure brilliant colour. A waiter outlined in bright red with

12768-606: The observation of a brilliant red glow in Geissler tubes. Travers wrote, "the blaze of crimson light from the tube told its own story and was a sight to dwell upon and never forget." Following neon's discovery, neon tubes were used as scientific instruments and novelties. A sign created by Perley G. Nutting and displaying the word "neon" may have been shown at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904, although this claim has been disputed; in any event,

12901-494: The other with argon/mercury. Some "neon" tubes are made without phosphor coatings for some of the colors. Clear tubing filled with neon gas produces the ubiquitous yellowish orange color with the interior plasma column clearly visible, and is the cheapest and simplest tube to make. Traditional neon glasses in America over 20 years old are lead glass that are easy to soften in gas fires, but recent environmental and health concerns of

13034-422: The owner from the beginning under management with his brother-in-law, John Dobson. Additional owners at the time included state senator and city mayor, Francis Donahoe. Full ownership and oversight was transferred to West's son, William Francis (W.F) on February 28, 1904, due in part to a significant loan from Dobson. In 1912, the hotel was under the new management of H.A. Kaufman who had rights to purchase

13167-424: The post office, both located in the block. The growth of the downtown business core led to the first parking law within the district in 1927. Limiting all automobiles to two hours during the day, the law was made necessary by a lack of parking due to local citizens and business people anchoring their vehicles in spaces for the entirety of the day. These actions prevented customers and farmers from stopping, leading to

13300-491: The pressure as high as the bombarder will allow to ensure maximum power dissipation and heating. Bombarding transformers may be specially made for this use, or may be repurposed electrical utility distribution transformers (the type seen mounted on utility poles) operated backwards to produce a high voltage output. This very high power dissipation in the tube heats the glass walls to a temperature of several hundred degrees Celsius, and any dirt and impurities within are drawn off in

13433-456: The pressure drops to a high vacuum again. Then the tube is filled, sealed and the mercury dropped and shaken. The finished glass pieces are illuminated by either a neon sign transformer or a switched-mode power supply , usually running at voltages ranging between 2–15 kV and currents between 18 and 30 mA (higher currents available on special order.) These power supplies operate as constant-current sources (a high voltage supply with

13566-416: The process to ensure that the electrodes are adequately heated without melting the glass tube. The bombarding current is provided by a large transformer with an open-circuit voltage of roughly 15,000VAC to 23,000VAC. The bombarding transformer acts as an adjustable constant current source, and the actual voltage during operation depends on the length and pressure of the tube. Typically the operator will maintain

13699-409: The reservation was found to be a hoax, perpetrated by a false agent. The Bee-Nugget wrote that wives no longer had to watch their husbands, could go about their business, and were "breathing sighs of relief". In the late 1920s, the St. Helens Hotel began a tradition to place a lighted Christmas tree on the roof. During the late 1920s and into the 1930s, the St. Helens sponsored a championship cup that

13832-405: The responsibility of the placement of the fountain waylaid its initial installation for several months and the local Chehalis Bee-Nugget newspaper wrote editorials praising the young women while castigating older, more affluent residents for their lack of efforts and monetary donations. In 1916, a horse carriage ran into the fountain and the damages to the water pipes severe enough that the fountain

13965-529: The robber in return but the assailant left the premises and was not caught. During June 1908, a suspected arsonist attempted to burn the St. Helens. The attempt was one of several fires that spanned between the Twin Cities that month. The hotel, along with the W.F. West High School, was part of a bomb threat in May 1972; no explosive was found and a member of the United States Navy who was on leave

14098-526: The scarcity of neon would have precluded the development of a lighting product. After 1902, Georges Claude 's company in France, Air Liquide , began producing industrial quantities of neon, essentially as a byproduct of their air liquefaction business. From December 3–18, 1910, Claude demonstrated two 12-metre (39 ft) long bright red neon tubes at the Paris Motor Show . This demonstration lit

14231-652: The second city center. The majority of the buildings were wood; arson was suspected. The district was known for the Chehalis Fountain which was replicated at the Vernetta Smith Timberland Library. The third center grew up on Market Boulevard. Buildings had been completed a couple of years before the fires. In 1889 the First National Bank. In 1891 the Chehalis Improvement Company constructed the first of two buildings,

14364-471: The site, converting some rooms into apartments in 1965. The heating source for the building, which had used sawdust as fuel, was converted to oil in 1952. By 1970, the building contained 42 living quarters but only three more rooms were outfitted as apartments under the John and Joy Bellour ownership by 1975. The Bellours added a teak dance floor to the restaurant and redecorated and remodeled several areas of

14497-440: The space to provide areas for smaller, social gatherings. Upgrades to the St. Helens Hotel were undertaken in 1936 to add a private roof garden and recreation area on the second floor. A marquee was installed and redecorating changes to the lobby were begun, including the installation of a double-door entrance. Pemerl added a cocktail lounge in 1949, spending approximately $ 100,000 during his management run to remodel and upgrade

14630-478: The start of a town. Buildings were constructed around 1870 including the first Lewis County Courthouse. The second downtown began down West Main Street at the comer of Chehalis Avenue and West Main Street. Barrett platted five parcels between 1881 and 1883. By 1891 this center included the city's first opera house (Tynan Opera House), and the Barrett Block housing a bank and hotel. In 1892 two fires destroyed

14763-571: The structure is three-stories in height. The district is home to several murals, many sponsored by the city and community organizations, some of which partner with the Washington State Main Street Program . The largest in the downtown district is a painting of a steam train, titled #15 at Sunset , on the Elks Building. In an alley on the north side of Market Street are a variety of wall paintings focusing on

14896-529: The time was considered to be rundown, with issues concerning pest infestations and broken equipment, such as the elevator. The project remodeled 50 rooms with a focus on the ground floor retail space and mechanical issues. In 1906, Ezra Meeker camped outside the hotel during the retracing of his original trek in 1852 on the Oregon Trail . Washington governor Marion E. Hay visited the inn during his time in office between 1909 and 1913. Teddy Roosevelt

15029-414: The time, including private bathrooms, hot and cold water, steam heat, and telephones, were installed. The first fire escape was installed in 1909. Further remodeling was completed in 1914 and by the next year, the hotel listed 70 rooms. By the mid-1910s, it was determined by St. Helens ownership and other businessmen in Chehalis that it was necessary to replace the wooden inn with a brick version due to

15162-507: The tube is ionized by electrification, the mercury evaporates into mercury vapor, which fills the tube and produces strong ultraviolet light. The ultraviolet light thus produced excites the various phosphor coatings designed to produce different colors. Even though this class of neon tubes use no neon at all, they are still denoted as "neon." Mercury-bearing lamps are a type of cold-cathode fluorescent lamps . Each type of neon tubing produces two different possible colors, one with neon gas and

15295-405: The tubes may be coated with a thin phosphorescent powder coating, affixed to the interior wall of the tube by a binding material. The tube is filled with a purified gas mixture, and the gas ionized by a high voltage applied between the ends of the sealed tube through cold cathodes welded onto the ends. The color of the light emitted by the tube may be just that coming from the gas, or the light from

15428-423: The various available exotic phosphors. Neon lights are exceptionally long-lasting due to their vibrant colors and the ability to craft tubes that function for decades . This longevity is crucial to their economic viability, given the labor-intensive creation process. Interestingly, smaller diameter tubes produce brighter neon light, but also have higher resistance. The primary reason for eventual neon tube failure

15561-436: The voltage across the tube raised to whatever level is necessary to produce the fixed current needed. The voltage drop of a tube is proportional to length and so the maximum voltage and length of tubing fed from a given transformer is limited. Generally, the loaded voltage drops to about 800 VAC at full current. The short-circuit current is about the same. Compact high frequency inverter-converter transformers developed in

15694-407: The west portion of the district and has been listed on the NRHP since 1974. The second site is the St. Helens Hotel , marking the southern edge of the historic area on Market Street, was originally a wood structure that opened in 1894. The hotel was added to the NRHP after major restoration efforts in the mid-1970s. The Vintage Motorcycle Museum , once located at the Hotel Washington, is situated at

15827-563: The workers has prompted manufacturers to seek more environmentally safe special soft glass formulas. One of the vexing problems avoided this way is lead glass's tendency to burn into a black spot emitting lead fumes in a bending flame too rich in the fuel/oxygen mixture. Another traditional line of glasses was colored soda lime glasses coming in a myriad of glass color choices, which produce the highest quality, most hypnotically vibrant and saturated hues. Still more color choices are afforded in either coating, or not coating, these colored glasses with

15960-521: Was a guest in late May 1914. In September of that year, a large banquet to honor the 50th anniversary of William West's arrival in Lewis County was held at the St. Helens; West, the "Father of Chehalis", died less than a year later on May 8, 1915. Prince Alexis Mdivani , without his wife, Barbara Hutton , stayed overnight in January 1934 during an evasion to dodge a process server from California. A man known as Larry Hightower, in an attempt to set

16093-662: Was awarded to the winner of an annual baseball competition held at Millett Field between the Portland and Seattle teams of the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company . A large banquet was held in November 1931 to honor the president of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs after a state-wide visit; the event was sponsored by the local Chehalis chapter. The hotel hosted

16226-479: Was based on a Chehalis Community Renaissance Team plan approved by the city council in 2009 that also included long term revitalization projects for downtown Chehalis such as building façade renovations. Two sites within the downtown historic district are individually listed on the NRHP. The Lewis County Historical Society and Museum , known also as the Burlington Northern Depot, is located in

16359-400: Was built with a standard layout and usage of the age, with the ground floor used for commercial and retail businesses, while the upper floors were used for hotel accommodations. At its peak, the St. Helens provided 152 rooms. After the conversion of the hotel to apartments, the ground floor's purpose remained the same but the living quarters were rebuilt for kitchen-apartment use. A small lobby

16492-459: Was erected at the intersections of Boistfort Street and Chehalis and Pacific avenues on February 12, 1907. The fountain contained a large basin on a decorative pedestal topped with an electric globe light, a modern amenity of the time. The public spring was the idea of a ten-member all-girl group known as the Flower Club. The organization paid $ 200 for the fountain, raising a smaller amount from city residents for freight and installation. Confusion over

16625-476: Was first demonstrated in a modern form in December 1910 by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show . While they are used worldwide, neon signs were popular in the United States from about the 1920s to 1950s. The installations in Times Square , many originally designed by Douglas Leigh , were famed, and there were nearly 2,000 small shops producing neon signs by 1940. In addition to signage, neon lighting

16758-412: Was held on May 12, 1921. The hotel's ground floor was home to the St. Helens Coffee Shop and by 1924, was neighbor to the St. Helens Theater to the north. For a time, the radio station KITI-FM broadcast out of the St. Helens. In 1975, ownership received permission to fully convert the hotel to apartments. Ongoing financial issues, along with severe building code violations, the hotel closed for

16891-490: Was noted by 1900 and the interior featured a "grill room" in the 1920s. The hotel contained several meeting and lounge rooms, such as the Terrace Room. The 1910 annex addition created an additional 26 rooms and cost $ 20,000. Despite the hotel being completed by 1920, the lobby was reworked in 1923 with walls retinted and the space redecorated. The lobby was remodeled again in 1931, adding new decorations and dividing

17024-545: Was often difficult to operate and maintain; it was permanently removed in early-May of that year. Additional reports note that the fountain was moved as it was becoming a hazard in the right of way due to an increase in automobile and Twin City Railroad street car usage. The fountain, possibly without the globe light and pedestal, was moved to the Chehalis Civic Center for a time. It was often used as

17157-400: Was renamed by the new owners from Chateau St. Helens to the St. Helens Inn, the moniker originally used under the NRHP nomination. From the St. Helen's beginnings as a wooden building in the 1890s up until the 1970s apartment conversion, the hotel's ownership remained either fully or partially under the West family of Chehalis. William West, a respected civil servant and businessman, served as

17290-477: Was situated on a triangular area uphill of the St. Helens Hotel and was first begun in 1905. Issues with the grade and road improvements would plague the completion of the park and it was never completed; the land was offered in mid-1908 as the location of the Chehalis Carnegie library, which was completed and opened in 1910. The Vernetta Smith Timberland Library , which opened in 2008 and replaced

17423-486: Was situated outside of the Burnett Jewelry Store in downtown. Thought to have been installed in 1901 or 1902, the E. Howard & Co. timepiece was a fixture in the city until January 1970 when it was removed after the jewelry business transferred to a new location in the downtown area. The clock, sold to an antique dealer, was moved to Newport, Oregon . A fountain, meant as a watering trough for horses,

17556-422: Was suspected and charged. Several fires occurred at the hotel. At the end of April 1907, a small blaze, which attracted a small crowd, started on the roof above the kitchen and was doused by the owner William West Sr.; damage was considered minimal. A grease fire from the hotel's kitchen spread to the second floor in October 1973. Suppressed in under an hour, damages were confined to several rooms and bathrooms in

17689-416: Was the development of fluorescent tube coatings. Jacques Risler received a French patent in 1926 for these. Neon signs that use an argon/mercury gas mixture emit a good deal of ultraviolet light . When this light is absorbed by a fluorescent coating, preferably inside the tube, the coating (called a "phosphor") glows with its own color. While only a few colors were initially available to sign designers, after

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