FRIDAYEXTRA !
The Daily Astorian
Friday, May 8, 2015
Weekend Edition
The Norblad Hotel stands at the base of 14th Street’s hill on the east end of downtown Astoria.
PRESERVING THE NORBLAD HOTEL
Stories and photos
By JOHN
GOODENBERGER
For EO Media Group
A
fter restoring the
Commodore Hotel,
Brian Faherty and
Paul Caruana sought more
downtown investments, es-
pecially on 14th Street. They
purchased both the massive
Hotel Astoria and the modest
Lovell-McCall Tire service
store.
Their intent was to rein-
vigorate downtown’s east end
through high-quality restoration
and a top-notch tenant base.
The Norblad Hotel, noto-
rious for its leaking roof and
sometimes sketchy clientele,
was also available. “I didn’t
want anything to do with it,”
recalled Caruana. “It looked
like so much work … the tenant
base … the police were there all
the time. It needed everything.”
Faherty, he claimed, talked him
into purchasing the building.
The centrally located lobby is nearly complete. Paul Caruana’s
retro design will include objects of interest on the bookshelves.
was to create curb appeal.
All the window sashes were
repainted. Then, the entry’s
original galvanized metal and
glass canopy was reconstructed
by Seaside’s Coast Repair and
Maintenance.
Cauruana said working on
the interior was initially more
damage control than having
a grand image or plan. Ev-
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ery room was renovated and
George F. Norblad operated stripped to a “white box.”
a 36-room hotel from the second
Wall sinks, hardware, wood
story of the John E. Wicks de- WULP DQG ZRRG ÀRRUV ZHUH OHIW
signed structure. Housed within intact, restoring the purity of the
the Miller-Jeffers Building, the original space. Missing pieces
Norblad Hotel opened in Janu- were reinstalled.
ary 1923.
“I just stepped back and let
Norblad was a Portland busi- Paul design,” recalled Faherty.
nessman with local ties. His “Paul has a gift for it and the
brother, Albin W. Norblad, was Norblad features some of his
a longtime Astorian who served best work.”
as Oregon’s governor from 1929
Wicks’ design was allowed
to 1931.
to speak for itself. It was used
as a foundation for spare room
Renovation
furnishings. Bed boards and side
7KH ¿UVW RUGHU RI EXVLQHVV tables are mounted to the wall to
promote a feeling of airiness.
Wall-mounted mirrors above
beds accentuate that sense.
Chairs and desks are small and
light. The WCs and single occu-
pancy showers are located down
the hall.
Philosophy
“We provide people less
of what they don’t need,” said
Caruana. “And, we added
high-quality pieces, such as
high-quality mattresses, back
into the rooms.” Coffee and
other services are provided in
the lobby. The result is a “com-
munity atmosphere” where
guests interact with each other.
Furthermore, the rooms are not
furnished for those who want to
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“It is designed for the active
guest,” asserts Caruana. “The
incentive is to go out and see the
town.”
The Norblad has 15 hotel
rooms and 16 apartments. It’s
Lightly furnished, airy rooms allow the building to speak
for itself.
location and sensibility ap-
peals to both guests and resi-
dents.
“There is something magical
about staying in downtown,”
contends Caruana. “All the
things of a big city — restau-
rants, the Liberty Theater and
shopping — are all three blocks
from the Norblad.”
ished the wood balustrade in the
front stairway and restored the
historic front desk.
Importance of
preservation
An unapologetic romanticist,
Caruana claims historic build-
ings have a “undeniable feeling”
about them.
“There is something about
Local contractors
the mystery of grabbing a hand-
Most of the Norblad’s res- rail that has been used for gen-
toration was completed by em- erations by hundreds of people,”
ployees of Caruana Inc. For he enthused. “Certain properties
instance, JoAnne Patterson, have that feeling …. Logic and
Caruana’s mother, painted the business plans don’t apply any
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Nevertheless, he and Faherty
ODLGWLOHZLWKLQWKHVKRZHUVDQG made the leap to restore multiple
Diamond Heating installed the buildings.
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“You can’t always put that
Regional contractors includ- return of investment on them,”
ed Wolf Wallpapering, LLC of said Caruana of historic struc-
Portland who scanned custom tures.
art, then enlarged it as wall
“Peoples’ emotional re-
FRYHULQJV DQG 0RUJDQ¶V )LQH sponse to a place is more than
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A va ila ble
M AY 22
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