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B4 — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
MAMMEN
Continued from Page B1
The upper fl oor, con-
structed to be both a show-
place and a gathering
place, was named Stew-
ard’s Opera House. It was a
fi ne establishment in which
entertainment in extrava-
gant ways was provided for
the people of La Grande
and surrounding areas.
There were plays and
orchestra performances,
and comedians, and vocal-
ists. There were dance les-
sons and dances, and fancy
balls. In 1892 there was an
elegant ball with dinner
and dancing that had about
600 people in attendance.
And there was vaude-
ville. This was some-
thing new to La Grande
although it had been pop-
ular for some years, having
started in France where
the name came from the
French expression “voice
of the city.” This was a
grouping of nine or ten
acts of various sorts —
one-act plays, acrobatics,
singing, dancing comedy
and animal acts. These
acts were booked together
as they traveled around
the country. They seemed
to be quite popular and it
seems they had a regular
program which included
a “dumb” act which came
fi rst to allow the patrons
of the evening to get into
their seats.
Next came the “strong”
acts. Those were with a bit
more talent or expertise.
Then came the weakest act
in order to clear the house.
An example of a weak act
was Burk and Andrus and
Their Trained Mule. Early
on, tickets to attend a per-
formance at the Opera
House cost 25 cents and
35 cents. Later it was up
to 50 cents. This doesn’t
sound like very much but
the value today would be
between $7 and $10 for the
early years and as much as
$16.50 in 1897.
The Observer reported
that during the 20 years
the Opera House was in
operation scores of famous
actor and actresses made
their appearance on this
stage in La Grande. With
the coming of moving pic-
tures the Opera House was
no longer the drawing card
for entertainment.
In June of 1913 the
second fl oor was leased to
J. E. Mazanti and B. M.
Sherwood who tore out
the stage and built a gal-
lery around the fl oor. By
August the second fl oor
was renamed Rex Hall
and was used for a variety
of activities including a
dance academy and later
the Red Cross sewing
committee met here.
Information from var-
ious books by David
Horowitz tells us about
another usage of Rex Hall.
This was being the home
of the local Ku Klux Klan
chapter which existed from
late 1922 to December
1924. It had a confi rmed
membership of 320 in 1922
with 37% being employees
of the Union Pacifi c Rail-
road. It was said that the
La Grande members were
held to a high moral stan-
dard and that men joined
the chapter “to build net-
works against what they
saw as deteriorating
values brought on by the
changing times.” However,
by late 1924 the chapter
was in fi nancial diffi culties
and deteriorated.
In the 1930s the
former opera house
was painted grey and
became La Grande’s fi rst
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021
National Guard Armory,
according to Dick Mason
in The Observer. By the
early 1950s, when the
National Guard relocated,
the second story of the
Steward building was no
longer used.
Downtown La Grande
was a lively bustling place
beginning in the late 1890s
and the 1200 block was
especially so. The lower
fl oor space of the Steward
Building was originally
divided into three com-
mercial spaces. The busi-
nesses occupying these
were generally two types
— department stores pri-
marily selling clothing and
grocery stores.
The fi rst known depart-
ment store was the Murphy
Bros. clothing store oper-
ated by the Murphy
brothers. They later
changed the name to the
Chicago Store and added
women’s clothing. In 1907
the store changed owners
again and became the Peo-
ples Store which was a
department store selling
everything from tooth-
brushes to kitchen uten-
sils as well as clothing. By
September of 1915 Gei-
bel’s, one of the largest
stores in the Grande Ronde
Valley, moved to this loca-
tion. Less than a year later
the store sold again and
Hill’s Department Store
took up residency and
remained for the next 30
years when F. B. Conner
purchased the Hill inven-
tory and opened his store.
The earliest store was
the Mc Cully and Gil-
bert grocery followed by
the Grandy Grocery Co.,
Grandy and Romig, then
Staples and Romig which
was later bought out by J.
C. Snodgrass. On Dec. 23,
1933, IGA opened it doors
to customers of La Grande
at this location.
But two of the most
remembered occupants
were the fi rst Payless in
the United States and
Woolworth. Woolworth
was located here as early
as 1920 and Payless came
in next door in 1939. For
over 20 years together
they provided for the many
needs of the citizens of
the Grande Ronde Valley.
But in January of 1961 the
lease Woolworth had with
Payless expired and Pay-
less wanted to expand so
Woolworth closed during
the last week of December
1960 after 40 years of
service.
In early 1961 Payless
expanded into the space
where Woolworth had
been. They were there
until their closing day
on Oct. 29, 1973, when
they moved to the Grande
Ronde Plaza leaving the
Steward Building. This
once beautiful, but now
vacant, building was soon
torn down erasing many
years of La Grande’s
history.
Keep looking up!
Enjoy!
———
Ginny Mammen has
lived in La Grande for
more than 50 years and
enjoys sharing her interest
in the history of people,
places and buildings.
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by Stella Wilder
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021
YOUR BIRTHDAY by Stella Wilder
Born today, you have much going for you of
which the world at large may not even be
aware, but that suits you just fine because you
enjoy using the element of surprise to your
advantage -- and you certainly can if you have
the option of “unveiling” an unsuspected skill
or characteristic at just the right time in order
to get the maximum possible reaction from
others. You are a born entertainer, in fact!
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) -- Put one
foot in front of the other today and progress
will surely be made -- whether concretely or
more abstractly. Don’t let anyone hold you
back.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) --
You’re paying a little too much attention to
what someone else is doing and not enough to
what you are doing -- or what you soon have
to do.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- You
may be entering a period marked by stasis and
boredom -- but whether it is short or long
depends on your resolve. Get to it!
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) -- You are
learning much from someone who is leading
you through unfamiliar territory, and soon
you will be teaching another in turn.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) -- It may seem
as though external forces are conspiring
against you at this time, but you have it in your
power to ease negative pressure.
ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- It will be
important to you, throughout the day, to look
your best and speak with authority. Also,
you’ll want to speak well of others.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- You are
concerned with cash flow and profit margins,
but today something else is likely to require
your immediate attention. Spend wisely!
GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- You sense
that recent pressures are likely to ease, but will
that mean that you are ready for what comes?
Something new demands attention.
CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- How you
make another feel today will be more
important, in the long run, than anything you
do for yourself. Think outside the box.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- You may
recognize that someone is trying to trip you
up by talking you in circles -- but once you do,
their influence over you is sure to end.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- You’re more
concerned with how things will look today
than you have been in the past -- but that
doesn’t mean that substance can be ignored!
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) -- You have what
someone wants, but you’re not about to let go
of it until a fair arrangement has been
hammered out. Stand your ground.
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