Fenton: Building is vital to downtown revival
Continued from Page 1
the brown building, a descrip-
tive some began using after a
paint job.
“We rebranded it to improve
its marketability,” Commu-
nity Development Director
Kevin Cronin said. Roberts
and Maize “will come up with
a design. It’s a pretty large
building and they’re propos-
ing an extensive exterior ren-
ovation over and above new
October 25, 2019
T he C olumbia P ress
4
siding.”
“Going forward depends on
that grant,” Roberts said. “We
want to repaint everything
(using) an approved color
scheme. Install cooler exteri-
or light fixtures – old school-
house lighting. Replace the
awning on two sides.”
The upstairs shutters will be
removed and replaced with nic-
er window trim, he said. Flower
boxes are probable, too.
The coming week is expect-
ed to be the last with cooper-
ative weather; the rest of the
restoration will have to wait
for early spring, Roberts said.
There are six apartments up-
stairs, one downstairs and
three potential retail spaces
downstairs. They’d like to see
a brew pub or café take all or
some of it.
Allen Fenton’s dad, Ames,
owned Fenton’s Grocery, but
it was his grandfather, J.J.
Fenton, who opened Warren-
ton’s first grocery store. It was
on Harbor Drive, just west of
the Skipanon Bridge. Francis
“Doc” Wilson owned a phar-
macy next door.
A fire in about 1930 de-
stroyed both, Allen Fenton
said, and both relocated into
the large new building at
South Main and First Street.
The building was owned by
Jake Bosshart, a logging com-
pany owner who had quite a
Weston Roberts stands in the
alcove in front of the original doors
leading to the second floor.
bit of property in Warrenton.
Fenton, who administers
the “Memories of Warrenton”
Facebook page, said his aunt
lived in one of the apartments
upstairs and worked in his
dad’s grocery store, as did his
brother, a sister and his moth-
er, Lulu.
Back when it was Fenton’s
Grocery, the building also
was home to Doc Butler’s
dental office (upstairs behind
the Coca Cola sign), Wilson’s
Pharmacy was on the north
end and also served as a ter-
minal and ticket office for Or-
egon Motor Stages bus line.
At the south end of the build-
ing was Warrenton Meat Mar-
ket, owned by Larry Lenhard.
Fenton’s was in the middle
along with an approved state
liquor outlet that Ames Fen-
ton operated.
“It was quite a sight on Fri-
day nights when workers from
Prouty Lumber Company –
Warrenton’s biggest lumber
mill and probably its biggest
employer -- lined up for whis-
ky,” Allen Fenton said.
It hasn’t been used as a
grocery since his dad closed
the business in 1956. In the
1960s, the building was home
to a Coast-to-Coast Hardware
store.
Other grocery stores, in-
cluding Maize’s Market, Main
Street Grocery/Busy Bee and
Shaw’s Grocery also found a
home in downtown Warren-
ton.
Warrenton’s Urban Renewal
Agency is expected to consid-
er the façade grant at a meet-
ing in November.