The Schultz Building was constructed in 1910, right next to the site of the former Albany Opera House, which H.R. Schultz managed in 1911.
For more than a century, the Schultz Building has stood at 212 East First Ave. in Albany. Now the ground floor of the historic two-story brick structure is getting a new use.
Joshua and Tiesha Oare bought the building and adjacent vacant corner lot at First and Baker Street for $600,000 in 2024, according to county records. Now Joshua would like to enlarge the garage door facing the back alley to accommodate his plans for a small brewery.
The door is about 7 feet tall. Oare’s city application for “historic review” of his plan says 10 feet would be better: “This change, if approved, would be part of the overall tenant improvement plan to support the future brewery of Titan Valley Brewing.”
Under Albany’s code for historic properties, enlarging the back door takes a “quasi-judicial process.” The Albany Landmarks Commission will hold a hearing on Oare’s request at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7, at City Hall.
The building has had a varied history, some of it reflected in ads in the digitized files of Albany newspapers.
Its builder or owner, H.R. Schultz, was the manager of the Albany Opera House next door at 222 East First.
In January 1911, Schultz advertised a big show: “America’s Favorite, the Greatest of Comediennes and Prima Donnas, Dainty Grace Cameron, in C.H. Kerr’s Great Master Piece, NANCY, a Soul Stirring Play… You Will Laugh, You Will Scream, You Will Roar and then Some.”
In December 1911, the Baynes Variety Store in the Schultz Building, “Next to Opera House,” took out an ad wishing its patrons a merry Christmas and happy new year.
A want ad appeared in the Albany Democrat in March 1912: “Wanted, small cash register and soda fountain at 212 E. 1st St.”
In 1920, you could live there: “For rent: Neat furnished sleeping rooms, hot and cold water, bath privileges, next door to old opera house, 212 East 1st Street.”
At the same time, downstairs at Horsky’s Tire Station and California Auto Top Co. they would take care of your rig: “We make Auto Tops to fit your cars; plate glass and celluloid curtains, Cushions repaired.”
A few years later, 212 East First was the address of C.H. Torrance Recondition Shop in 1928: “Expert repair work on cars of all makes. No job to big — none to small. Prices reasonable. All work guaranteed. Phone 379.”
The following year Torrance Reconditioning said in 1929: “For Fords, Ryebestos Transmission brake lining does not chatter. Gives long service.”
More than a decade later, in January 1941, the shop had changed to Albany Paint and Body Works. “Wrecks rebuilt, tops curtains, glass, upholstering.”
Oare’s application for the larger back door lists several other businesses at 212 East First from the 1940s onward. One was The Adult Shop, which caused some consternation downtown before it decamped to the Santiam interchange on Interstate 5 in 2002.
The last business to operate in the Schultz was a restaurant, Home Grown Oregon Foods, which was there until 2024 and has moved to a food truck off Hickory Street.
Upstairs, the Schultz has living spaces. Now it looks as though the downstairs won’t be vacant long. (hh)
Here’s the back of the Schultz Building. The Albany Landmarks Commission will hold a public hearing Wednesday about making the garage door 10 feet tall.
Great blog piece, Hasso. Love reading all the old blurbs from the local newspaper. Thanks. When that building was an Adult Shop, it was also the only place in town ACT theater could get a gun that shoots blanks. One felt like they needed a police escort to walk into the place! However, the Adult Shop with the fairly large sign on I-5 at a main entrance to Albany is not a good advertisement for this town either.
Thanks again for your dedication to informing us of Albany’s news, both new and old. Your efforts are always appreciated.
Wasn’t that building an adult store in the 1990s?
Yes, as the story says.
Thanks for the history lesson Hasso, much appreciated.
I believe you skipped the “Adult Shop”.
Read it again.
I’ve been wondering what happened to Michael’s moving in by Safeway. I haven’t found any information about what happened.
My wife goes to Planet Fitness. They told her Michael’s has backed out.
Forget about comprehension, reading seems to be too difficult. Sheesh.
I went to buy fabric at Hobby Lobby after hearing it was on sale The sign said 30% off.I asked the clerk why it wasn’t 50% off as in the past.She said the competition(JoAnn’s)had left so they didn’t have to discount as much and people will pay it.Needless to say,I’m disappointed about Michael’s.
Why would Michael’s come into Albany? It would be nice to have them, but this town is not booming. Michael’s management would do their homework before investing here, and they probably decided it would more than likely not be a profitable venture.
Hasso: That Antique Store sign that is coming unglued on 2nd Street is getting worse and worse. It isn’t too big a deal that The Antique Mall’s (also on 2nd Street) awning is starting to rust, but that Antique Store sign looks awful
Hasso, thank you for the information. Around 2010 a couple purchased the Schultz building…. might have been closer to 2002. I know it was soon after the adult shop moved out. They received CARA funds to refurbish the building, did a beautiful renovation to the upstairs. They had a business downstairs for a short time.
Do you know if they had to pay back the CARA money or did it become a freebie? If memory serves me, it was a forgivable loan for $75,000.
Here’s what I wrote in a story on Jan. 2, 2018, one of several stories I’ve done on the building: “In 2009, the CARA downtown urban renewal board authorized a forgivable loan of up to $45,000 or 50 percent of the cost of making the upstairs usable as an apartment. This entailed installing a sprinkler system, among other things. The cost of improvements was more than $90,000, and two years later, in January 2011, the CARA program indeed forgave the loan, turning it into a $45,000 grant.”
A minor quibble, but I think you confused the advertisements. The Horsky Tire Station was a few blocks to the west where the lobby of Albany Civic Theater is. Horsky did auto top work as well but was not connected to the California Auto Top business owned by G.H. Faber at the building this article is about.
Maybe, but I quoted the ad for 212 E. First.
If it was the ad from April 01, 1920, Page 7 of the Albany Daily Democrat, there is a section for two auto top businesses. They are separate entities with a separator between the ads. Only the second one has an address as it had just opened up the previous month while the Horsky business down the street had been operating since 1905 and didn’t need to show their address.
https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn96088450/1920-04-01/ed-1/seq-7/