THERE WERE NO responses to the December photo of the past which surprised me as I thought many would recognize The Salad Bowl lunch counter.
The address was 136 E. Front St. and it was on the corner of Front and Lincoln streets. The photo was taken sometime in the 1950s.
According to the Historic Inventory Survey Report of April 2000, there were two Wenger Buildings.
The first one, which was built in 1915, faced Lincoln Street.
It was so popular C. Wenger built the second one in 1926 facing Front Street.
As far as I can determine in my research, Eubanks Drug was the first business at the 136 E. Front St. site.
PA directory 1936
The 1936 Port Angeles Directory lists Eubanks Drug Inc. at that address.
The Wenger Building built in 1915 had several businesses throughout the years including a print shop and small café.
When the second Wenger Building was built, Olympic Printers resided at 120 N. Lincoln St. Sometime between 1980 and 1986, The Gateway Tavern relocated there from 108 S. Lincoln St.
It wasn’t until 1946 that a restaurant was listed in that building and that was The Salad Bowl owned by Vernon Burton and Kenneth J. Bower.
At the same site was Makah Sporting Goods owned by Alfred J. Goerg.
According to Ron Wasnock, Goerg was killed in a plane crash in the Alaska wilderness sometime in the late 1940s.
Wasnock said that Goerg was quite famous as a big game hunter, fisherman, inventor, gunsmith and Outdoor Life magazine contributor.
He always had time for the young outdoorsmen who frequented his store.
In 1950, the Port Angeles Directory lists Trader Vic’s Club as sharing the site with The Salad Bowl. Both businesses were owned by Burton and Bowers.
By 1952, The Salad Bowl Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge had W.E. Evans and G.A. Pearce as new owners.
By 1954, Joseph W. Musch had acquired the restaurant and lounge and held the business until 1969 when he sold to V. Ben Goldie and his wife, Phyllis.
The Goldies changed the name to Goldies Restaurant and in 1975, added the Gold Nugget Room Cocktail Lounge.
The Goldies kept the restaurant until the Iredales bought it in 1991 and changed the name to Iredales Bar and Grill.
By 1995, Don and Betty Iredale had a restaurant and lounge.
In 1997, David DeLaney is listed as having DeLaney’s Restaurant.
During the time of the Goldies and Iredales, my father, George Bretches, worked as a dishwasher after he retired from the state highway.
Dad needed to stay busy and said he enjoyed his time at the restaurant. He had lots of stories of bar fights and crazy activity.
Front Street in the 1940s and 1950s was a beehive of activity.
The Wagon Wheel Tavern was next door to the west of the Salad Bowl at 132 E. Front St.
They were there for many years and brought in lots of younger people when they had bands and dancing in the back of the tavern.
The Metta Room is currently where the Wagon Wheel was.
The Duck Inn (128 E. Front St.) and James Hardware (126 E. Front St.) were farther west.
The Leader Department Store (122 E. Front St.) was next and it later became Millers Department Store and then Riedels Department Store. It is presently Olympic Stationers.
The Olympus Hotel, Haguewoods Restaurant and First National Bank Building were at the west end of the block (110 E. Front St. and 102 E. Front St.).
In 1971, the Olympus Hotel and Haguewoods Restaurant blew up when a gas line ruptured.
At that site, there is currently a parking lot.
The original building built for Sea First Bank is still standing but has been purchased by another business.
The 1999 directory lists DeLaney’s Restaurant, a Principal Eating Place.
Sometime between 2000 and 2008, the restaurant closed its doors and has been vacant ever since.
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Alice Alexander is a Clallam County historian, author, and a descendent of an Elwha Valley pioneer family.
She is a recipient of a 2014 Clallam County Heritage Awards. She can be reached at [email protected].
Alice’s Clallam history column appears the first Sunday of every month.
January photo from the past Where do you think this business was located? Write in with your memories to Alice Alexander at [email protected] or write to her at 204 W. Fourth St. Apt. 14, Port Angeles, WA, 98362 and she will include your comments in her column Feb. 3. Comments need to be in by Jan. 18 to be included.
