Credit: Venerable Properties

It’s our first day in the new office, guys! For some reason, the Oregonian wrote about it.

Our office is now in the New Market Theater Building, which has an exciting past. The building was originally the home of Captain Ankeny, a shipping magnate who won the title “Captain” during the Indian Wars. The old timey, native-routing capitalist settled in Portland and built his home here on SW 2nd and Ash in 1857. He built the New Market Theater building, which takes up almost the whole block and was designed by architect William W. Piper, in 1872. I believe the section of the building our office is actually in Built in 1889 as a warehouse, forge, and annex to theater. This is back when theaters needed forges, I guess.

The property had a well which, 150 years later, inspired the name of a bar up the street. The bar is actually a rather apt memorial because when the property was renovated in 1983 (based on a design from SERA architects), they found a bunch of historic alcohol bottles on the premises, including brandy, wine, and Schnapps. Classy guy, the Captain.

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The Captain and his alcohol!
  • The Captain and his alcohol!

Thanks to the tasteful renovation and no one tearing it down to build a parking lot, the building remains a prime example of a cast iron architecture in the city. The vaulted fifth-floor windows also offer a prime example of a place to watch the firemen across the street hose off their trucks. Just sayin’.

Sarah Shay Mirk reported on transportation, sex and gender issues, and politics at the Mercury from 2008-2013. They have gone on to make many things, including countless comics and several books.

13 replies on “A Brief History of Our Awesome New Office”

  1. Well, I guess we all know how Ms. Mirk will be spending a lot of her time, don’t we. WSH may have to have her windows painted black.

  2. Wow! You guys must have a perfect view of the medical marijuana smokers in electric wheelchairs getting handjobs from their caretakers down by the waterfront!

  3. If a major newspaper publishes a story on their website and 5.5 hours later nobody has posted hate-filled comments on it, does this mean the article was never actually published?

  6. Allow me to be the first to bestow upon Wm.™ Steven Humphrey his new all-purpose nickname “Captain Yankin’it.”

  8. Nice try, Colin, but some might prefer “Captain Wankeny” or even “Captain Skankeny.” Maybe we need a poll.

  10. Sarah Mirk…. you are a fucking imbecile as a “reporter”… if ya actually got off your worthless ass and did some research, you would have uncovered that the Mercury’s new office was a parking garage from the early 70’s until its restoration and renovation along with its listing on NHB… Worthless wannabe “reporter”….. I hate lazy and stupid people……

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