| The Petzoid Building was built by a German businessman named Gustav Friewald. Nothing is known about Friewald except that he invested in real estate and rented out his buildings to various businesses. Around 1906 he leased the nominated building to Albert Knapp and Louis A. Nobel, two Californians who opened a combination saloon-liquor store. The second level of the building was used by Nobel for living quarters. The saloon was still in operation in 1912 with Nobel as the sole owner; in 1916 the structure was known as the Nobel Building (Polk 1911-12:226; Oregon City Planning Dept. 1982-1983; Sohns & Woodbeck 1916-1917).
Richard Petzoid purchased the commercial building in i9i7 from Friewald and rented out the retail space to various businesses until the finally sold the property in 1951. By 1919 Louis Nobel had vacated the upstairs apartment and presumably closed the saloon and liquor store. The former Nobel living quarter was divided into five tiny apartments at an unknown date, and it is also not known how long the apartments were in use. From 1924 through 1930 the McAnulty family operated a restaurant and confectionary on the main floor of the building. Petzoid family records, dated 1936-1938, denote a pool hall in operation with Barry and McAnulty listed as the owners (Oregon City Planning Dept. 1982-1983; Petzoid n.d.). In 1940 the ground floor was remodeled into a drug store. Building records indicate no changes after that until a 1965 office conversion (Clackamas County Tax Assessor n.d.; Oregon City Building Permit Records, n.d.).
The Petzoid Building gains additional significance by its association with longtime owner Richard B. Petzold, a prominent Oregon City businessman, who devoted himself to community service through active membership in city government and local social organizations. He was listed in the 1936-1937 Who’s Who for Oregon and a 1920 publication of the State League of German Speaking Organizations of notable emigrant citizens who had settled in Oregon.
Richard Petzold (1856-1936) was born in Dresden, Germany. He was educated at the Volk Night School and later apprenticed himself to a master butcher. In 1887 he emigrated to the United States, first settling in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he was foreman of the Weisel Sausage factory for two years. In 1889 Petzoid moved to Portland, Oregon to work with the American Dressed Meat Company as a journeyman butcher. He relocated to Oregon City in 1893 and opened a butcher shop with partner, Charles H. Gale. After a trip to his old homeland in 1893, Petzoid moved to eastern Oregon where he managed a butcher shop in La Grande. That same year he became a naturalized citizen of the United States (Capitol Publishing Co. 1935-37:437; Davis 1982:53; National Register of Historic Places 1985; Oregon Daily Journal 1936; State League of German Speaking 0rganizations 1920:244-245).
In 1903 Petzoid returned to Oregon City to establish his own meat market and slaughterhouse. He began purchasing commercial buildings in downtown Oregon City in about 1917 and eventuality owned or held interest in several buildings, which included the Petzoid Meat Market, a well known business in downtown Oregon City for many years (716 Main Street). In addition to the commercial buildings, Petzold owned two rental houses and 37 acres on which he raised his own stock and operated a slaughterhouse. He retired from the meat business in l9l9 but continued to manage his varied properties until his death in 1936 (Capitol Publishing Co. 1936-37:437; Oregon Daily Journal 1936; Petzold n.d.).
Besides being an astute and energetic businessman, Petzold was a devoted family man and active in community affairs. He married Martha Boden of Grosswehrsdorf, Germany, and they had three daughters--Erna, Agnes and Anna (Capitol Publishing Co. 1936-37:437). In 1911 the Petzolds built a Craftsman style residence in the "Dutch Camp" neighborhood of Oregon City; the home has since been placed on the National Register of Historic Places (Natlona1 Register of Historic Places 1985).
Petzold was a charter member of the Zion Lutheran Church that was organized in Oregon City in 1893. He was a member of the 1ocal Commercial Club, which worked for the betterment of the city and county. He was also active in German organizations such as the local chapter of the Turn Verien, an athletic association based in Portland. After his retirement from the meat business in 1919 Petzold, a democrat, served as an Oregon City councilman from 1920 to 1922 (Capitol Publishing Co. 1936-37:437; Gardner 1991).
Source: Sekora, Lynda, Historic Preservation Consultant, Petzold, Richard B., Building, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, July 1991. |
