Field-Robinson & Caldwell Buildings

The buildings at 107 and 109 N. Tower Avenue stand among the earliest brick commercial buildings in downtown Centralia. Although they are sometimes grouped in local discussion with the nearby Field and Lease Building, the National Register documentation identifies them separately: 107 N. Tower as the Field-Robinson Building and 109 N. Tower as the Caldwell Building. Both date to 1892, placing them in the early wave of permanent commercial construction that followed Centralia's first major period of growth.

At 107 N. Tower, the Field-Robinson Building was constructed by Joseph Robinson, a prominent early Centralia businessman, at a reported cost of $10,000. That investment was significant for the time and reflected the city's ambitions before the Panic of 1893 disrupted much of the local economy. The building's second-floor office space once housed the Masonic Lodge headquarters, while the ground floor was rented to retail operations. One of the most prominent early tenants was the Auldridge store.

The neighboring Caldwell Building at 109 N. Tower was erected by German-born Lawrence Bar, one of Centralia's influential early merchants. Bar operated a major mercantile business and helped shape the commercial character of the district during the early 20th century. The Caldwell Building's Victorian styling, red brick, sandstone block construction, bay windows, decorative pressed-metal cornice, and building date plate placed it firmly within the architectural vocabulary of Centralia's earliest permanent storefronts.

By 1912, Polk City Directories identified Mrs. Meinkeri's Millinery at 107 N. Tower and Auldridge Dry Goods at 109 N. Tower, uses confirmed by 1924 Sanborn maps. Together, these buildings tell a story of early downtown confidence. Their upper floors housed offices and organizations; their lower floors supported retail life; their facades helped transform Tower Avenue from a developing street into a true commercial corridor.

Today, 107-109 N. Tower offers a rare glimpse into Centralia's 1890s commercial landscape. The buildings are not simply storefronts; they are survivors from one of the city's formative moments, when ambition, commerce, fraternal life, and architecture came together to shape the downtown that followed.