Landers BUILDING — 1912
Rectangle gallery
[PLAQUE: LANDERS BUILDING — 1912 | 209 N TOWER AVE]
F.W. Woolworth Co. storefront within Landers Building, c. early 20th century. Courtesy Lewis County Historical Museum.
The Landers Building stands along North Tower Avenue as one of those downtown structures that quietly carries several chapters of Centralia’s commercial life within a single façade. Public historic-image records identify it as the Landers Building, also known as the Lindberg Building, at 209 N. Tower Street, and categorize it within the Centralia Downtown Historic District. The same public record set places the building’s construction in 1912, which is also supported by the date visible on the building façade in your project photos.
When it was built, Centralia was moving from early growth into a more confident period of downtown development. Tower Avenue was no longer simply a road through town; it was becoming the city’s commercial spine. Brick buildings, formal storefronts, and upper-story business or lodging spaces signaled a community investing in permanence. The Landers Building belonged to that moment. It was designed for activity at street level and usefulness above, the kind of mixed commercial building that helped downtown function from morning errands to evening foot traffic.
Upper façade of Landers Building with “1912” date marker visible. Courtesy Lewis County Historical Museum.
One of the building’s most important historic tenants was F. W. Woolworth, whose presence tied the Landers Building to the rise of national five-and-dime retail in small American downtowns. Newspaper archive snippets for The Chronicle identify Woolworth’s as occupying the ground level during the early 20th century, though published references differ on the exact span of operation. One article snippet states the ground floor was Woolworth’s beginning in 1913, while another references the Woolworth store operating from 1912 to 1953. Even with that discrepancy, Woolworth’s role is historically significant: it made the building part of a broader retail culture where residents could find household goods, notions, gifts, and everyday necessities under one roof.
Interior retail view showing merchandise displays, c. early 1900s. Courtesy Lewis County Historical Museum.
Over time, the Landers Building continued to adapt. Its storefront changed hands, its upper floors shifted in purpose, and its façade experienced the layers of alteration common to downtown buildings that never stopped being useful. In the early 2000s, owners Dan and Sue Horwath purchased and invested in the building, with The Chronicle describing renovation work at 209 N. Tower Ave. and later noting that the building received a Pride of Centralia Award following improvements. Modern image records also document the building as home to Up the Creek Antiques, placing it firmly within Centralia’s later identity as a destination for antiques, collectibles, and heritage-based downtown shopping.
Today, the Landers Building remains a strong example of continuity through reuse. Its story is not defined by a single tenant, but by the way it has repeatedly served the needs of downtown Centralia: first as part of a growing commercial district, then as a national retail storefront, later as an antique destination, and now as a preserved piece of the city’s historic streetscape. The building’s endurance reflects the larger story of Tower Avenue itself—built for commerce, reshaped by changing times, and still holding the memory of the people who passed through its doors.
