Sign in with Facebook"Pleasant State Capitol on the Willamette River" Top 5 Page for this destination Salem by atufft
Salem Travel Guide: 108 reviews and 274 photos
The Kalapuyan indians called this spot in the Willamette Valley, along the river, Chemeketa, or "meeting place". This diverse tribal and linguistic group had settled throughout the Williamette and Umpqua River Valleys, and into the coastal and Cascade Mountains, found the central location on the banks of the river appropriate for tribal meetings. The establishment of the mill at Mill Creek, and later the Oregon Institute (1842), the town was variously called Mill or Institute, but the name Salem was chosen when the original downtown grid pattern was designed by David Leslie and William H. Willson. Salem was established as the capitol when Oregon became a state in 1859. Today, Willson's name is given to the landscaped park on the western side of the Capitol grounds, and the old downtown of this third largest city in Oregon sits pleasantly just near the eastern side of the Williamette River. The metro area population of Salem is second in size only to much larger Portland, but this is a quiet city that quickly disssolves into the bucolic valley farms that surround it. Salem is in the center of Oregon.
May Trucking Company, my employer, has its headquarters at Brooks, Oregon, which is just a few miles away from Salem. When unavoidably detained from wandering the 48 states, I often stay in a Keizer hotel. The walk from the hotel in Keizer to downtown Salem is about an hour long, and I have hiked into the core of Salem to wander the capitol grounds and have dinner downtown several times. The downtown is mostly 19th and early 20th century architecture recently restored with seismic retrofit steel and new colorful paint. As is the tradition throughout Oregon, the ubiquitous coffee shop is everywhere, and there is a wide variety of restaurants, bars, and clubs in the downtown area that cater to the government workers and refined tastes of the residents living in central Salem.
Reviews (21)
Uptown Salem: Residences Tour
Off The Beaten Path
(1)
Just a few blocks north and east of downtown exists a significant inventory of finely restored residences dating between... more travel advice
Downtown Salem: Historic Buildings Tour
Things to Do
(16)
As I walked around the downtown grid of one-way streets, I shot pictures of the nicely restored buildings, most of them... more travel advice
Local Bus System: CHERRIOTS
Transportation
(1)
The Cherriots bus system has a state of the art terminal in downtown Salem, and lots of hyrid or natural gas buses. The... more travel advice
World Beat Festival on the Waterfront
Local Customs
(1)
During the last weekend of June every year, the riverfront in downtown Salem hosts the World Beat Festival, which... more travel advice
-
Been to Salem?
Share your travels with the world!
atufft's Related Pages
Salem Travel Guide
Member Travel Pages
- "Oregon Capitol, and A Touch of Nature"
- "Pleasant State Capitol on the Willamette River"
- "Just a Few Hours in Salem"
- "Salem, Oregon"
- "Salem: Oregon My Hometown"
- "slabeaume's new Oregon Page ---the Cascades and Wi"
- "derats's new Salem page"
- See All...
Explore the World
atufft Visits Here Frequently!
- Member Rank:
- 0 0 0 5 9
- 2,684 Reviews
- Add Friend
- 10,129 Photos
- Send Message
Badges & Stats in Salem
- 21 Reviews
- 70 Photos
- 55 Forum posts
- 7 Comments
- 1,479PageViews
- See All Stats
- See All Badges (71)
Have you been to Salem?
Share Your TravelsLatest Activity in Salem
- Commented on Ewingjr98's Salem Page
- Wrote a Review Uptown Salem: Residences Tour in Salem Off The Beaten Path
- Uploaded a Photo to "Uptown Salem: Residences Tour"
- updated a Salem Travel Page "Pleasant State Capitol on the Willamette River"
Top 10 Pages
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
San Francisco
Intro, 178 reviews, 638 photos
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Copán
Intro, 48 reviews, 213 photos
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Luxor
Intro, 47 reviews, 198 photos
-
Detroit
Intro, 38 reviews, 165 photos
-
New York City
Intro, 41 reviews, 155 photos
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Columbus
Intro, 41 reviews, 150 photos
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument
Intro, 33 reviews, 152 photos
-
Yosemite National Park
Intro, 38 reviews, 140 photos
-
New Orleans
Intro, 41 reviews, 134 photos
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Udaipur
Intro, 37 reviews, 137 photos
Friends
See All Friends (73)
Wine Tasting
National/State Park
ArcheologyLatest Salem hotel reviews
- Phoenix Grand Hotel
- 135 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 22, 2012 - Best Western Black Bear Inn
- 39 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 26, 2012 - Residence Inn By Marriott Salem Oregon
- 41 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 5, 2012 - Salem Inn
- 23 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 23, 2012 - Best Western Mill Creek Inn
- 136 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 22, 2012 - Shilo Inn Salem Suites
- 64 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 29, 2012 - Best Value Inn Salem
- 14 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 12, 2012 - Red Lion Salem
- 75 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 18, 2012 - Motel 6 Salem
- 9 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Nov 17, 2011 - Phoenix Inn Suites North Salem
- 35 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 10, 2012 - Comfort Suites Salem
- 27 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 19, 2012 - Best Western Pacific Highway Inn
- 26 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 2, 2012 - La Quinta Inn Suites Salem
- 24 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 19, 2012 - Super 8 Salem
- 23 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 21, 2012
Comments (7)
I enjoyed my visit to Salem ,Mass but didn't realize there was a Salem in Oregon..I enjoyed your pages.
Dragon boat races, huh? Never encountered those before. Enjoyed my visit to Salem...very different from our New England Salem... indeed!
Pretty place, Alan. Wow, something Oregon and Florida have in common. 90% of the non-residents can't name our capital cities... (Salem and Tallahassee) Most figure something like Portland and Miami, etc.
Alan, Nice work. Great descriptions and photos. I passed thru Salem many years ago and just had time for a brief look as it was already night I needed to continue on the road. It definitely looks like it is worth a longer visit. ~ Steve
Another excellent new page of Oregon!
We stopped in Salem for lunch on our way back from Vancouver. I feel like we missed so much now! Thanks for sharing :)
Hi, Alan! Never read about Salem! Thanks for your stories!
1 - 7 of 7