1904: Constructed
1904- 1910s: Battery store
1920s: Plymouth Agency
1933–1950s: O’Dell Tire store
1953–1960s: Fredrick Motor Co.
1976–Present day: The News Register
This two-story, stucco-covered square brick building was constructed ca.1904. The entire southwest portion of the ground floor was cut away in the 1920s to accommodate automobiles and gasoline pumps. The roof is flat and only a simple ledge articulates the cornice line.The building was erected by prominent lawyer Frank W. Fenton.
The cut away portion has since been enclosed. Tony Christianson and Russell Turner had a battery shop in the building prior to 1919. During the 1920s, Dick Wilson and Charles Newman ran a Plymouth agency in the building. Odell’s, which had been in business across the street since 1924, moved to this location in 1933. The News-Register, McMinnville’s local newspaper, moved into adjacent property in 1976 and into the O’Dell Building in 1981. The Bladine family, owners of the newspaper, purchased the half block complex in 1985, and in 2001 remodeled the O’Dell Building into the newspaper’s front entrance and news department.
“Forty years of anchoring this corner of downtown McMinnville has given our family and business great appreciation for the importance of a healthy and vibrant downtown. It’s been a front row seat to core area revitalization, and a perfect place to experience work and play with the diverse people of our extended community.” —Jeb Bladine, building owner
Primary Significant Contributing: Structures are classified as Primary Significant if they were built in or before 1912, or reflect the building styles, traditions, or patterns of structures typically constructed before this date. These buildings represent the primary period of construction and development in downtown McMinnville from initial settlement in 1881 to 1912, when city improvements and use of the Oregon Electric and Southern Pacific Railroad service promoted new construction in the downtown area.
