Historic Westside Neighborhood

Historic Westside Neighborhood
NW Pennsylvania Avenue, NW St. Helens Avenue

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the district is a well-preserved, historically significant neighborhood built by the urban elite of Chehalis in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  The area was home to the group of families whose interlocking business and personal interest shaped the entire community.  Residents of the district in the first decades of the 20th century included the founders and subsequent officers of the region’s oldest bank, the land company that sold most of the city’s real estate, the development company that built the commercial center, and the booster club that promoted the town during its boom years.  Other residents included the proprietors of local mills and manufacturing firms; leading bankers, businessmen, and jurists; and a variety of local officials ranging from police chief to superior court judge, and from school superintendent to state senator.

The district is a compact four-block enclave located along three blocks of Pennsylvania Avenue and one block of St. Helens Avenue.  The area retains much of its turn-of-the-century architectural character.  Many of the homes are outstanding examples of late Victorian and post-Victorian architectural styles.  Taken from the Pennsylvania Avenue–West Side National Historic District ~ A Public Guide
October 1992

A self-guided walking tour booklet is available at the Lewis County Historical Museum where you can begin your tour.