A MAJOR staple in American automotive history has shuttered suddenly to be demolished to nothing just days ago.
Demolition crews tore the Enumclaw, Washington’s Paulson Chevrolet building down on Wednesday after the building stood for nearly a decade.
The building itself had stood there longer than the Washington city[/caption]
Before the location was turned into a Chevrolet dealership, the site was the city’s first general store[/caption]
Before the location was turned into a Chevrolet dealership, the site was the city’s first general store, The Courier-Herald reported.
Over the years, the building was also an opera house, Gamblin Motors and even a flooring business.
The building itself had stood there longer than Enumclaw.
The site was built in 1885, 28 years before the city of Enumclaw became incorporated and it turned into the town’s first general store.
Just days before its demolition, the owner of the Chevy dealer Mike Severeid, informed city officials of the the building’s roof collapsing.
He said he noticed that part of the dealership’s wall was starting to part of the wall was beginning to lean over the sidewalk as well, according to City Administrator Chris Searcy.
Police and other emergency officials then evacuated people from nearby businesses and closed off two streets in the area in response.
The demolition was delayed from its scheduled 7 a.m. time for additional work to be done inside, according to The Courier-Herald.
It wasn’t until after 2 p.m. that the building started to come down.
The working crews broke through the dealership in different areas in preparation for a crane claw that was used an hour later.
Two nearby roads were closed until the next day.
Some of the fallen bricks from the demolition will go to Severeid though most of them will just be disposed of because of asbestos contamination.
HISTORY
After the building was Enumclaw’s first general store in the late 1800s, it became the Rialto Opera House around 1904.
Al Hoffman moved into the building and opened the Hoffman Chevrolet car dealership around 1939.
Dealership Closures
A large number of car dealerships in America are shuttering after the auto industry suffered a major hacking issue.
- Tri-Star Ford is shutting down its dealership in Kittanning, Pennsylvania after 10 years.
- A dealership in Escanaba, Michigan that sold Volkswagen and Mazda cars shuttered after 50 years.
- AutoCanada Inc. recently discussed closing all 18 of its US dealerships as it reports a massive loss.
- Buddenhagen’s Ford in New York shut its doors in mid-July after 90 years.
- A San Francisco flagship dealer for Harley-Davidson shuttered in June after 114 years in business.
- Lincoln confirmed to The U.S. Sun that the brand is working to shutter 50 locations by December.
- An Alabama-based Stellantis dealer is closing its doors after selling its dealership for $40 million in May.
That came after the opera house was demolished and another building was built in its place.
Hoffman sold the dealership to Leonard Paulson in 1953 after extending the building with a garage, according to The Courier-Herald.
Gary Paulson, son of the business’s namesake, worked with his father in multiple positions for about four years when he was young before his father sold the dealership.
He explained that the demolishing of the building feels like it adds to all the heartbreaking and unexpected town changes he’s experienced over his life.
“It’s sad to see it go,” Gary said.
“My high school’s down, my grade school’s down, and now the business is down. It’s sad to see the whole thing go away.”
In 1969, local community pillar Art Gamblin acquired the dealership before moving to a different location in 1987.
From then until around 2018, the building housed Plateau Floors To Go.
It’s been empty since the flooring business moved.
