The interior of Salem’s Civic Center (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
The city of Salem wants your best photos of the Civic Center as the building’s 50th anniversary approaches this year.
The building at 555 Liberty St. S.E., which houses City Hall, opened Aug. 18, 1972. It was designed in the New Brutalist architectural style, a bare concrete aesthetic that required 24,000 cubic yards of the material to construct.
The city’s Historic Landmarks Commission nominated the building for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places earlier this year.
Now, the city is seeking modern-day and historic photos ahead of its planned celebration Aug. 18, according to a Wednesday news release.
Photographers can submit entries in five categories: Civic Center building exterior, building interior, animals/wildlife at Civic Center, Salem in the 70s, and Civic Center photos by staff.
Entries can be submitted online through July 31, and photographers may submit one entry in each category. The contest will be judged by the Historic Landmarks Commission, with prizes for top entries in each category. The prizes have not yet been determined, city spokeswoman Kathy Ursprung said.
Entries may be used during the August celebration, which will include live entertainment, games, tours, a scavenger hunt and a 70s costume party, the release said.
-Rachel Alexander
