Washington Square Building

Previously Fuller Building, but when Marcus Reinhause passed away in 1979, his son Morrie Reinhaus expanded the business and remodeled the whole half block into the Washington Square Building.

In 1983 a devastating fire demolished the 2nd story and the remaining 50 foot turret, forcing all the tenants out of the building and into the vacated King’s Variety Store across State Street where they created Weiser’s first open Mall.

Morrie sold the building to Al Lightfield of Meridian on March 1, 1984.

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WEISER – Fire swept through a section of the historic Washington Square complex in downtown Weiser on Friday night, gutting the building’s second floor.

Firefighters from seven departments battled the blaze, which was confined to the second floor of apartments.

Weiser Police Capt. LeRoy Strong said the fire appeared to be almost out by midnight, but said it continued to flare up in the center of the second floor.

Firemen entered the building at about 11:30 p.m. and continued to fight the blaze, he said. The building is on the northwest corner of the square, and fronts State Street between Main and Idaho streets.

Dale Irons, of the Washington County Ambulance Co., said no injuries had been reported.

Weiser Fire Chief Ed Dohrmann said three residents of the apartments were forced to leave when firefighters arrived. The Spanish-speaking residents apparently could not understand English, Dohrmann said.

Strong said later that a total of six residents from different apartments were evacuated from the building.

Although the flames had not reached businesses on the first floor by midnight, fire officials said the businesses sustained heavy smoke and water damage. Among the businesses in the building – all of which were closed at the time of the fire-were Montgomery Ward, G and D Factory Outlet, Century 21 Real Estate, a beauty shop and an accountant’s office.

The fire was not expected to spread because an alley separated the burning building from other structures in the Washington Square complex.

Large crowds gathered on both ends of State Street to watch firefighters. The top half of the two-story building was shrouded in smoke, and an orange glow came from the shell of window casings.

Dozens of firefighters hopped over a maze of hoses spread through the streets. Smoke from the fire, illuminated by 10-foot flames, could be seen six miles away.

An Idaho Power Co. truck equipped with a bucket was used to lift firefighters to the second floor of the building.

Cause of the blaze was unknown Friday night.

The fire was reported at 8:10 p.m., Washington County Deputy Sheriff Mike Rebman said. Fire crews were called from the fire departments of Payette, Midvale, Fruitland, Ontario and Huntington, Ore. and the Washington County Rural Fire Department to assist the Weiser Fire Department, he said.

Washington Square, modeled after San Francisco’s Ghirardelli Square, was remodeled in the late 1970s and in 1980 by Morrie Reinhaus, owner of the Reinhaus Shoe Co. in Weiser. The complex, which houses shops, offices and a restaurant, features brickwork and wrought-iron trim dating from the 1890s. I

Many of the buildings in the complex were constructed in the early days of Weiser.

From The Idaho Statesman –  Boise, Idaho – Sep 24, 1983 – Page 1