After its owners purchased a former bank building in downtown Centralia earlier this year, The Chronicle moved to its new location at 215 N. Pearl St. over the weekend.
On Monday, the newsroom produced the Tuesday edition of The Chronicle from its new office just one block away from 321 N. Pearl St., where the newspaper had been headquartered since 1947. Prior to that, The Chronicle was located in the basement of the building at the corner of Magnolia Street and South Tower Avenue that currently houses Emporium Ayala. The Chronicle was founded in 1889.
Chronicle owners Coralee and Chad Taylor purchased the former Umpqua and Sterling Savings bank building from the City of Centralia earlier this year.
The Chronicle's former office at 321 N. Pearl St is currently on the market. The building is owned by former Chronicle owner Jenifer Lafromboise Falcon and rented by the Taylors. The Taylors bought The Chronicle from Lafromboise Falcon in 2021 but she maintained ownership of the building. She listed it for $1.2 million earlier this year.
CT Publishing purchased the new building at 215 N. Pearl St. for $650,000 on June 17 after the City of Centralia put it up for sale following 17 months of vacancy. The building, which was purchased by the city in 2023 to operate its municipal court, has undergone significant repairs since the purchase.
"We thought it was important to try to keep The Chronicle in Centralia since it's been here for well over 100 years. This being downtown and around the same location is a huge benefit," Chad Taylor, publisher of CT Publishing, said earlier this year. "This community really supports this paper and supports hyperlocal media."
This new building will be The Chronicle's third home since 1920. The newspaper was originally the Centralia News, which later turned into the Centralia Chronicle. Operations moved into 314 N. Tower Ave. in 1920 before relocating to 321 N. Pearl St. in 1947.
"It gave us a chance to continue to grow because the paper is growing. We're adding more employees, so we're constantly needing more space," Chad Taylor said earlier this year. "We wanted the ability to create an environment where all the employees could grow and feel good about coming to work every day."
Look for more on the move in the Thursday edition of The Chronicle.
