Locals call it “The Pit.” It’s a giant rectangular hole in the heart of downtown Salem.
A 70-year-old marble and granite bank once stood on the southeast corner of Liberty and Chemeketa streets, where a fence partially conceals the rubble left behind nearly nine years after the building was torn down and its 14-foot basement was excavated.
The demolition debris is now mixed with overgrown vegetation and scattered trash, including a twin mattress, a blue recycling bin, and several orange and white city of Salem barricades…