Reichert Business Block

Reichert Business Block. . Joseph Reichert, who had emigrated from the German State of Baden, was a prosperous miller in Freeburg seeking a business opportunity in Belleville. He constructed this building in 1880 to be operated by his daughter and son-in-law, Maria and John Courar. John owned the shoe shop and saloon on the first floor and with Maria ran the boarding house on the second floor. After John died in 1893 a succession of saloons occupied the first floor, while Maria continued to reside above and host lodgers., With the onset of Prohibition in 1920, John Schnceberger and Fred Wacchly converted their saloon into a soft drink fountain but were suspected of violating Prohibition laws, and the unused third floor was rumored to be a speakeasy. "Schnee and Wag" confined their soft drink business to one side of the building, with the other side being occupied by Century Restaurant. The fountain closed for good in 1923. Restaurants then occupied the entire first floor. Insurance agent Emil J. Kohl acquired the building in 1925 and from the second floor ran the southern Illinois general agency of the Northwest Mutual Life Insurance Company, which occupied the building for over 20 years. In subsequent years residents often lived on the second floor. Restaurants continued to serve customers on the first floor. , In 1930, Rauth-Spinnenweber Hardware purchased the building. It and its successor, Belleville Hardware, occupied the first floor until 1984. Subsequently the first floor was divided between two businesses. Tenants on the east side generally were in food service, beginning in 1984 with Imperial Ice Cream and Confections. The tenants on the west side were Hilltop Emporium, which was at this location for 15 years, and an employment agency., In 2006, William and Conni Tilley acquired and renovated the building. Rising Stars Monogram Boutique, an apparel and accessories store, moved into the west side of the building in 2007. On the east side, Pairabelles home accessories shop opened in 2013.