Decorah: A Walk into the Past

Decorah: A Walk into the Past. Water Street Trail. , The Pioneer Store , The first store in Decorah was located on the corner of Water and Washington Streets just west of where you are now standing. Built in 1851, this frame structure was operated by Aaron Newell and Morris B. Derrick. Their previous location had been in the William and Elizabeth Day smokehouse north of where the present Hotel Winneshiek is situated. A slab shanty east of the Winneshiek House is thought to have been their second location before finally moving to the building at the corner of Water and Washington Streets. Known as "The Pioneer Store," their firm occupied the first floor while the second floor housed Newell's Hall, a public gathering space. This building was destroyed by fire in the late 1850s, rebuilt, but again lost to fire on October 20, 1871. Evidence pointed to arson as a possible cause. A more fireproof two-story stone and brick building followed with a succession of owners selling products ranging from dry goods to groceries to hardware. One of these owners, Bertha Christen Mott, was the first woman to become executive of a large business firm in Decorah. She began as a store clerk at the age of 15 for Ellsworth and Landers in their dry goods firm, one of only three women clerks in Decorah at the time. She was married to James Mott for eight years until he died in 1886, leaving her with four small children to support. Bertha went back to work for K.I. Haugen before opening her own store in partnership with H.A. Warner in 1901. She bought out his share in 1920 and later was assisted by her son and daughter in the operation of Mott and Co. In 1925, Decorah architect Charles Altfillisch was hired by the Mott family to remodel their building. The new store contained three levels and included a tea room. It also boasted the first automatic cash transfer system in Decorah. Money was placed in a metal container and sent to the cashier's office upstairs via a wire channel system. The Mott Company sold the building in 1947 and the J.C. Penney Co. moved into the building five years later. , Overcoming Obstacles , Despite its calm, classical appearance, the building at 108 W. Water Street has had a colorful past. In 1862 James Easton and Leonard Standring selected this lot for a proposed brick bank building. A “squatter” had already erected a 10’ X 12’ wooden building on the lot and leased it to W.G. McLaughlin, a cobbler who had established a thriving business at this location. Despite Easton and Standring's most persuasive efforts, they could not induce McLaughlin to leave. Undaunted, the bankers with the assistance of several men, two yoke of oxen, and a large rope encircling the wooden structure successfully "repositioned" it to the middle of Water Street. At last convinced there was no recourse, McLaughlin vacated the premises, and left Decorah not long after that. The National Bank was constructed on this site in the Italianate style with elaborate pilasters, double doors, and ornate window hood molds and surrounds. Originally built as a two-story structure, a third floor with decorative cornice and matching windows was completed in 1886. It has undergone remodeling several times in its existence, the last instance giving it the simpler Classical Revival façade it exhibits today. , Steyer Opera House , The Steyer Opera House at 104 W. Water Street was built in 1870 by Joseph Steyer in the Italianate style with decorative stone hood molds surmounting its symmetrically placed windows and a cornice with roof brackets in pairs. Located on the Steyer's third floor, the opera house entertained area audiences with plays, concerts, lectures, political rallies, and other presentations. Ole Bull, noted Norwegian violinist, appeared there on several occasions. Handpainted backdrops, a balcony surrounding three sides, and elaborate interior trim added to its elegant ambience. The Steyer went into decline when the Grand Opera House was constructed. The newer theatre secured better quality entertainment in more opulent surroundings and proved to be too much competition for the older theatre. The Steyer's space eventually became a venue for other activities, basketball, roller skating, dancing, and bowling among them. Over the years, the first floor space has housed a tavern, a drug store, F.W. Woolworth, Montgomery Ward, the Firestone Store and several other businesses. After years of decline and disrepair, the Steyer Opera House building was purchased in 1997 and restored by Helen Basler, once more becoming an elegant venue for festive occasions. The Steyer today adjoins the Hotel Winneshiek and functions as a conference center as well. , Decorah’s First Hotel , The Hotel Winneshiek has a long history dating back to 1849 when the William and Elizabeth Day family welcomed weary travelers into their 20’ X 25’ log house with an attached wing located just north of the Hotel Winneshiek's present location. The Days' first log structure was eventually sold to a Norwegian farmer and moved several miles into the country where it was still in use as late as 1875. Replacing the "old log house," the Winneshiek House, a larger edifice, was constructed fronting on Water Street with framing milled from native lumber, lath and shingles brought in from Lansing, and siding cut from pines along the banks of the river. It was begun in 1854 and completed in 1855, then enlarged in 1865 and yet again in 1877. The November 30, 1865 edition of the Decorah Republican reported the addition of a 25 X 50 foot hall on the east end of the Winneshiek House. The initial building was done in an eclectic style with Greek Revival influence in the gable end broken pediments, symmetrically placed six-over-six windows, and low-pitched roof. Drip mold window hoods reflected Gothic Revival influence and its single roof brackets the Italianate style. In the course of later construction, it acquired more Italianate features. The Hotel Winneshiek building in existence today was begun in 1904 and completed in 1905. The architectural firm of E. Hill Turnock and Ohrenstein of Chicago designed the hotel in the Beaux Arts style. Their design included 51 guest rooms, some with attached baths, a billiard room, bar, cigar counter and barber shop with servants' quarters on the third floor. Terrazo floors with mosaic insets, a 3-story stained glass atrium, marble wainscoting, cherry woodwork and a sweeping staircase added an elegant touch. The hotel fell on hard times in the 1930s with interior remodeling unsympathetic to its original splendor. After a period of time which saw its rooms turned into apartments, Helen Basler of Chicago purchased the hotel, restored the historic interior, and revitalized this historic Decorah landmark. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on April 27, 2000, precisely ninety-five years to the day of its first opening in 1905. The hotel once again serves as a centerpiece for Decorah's historic downtown and has entertained a range of guests including heads of state, performers, writers, and appreciative travelers from everywhere. , Another Hotel , The site directly behind you was first occupied by The Decorah House, a large frame hotel built in 1854. The office of the M.O. Walker stage line was also located here. The stable for the stage line was off the north alley near the Woolen Mill. A note in the Decorah Republican from June 23, 1871 stated that a brick building was slated to be built on this site so the current building dates from this time. The curved hood molds with keystones above the windows and cast iron Corinthian pilasters framing windows and doors suggest it was initially built in the Italianate style. After it was completed, Andrew O. Sampson had a clothing store here and the European Hotel occupied the second and third floors. The Decorah State Bank remodeled the building in 1906 for their use and occupied it until the 1930s when they moved to 120 W. Water Street. The bank vaults still remain on the first and second floors as well as in the basement. Queen Anne style is evidenced in the corner turret with decorative fishscale shingles and bay windows with large panes of glass surrounded by borders of smaller square panes of stained glass (now removed). In earlier years the building housed a billiard parlor and a barber shop in the basement. A tobacco shop, soda fountain, children's clothing store and jewelry, accessories and gift store have occupied the main floor of the building over the years with dental offices, medical offices, and law offices occupying the second floor. , [other photo captions] , . C.N. Goddard’s dry goods store at 101 W. Water Street occupied the two-story brick and stone building shown in this photo. It was constructed after the 1871 fire. , . The Mott Company building at 101 W. Water Street as it appeared after architect Charles Altfillisch remodeled it. Stone belt courses alternate with engineered brick while stone quoins add embellishment to the entrance. E.J. Wimmer Co. bought the building in 1947 and when their business closed about five years later, the J.C. Penney Co. moved to this location. , . The Barthell building erected in 1894 at 110 W. Water Street exhibits a large Louis Sullivan-inspired arched window. Sullivan was an influential Chicago architect noted for his famous mantra, “Form follows function,” and as Frank Lloyd Wright’s early employer. , . The National Bank as it appeared in 1918. The main window and entrance doors have been altered from the original. A fund raiser to benefit the Red Cross during World War I appears to be in progress. , . The second Winneshiek House begun in 1854 and completed in 1855 exhibited several style influences. The low-pitched roof, gable end broken pediments, and symmetrically placed six-over-six windows are Greek Revival characteristics. The drip mold window hoods belong to Gothic Revival style, and the single roof brackets in the cornice and gable reflect Italianate tradition. The photo shows a political meeting sometime in the 1870s. , . The 1877 third version Winneshiek House included Italianate characteristics: decorative corbeling below a cornice that has roof brackets in pairs, elaborate stone hood molds over the windows and doors and two-over-two windows. , . The sign on the ground floor identifies A. Sampson’s clothing store and the second story sign designates it as the European Hotel’s location. Two bay windows on the west side and a domed roof on the fishscale embellished corner turret were later removed during 20th century remodeling. The barber pole in the foreground and the railing beside it lead the way to the basement barber shop. , Funding for this sign provided by: DECO