The Solomon C. Stephens Building

The Solomon C. Stephens Building. 260 - 25th Street. This building was constructed circa. 1888 by Solomon C. Stephens. The family owned land and constructed several commercial buildings on the north side of the 200 Block of 25th Street. Stephens owned the property until 1895 when it was sold to the First National Bank. Later owners included Herbert H. Hayes, and Tom and Akiko Kinomoto who sold the property in 1993 to the current owners, Carma Whiting and Karen White. , The earliest recorded businesses to occupy the structure were “The Switch”, a sample room which served wines and liquors, and the “European Lodging House”, a small hostelry. City directories indicate that several saloons occupied the building during the early 1900s, one of the longest tenants being a saloon owned and operated by the Frazzini Brothers. During the era of prohibition, a soft drinks and billiards business operated in the building. During the mid-1940s, Kinomotos established the American Eagle Cafe in the building which operated on 25th Street for several decades. The building was renovated in 1993 to accommodate “Panhandlers”. , The brick structure is a two story, two part commercial block with some limited Italianate detailing. The second story included three symmetrically placed, two-over-two double hung windows, each corbeled arch window opening is topped with segmental arch of sandstone block. Decorative corbeling is located below the window line and along the cornice line of the front parapet wall. The street level section includes a recessed central entry door flanked by large display windows on either side and an entry door for the second story located west of the storefront.