800, 804 Main St History - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

For 38 years from 1915 to 1953, 804 Main was the site of The First State Bank of Louisville. (In 1932, bank robbers locked an assistant cashier and two customers in the vault and took $12,000.) Howard Hoyt is said to have responsibly guided the bank through the difficult years of the Depression. G.R. Henning, owner of Henning Mortuary on the other corner of the block (and Mayor of Louisville from 1926 to 1930), was also an important figure at the bank, being President and serving in other capacities. When the bank moved in 1953, 804 Main then became the location for Public Service offices until circa 1990. 800 Main was the site of the Hub Store, a popular clothing store, starting in about 1915 and continuing until the 1950s. For much of its existence, this Louisville establishment was the primary destination for local residents to purchase clothing. Managers of the Hub Store over the years are believed to have included J.H Struezel, F.A. Mangus, Anthony Mangus, George A. Webster, O.C. Alderson, and Arthur "Spud" Porta. Exquisite Enterprises was later located at 800 Main. History of Construction and Remodeling There are a number of different dates given in official records for when the building at this site may have been constructed. The County Assessor's records (which frequently have been found to be in error with respect to other downtown Louisville properties) state that the building was constructed in 1952. The Historical Survey done in 2000 gives estimated dates of circa 1890 for the building on the south half of Lot 7 and circa 1910 for the building on the north half of Lot 7. The County Assessor's Card showing Building Description and Value Calculation (kept at the Carnegie Library for Local History in Boulder), date unclear, gives the date of construction as 1900 and indicates that the building was remodeled in 1930. The Sanborn fire insurance maps for Louisville, which were made in the years 1893, 1900, and 1908, show this site. The 1893 map shows a "General Merchandise" business in a one-story building on the southern half of Lot 7 (the corner) and an outbuilding. The 1900 map shows what appears to be the same building, but enlarged at the back, and additional outbuildings. The 1908 map shows a one-story building labeled as an "office" constructed on the north half of the site. The 1909 Drumm's Wall Map of Louisville at the Museum shows the same buildings on the site as the 1908 Sanborn map shows. The owner of Lot 7 in 1882, Thomas Allenton, operated a "meat market and saloon" out of the corner building during that year. It is likely that this is the same building that appears on the 1893 Sanborn Map. Being in the heart of Original Louisville that was platted by Louisville Nawatny in 1878, and particularly being a corner lot, this lot would logically have been developed very early in the history of the town. 2