With a dance hall, known as the Armory Hall, upstairs and a pool hall downstairs, this was, for many years, a well patronized building. Primarily commercial/retail space in the ground floor, one of the first tenants to move in was Charles Hay Harness and saddlery Shop. Charles H. Hay, the proprietor, was the inventor of the Hay Bridle, an improved bridle intended for work horses with several new and innovative features. Original owners of the building were brothers Levi and Christian Knerr & Thomas J. Tubb.
The impending construction of this two storey brick commercial block was announced in early April of 1909, with construction anticipated to begin shortly. At that time it was expected that native sandstone would be the construction material of choice. However, possibly due to economics, the resultant building was predominantly brick, with contrasting lighter brick trim and a fair amount of terra cotta embellishment. As can be seen in the photos, it is a handsome building, one that local architects
Wasmansdorff & Eastman could well be proud of.
The news article which made the announcement mentioned above, on the front page of the April 6, 1909 issue of the Fergus County Democrat, is reproduced below.
BUSINESS BLOCK WILL BE ERECTED
Fergus County Democrat | April 6, 1909
An Important Transfer of Main Street Property is Made
One of the most important transfers of city property in several months took place the latter part of the week when Mrs. A. S. Francis, of Moore, sold to Chris Knerr for $60 per front foot, a tract of ground 75x90 feet, located on Main street, just below the Elkhorn livery barn.
Will Erect Modern Building
The purchaser, Chris Knerr, together with his brother, Levi Knerr, and T. J. Tubb, the well known contractor who are also interested in the deal, are perfecting plans for erection of a business block on the ground. Mr. Tubb will soon have the plans ready and the work of building is expected to start very shortly.
The building will be 75x90 feet in size, two stories high and with a full basement. It will likely be constructed of native stone. The first floor will be made into fine store rooms while the second floor will contain office rooms and probably a commodious hall.
From the Fergus County Democrat