County of building: Cooper County
Location of building: Main St.. S of Chestnut St., east side, Boonville
Built: 1905-1910
Architect/Builder: C. J, Harris
Architectural Style: Vernacular
Original/Historic occupant: C.J. Harris Lumber Company
Current Occupant: Breadeaux Pizza
"54. Benson Building Materials, Inc., 511 Main Street, 1905-1910. The
U-shaped brick building has a two-story central section with a stepped
parapet." ~ NRHP Nomination Form
"Built: 1905-1910
Style/Design: Vernacular
The brick primary (E) façade has a stepped parapet. The central section is an open drive through area
with lumber storage at the attic level. Flanking this large opening
are 1 story sections with block glass window: a pedimented, colonial type entrance, and a double window with a soldier lintel. This fenestration is repeated on both N & S sections. The W façade of the
building has 2 large openings. Pent additions extend to the W along
the N property line and across the W property line.
These are lumber sheds, The W façade along the alley has 2 windows and an
entrance all with double rowlock, segmentally arched headers. The brickwork has open spaces
in the center section to allow for ventilation.
"Sometime between 1905 and 1910 a lumber yard was constructed on this site
(which had been a vacant lot up to this time) by C.J. Harris. Harris, a native of Pilot Grove,
Mo., entered the lumber business 1n 1888 when he and Shaw Roe purchased the Rust-McVeigh lumber
yard in pilot Grove. Harris then bought out Roe and established another lumber yard in New
Franklin, and, later, the yard in Boonville. C.J. Harris Lumber Co. was incorporated in 1905. There followed an expansion program in which numerous yards were purchased over a period of years. By 1937 this company owned 12 yards in central and eastern
Missouri, and controlled the Fitzroy-Harris Lumber Co. in Biloxi, Mississippi, as well as a
large super-service station in St. Charles, Mo., known as Station Duquette. In 1965 the lumber
yard was sold to the Stewart chain of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and in 1969 to the Benson Lumber
Co., Columbia, Mo., the present owners.
"The structure faces E onto Hai.n Street. An alley 1S to
the W. The ma1n structure sits at the NE corner of the lot. A gravel lot with access from
Main is the S section of the property. In the SW corner is a metal Butler-type building on a
concrete foundation." ~ Boonville Historic Survey PDF pages 1954-1957
[Ed. Note: Extensive re-modeling works has taken place for the pizza place. The drive through for the lumber yard is closed off, and incorporated within the building structure. Now the right and left sides are designed for separate businesses.]