The Downtown Waterville Historic District encompasses all of one block of Locust Street plus the west end of a second block and a few buildings along North and South Chelan Avenue. In all there are 17 contributing and 2 non contributing buildings in the district. All buildings are of brick, save for the Centennial Feed Building, a single storey wood framed building on the west side of North Chelan. The brick for the district was manufactured locally in brick yards, first established in 1889. The oldest structure in the district, on the northeast corner of Locust Street and Chelan Avenue, is the First National Bank/Kincaid/IOOF Block, constructed in 1891.
While several of the buildings in the district remain somewhat, even mostly, intact, having undergone minimal alteration, the Guibert Block is the least changed since its construction in 1902-03, showing the same facade it did in 1903. As mentioned with the two buildings to its east, the Guibert Block closely matches them in design, sharing the most dominant architectural features, such as the brick corbeling, the highly detailed metal cornices and the large ball finials at each end of the cornice.
While proprietor Anton Guibert operated a jewelry business, pharmacy, and later sporting goods store, it can't be said with certainty that these businesses were all housed in this building, though at least one would have been. The building was undergoing a change of hands when we visited, so we'll have to wait for the future to tell us who, or what, the building's next occupant might be.
Guibert Block
Building #10: Guibert Block
Address: 107 West Locust Street
Classification: Contributing
Date of construction: 1903
Description and History: One of the best preserved structures in the district, the Guibert Block is a one story brick building with a completely intact façade. The storefront features display windows on either side of a central recessed entry. The upper portion of the windows are divided by wood mullions into multiple lights. The storefront retains the original iron lintel and columns. The wall above the storefront has a recessed brick panel and the building is capped by an bracketed metal cornice with finials. The structure is framed by brick piers.
Anton Guibert built this imposing one story brick block at about the same time as the Cooper and Rogers & Howe Blocks to the east. Guibert considered adding a second story (it was reported that the brick walls were strong enough for such an expansion). Guibert was the proprietor of a jewelry business, pharmacy, and later sporting goods store.
From the NRHP Registration Form![]()