From the Facebook page:
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"The Poehler Merchantile building was built in 1906, the second of four Poehler buildings to be built, the first one being built in Lawrence, Kansas. The architecture was designed to match the store in Lawrence.
Poehler was a wholesale grocery company, selling and delivering groceries to stores in Emporia and surroundings areas. It remained as a wholesale grocery company for over forty years.
Currently, the building is the home of Poehler Mercantile Antique Mall, which has been in operation since October of 2002.
The building is a 52,00 square feet, 3 story, brick building with 13,000 square feet is devoted to the antique business."
From the National Register application:
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"Description:
This four-story brick warehouse is five bays wide and four bays deep. Upper-story fenestration defines the bays. Fenestration on the front (east) elevation is comprised of paired window openings with either flat (fourth story) or segmental arch (second and third story) lintels. Fenestration on the secondary elevations is comprised of widely spaced single segmental arch window openings. All window openings have painted plywood infill and stone sills. The main entrance occurs in the center bay of the primary (east) elevation. Rough-cut stone surrounds the entrance and provides a base for full-height engaged piers and a pediment atop the parapet wall that combine to distinguish the entrance bay. Large display window openings occupy the remaining first-story bays in the front facade, each of which feature the original cast iron lintel and contain non-historic painted wood infill. Vehicular bays with segmental arches in the secondary elevations convey the historic warehouse function. Additional historic character-defining features include: the decorative brick work at cornice level; the brick corner quoins; the exposed rough-cut stone foundation; and the location immediately adjacent to the railroad tracks.
History:
There was a hip-roofed county courthouse and jail on this property by 1884. Between 1899 and 1905, however, the courthouse building was removed and replaced by a new courthouse on the northeast corner of 4th and Commercial. In 1905, Poehler wholesale grocery, which had occupied a building across the street since 1900, purchased the property from Lyon County. The company built the current building here in 1907. Poehler Wholesale Grocery was founded in Lawrence in 1867 by German immigrant Theodore Poehler. Albert H. Gufler, who began working for the company in 1887, came to Emporia to manage the company's newest branch. Gufler became very involved in the community, including a time as president of the Chamber of Commerce. The wholesale grocery took advantage of the parcel's vicinity to the Santa Fe freight depot (razed), historically located on the adjacent property to the west and a new spur line that ran west to east along the north side of the building. By 1937, Poehler employed 50 at its Emporia location. There was still a wholesale grocery on this site in 1946, when it was still listed as the Poehler Mercantile Company. In 1948, the property was purchased by the DeBauge Brothers, Inc., a wholesale produce company founded in 1929 that had occupied other buildings downtown. DeBauge Brothers, Inc. sold its grocery division to Central States Grocery company in 1953 and Paul DeBauge chartered Emporia Foods, Inc., a frozen foods company, in 1954. The company spawned Valley Distributors, Inc., a wholesale beer distributor for the Adolph Coors Company The company also bottled and distributed soft drinks. The company was purchased by Crown Distributors of Salina in 2007. De Bauge occupied the building until about 1968. (Sources: 1946 Sanborn; Emporia Gazette, 12 May 1937; 22 March 1948; 14 December 1954; 17 November 1937; 10 December 1953; 24 December 1954; 2 November 1966; 17 February 1983; 3 July 2007; 12 January 1963)
Integrity:
Although the window openings are covered, the historic window frames and sashes are intact. The building retains the necessary materials, massing and association necessary to convey its historic integrity and, therefore, is classified as a contributor to the district."