concordia-memories.org Forum Index concordia-memories.org
Recalling Concordia's Past
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Concordia

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    concordia-memories.org Forum Index -> Concordia Memories
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
roger.pape
Site Admin


Joined: 17 Mar 2009
Posts: 414
Location: Liverpool, NY

PostPosted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 5:55 pm    Post subject: Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Concordia Reply with quote

The Special Collections Section of the University of Missouri Library has an extensive set of Sanborn fire insurance maps, including some of early Concordia. Those that are available can be accessed using the link to the ‘Photos/maps of Concordia’ on the Photos page of this website or using the following link directly to where I stored copies: Sanborn maps on flickr.

You will find maps for 1886, 1892, 1900, 1909, and 1922. They were primarily intended to document the construction and usage of various business and public buildings for underwriting purposes. What makes them interesting is that they identify the types of businesses (sometimes including the name) and their location at the time the map was drawn. The following are examples of what can be found on them.

The 1892 map shows the M. Bergman lumber yard just north of the Wilk School on Main (Schiller) St. about where St. Paul’s Elementary School is now located. The 1886, 1892, and 1900 (Sheet 2) maps have some interesting details about Baepler’s Concordia Roller Mill; whereas, the 1909 and 1922 maps show how it changed as Concordia Mill and Elevator Company. The 1892 and 1900 maps show three different elevators on the north side of the railroad tracks, namely Lohoefener, Klingenberg, and Kueck. By 1909, the original Klingenberg Elevator had been demolished, and J. S. Klingenberg had taken over the Lohoefener Elevator. By 1922, all of the elevators on the north side of the tracks were gone and the new Klingenberg Elevator (built in 1910) was now located between Gordon and Bismark Streets (behind Central Park). Sheet 1 of the 1900 and 1909 maps includes details of the Concordia Canning Company, Concordia Creamery, and Bosselman’s Brick and Tile Works.

The dates between maps are somewhat irregular but they show the progression of hotels, banks, businesses, schools, and churches through the years. Sheet 2 of the 1900 map shows the Iowa Synod Lutheran Church on the corner of 7th (Caroline) and Orange Streets where the current post office now stands. Sheet 3 of the 1909 map shows that the building had been converted to St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church. Runge’s electric light plant and the telephone exchange first appear on the 1909 maps.

Like the early plat maps, these maps use old names for the streets of Concordia, namely

Schiller = Main Street
Garfield = 2nd Street
Lincoln = 3rd Street
Conrad = 4th Street
Ambrose = 5th Street
Henry = 6th Street
Caroline = 7th Street
Boggs = 8th Street
Berlin = 9th Street
Hamburg = 10th Street

Check out these maps and see if you can spot some of the businesses and other old buildings that you may remember or at least heard about. You might also try finding the location of some of the places mentioned in the "Out of the Past" series in The Concordian.


Last edited by roger.pape on Wed Nov 03, 2010 8:16 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
roger.pape
Site Admin


Joined: 17 Mar 2009
Posts: 414
Location: Liverpool, NY

PostPosted: Wed Nov 03, 2010 7:33 pm    Post subject: Comparing Old Photos to Sanborn Maps Reply with quote

The old Sanborn maps contain a considerable amount of detail that help one visualize the buildings shown on the maps. Fortunately, these copies are in color where the different colors represent the type of construction: yellow for frame buildings, red for brick, blue for stone, gray for iron and green for ‘special’. The number of stories and roof construction are also indicated for the various buildings. The dimensions are also quite accurate, including heights of steeples, water towers, etc. The type of business in each commercial building is listed including the names of some. If you have trouble figuring out the various abbreviations and symbols, the Library of Congress has a good summary of these maps at https://www.loc.gov/collections/sanborn-maps/about-this-collection/. Click on the figure for the key for an expanded view of it.

As I noted in the previous posting, you might try comparing some old photos such as appeared in the “Out of the Past” series in The Concordian with these maps. Another reference is Nora Hartwig’s Concordia Heritage: my recollections, particularly Volume II where she describes the old businesses along Main Street. As an example, compare the 1912 Street Fair photo below showing the businesses on the west side of Main Street between Ambrose (5th Street) and Henry (6th Street) with the extract from sheet 2 of the 1909 Sanborn map.

The frame building with the balcony is William Deke’s Central Hotel. Note that the map even shows a ‘Sample Room’ where Nora said the "big city drummers” [traveling salesmen] would display their merchandise. The brick building on the left was Adolph Deke’s “Daylight Store” (dry goods) at that time. The building just to the right of the hotel was listed on this map as a bowling alley, although the earlier 1900 map lists it as a hardware store (owned by the Thiemanns). This was later converted to a restaurant. The next building was Farmers Bank. If you are wondering about the fancy façade at the top of the building, the second floor was an opera house operated by Secco Brockman. Finally, the double building to the right was Bergmann’s Department Store.

These buildings changed hands a number of times. When I was a youngster, the corner building was Frerking & Voight’s Furniture Store and Funeral Parlor. Central Hotel had been torn down by then and was a vacant lot. The next building was Favorite Café. After the bank failed in the crash of '29. that building became Andrew Gieseke’s butcher shop. (I can still remember the old bank vault being used as a meat cooler.) The old American Legion meeting hall was on the second floor of one of these two buildings. Since Nora said that the opera house was converted to apartments, the hall must have been over the restaurant. The last building remained as Bergmann’s Store for many years until it was bought by my uncle and aunt, Bill and Edna Klingenberg.



Street Fair_1912.jpg
 Description:
Shows businesses on west side of Main St. between 5th and 6th Streets.
 Filesize:  335.85 KB
 Viewed:  14017 Time(s)

Street Fair_1912.jpg



1909SanbornMap2.jpg
 Description:
Extract from sheet 2 of the 1909 Sanborn map.
 Filesize:  77.39 KB
 Viewed:  14017 Time(s)

1909SanbornMap2.jpg


Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
roger.pape
Site Admin


Joined: 17 Mar 2009
Posts: 414
Location: Liverpool, NY

PostPosted: Tue Jun 02, 2020 9:33 am    Post subject: Croquet court Reply with quote

While reviewing the picture of Main St. in the posting above, I tried to visualize the buildings in the picture as they appeared when I was growing up. I had a flashback to my early youth sometime in the late 1930's about the spot where the old hotel stood. Sometime after it was torn down the lot was converted to a croquet court. It had a low concrete wall around it to keep the croquet balls from rolling out on the street. It also had outdoor lights that allowed people to play in the evening. It was busy Saturday evenings before and after band concerts in Central Park. I don't think the court lasted that long, but the lot remained vacant for many years. How many of you remember that croquet court?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    concordia-memories.org Forum Index -> Concordia Memories All times are GMT - 6 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group