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439 S. Main in 1998 (Rochester Hills Public Library) |
Fifty years ago this month, residents of Rochester were watching a brand-new building go up on Main Street. Joseph Watson of the Watson Insurance Agency built a modern two-story office building on the southwest corner of University and Main, on the site where the old St. James Hotel (earlier known as the Lambertson House) had stood from 1847 until its demolition in 1962. Robert C. Smitha was the architect of the new structure, which housed a real estate firm and a medical office for a number of years. The building was much smaller in 1963 that it is today; it was expanded westward to the alley in the 1999 and almost tripled in size. In recent years it has housed a Starbucks coffee shop on the first floor and is currently home to the Bean and Leaf Cafe, and several offices.
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Interesting story. I never knew the history behind the Foot and Ankle Clinic building. I think it should be pointed out however that the building that currently stands at the corner is not the same one erected in 1963 described here. That one was torn down in 1999, before the new Starbucks, Bean and Leaf structure was built. Anyone disagree?
ReplyDeleteThe 1963 building was not torn down, but renovated and expanded. See the photos that have been added to the original post.
DeleteAre there any pictures of this building during or shortly after its construction?
ReplyDeleteNone from the original construction, but see the photos that have been added to the original post for views of the building immediately before and during the 1999 renovation and addition.
DeleteThanks for the clarification. I had seen the second picture before and it looked to me as if it was being torn down.
ReplyDeleteThe confusing factor might be the demolition that it is seen to be happening on the second floor, northeast corner of the building in 1999 photo. They did demo that one corner to angle it off and make room for the Glockenspiel that hangs there now.
ReplyDeleteThe first building next to it south on Main street was Oberg Appliances, later to be the starting offices for The Bank of Rochester. They were there for two years before they moved one block west on the north side of 5th Street.
ReplyDelete