Blair Historic Preservation Alliance
Blair, Nebraska
2008 Historic Picture Calendar
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Blair Historic Preservation Alliance
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| Blair’s 1880 depot was built at the
crossroads of the north-south tracks of the old Chicago, St. Paul,
Minneapolis & Omaha line (CStPM&O) and the east-west tracks of
the Sioux City & Pacific line, at approximately the same location
– Front and 14th Streets -- as the 1910 brick depot that many
residents will remember. The second depot in Blair, it took over part of
the function of the three-story Blair House Hotel and Depot built in
1869 on the west side of Walker Avenue (now16th Street) and north of the
railroad tracks. After the 1910 depot was built, the 1880 depot was
moved two blocks west, where it was used for storage and freight. Later
it was moved again, this time west across 16th Street and north across
the tracks (by coincidence, near the location of the 1869 Blair House
Hotel and Depot), where it stood unnoticed by most, except for railroad
buffs and historians.
Through the efforts of the Blair Historic Preservation Alliance and the City of Blair, the depot has again been moved, this time to Lions Park at the corner of Nebraska and 15th Streets, where it will have a new role as a picnic pavilion, history center and rest stop along the city’s trail system. |
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This brick fire hall, jail and city hall on the north
side of Lincoln Street, built between 1889 and 1897, replaced a
firehouse from the mid-1870s in the same location. Today the remodeled
building serves as the offices of HunTel Holdings, Inc. and HunTel.net
internet service. Notes of Interest: In March 1874 George Sutherland was commissioned to put up a fire alarm bell and frame at the cost of $16. Then a new bell was hung in January 1898, again by George Sutherland. Following 1898, the city council set winter and summer curfew hours for children of 16 years and younger. The fire alarm bell was to be "tapped" nine times at 9:00 p.m. during the summer months and eight times at 8:00 p.m. during the winter for the curfew warning. (Built at Lot 26 Block 46) |
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The first railroad bridge over the Missouri River at the "Blair
Crossing" was completed in 1883. It was comprised of three 330-foot
Whipple trusses supported 50 feet above the high water by massive stone
piers. The bridge took a year to build and cost almost $1.3 million:
$400,000 of that amount was spent on stabilizing the river banks. In
1924 this bridge was replaced with a "round top" Parker truss
bridge. Part of the old 1883 bridge was shipped to Wyoming and put into
service over the Wind River. A section still stands and is used in
conjunction with the "Rails to Trails" project. The Union
Pacific tracks that cross the Missouri River today are set on the
original 1883 piers. |
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Thursday, February 14 (Member's Meeting & Program) |
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The Thone & Farnberg Hardware Store on the north
side of Washington Street was the successor of several other hardware
stores in the same location, dating back to the 1880s. When the building
burned in the 1920s, Farnberg rebuilt and continued in business. The
structure subsequently became Gambles Hardware, Fabric Village, and Top
Stitch Fabrics. Today it houses the Blair Area Chamber of Commerce. |
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This elevator, built in 1916 and still in use today by
the Mathiesen Grain Company, stands at an angle at the northeast corner
of Nebraska Street and Walker Avenue, now 16th Street. The diagonal
border of the adjacent Lions Park was created by the Chicago, St. Paul,
Minneapolis & Omaha (CSPM&O) railroad tracks that ran behind the
elevator. |
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OPPD |
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In 1925 the Rin-Tin-Tin movie "Below the Line" was
released, and Blair children brought their pet dogs downtown to promote
its showing at the Home Theater on the south side of Washington Street.
The J. Mueller Grocery Store, now the offices of HunTel Telephone, is at
the left. |
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The Pilot building (at center right) with its unusual
entrance is easily recognized in this early photograph of downtown Blair
looking east. The two-story J. Mueller Grocery Store is on the far right
and the three-story Mayle & Hungate Buildings are on the left. In
later years, the top floors of these buildings were removed. The Mueller
store has been home to Cook's Variety Store, the Washington County Bank,
and most recently, the offices of HunTel Telephone. Occupants of the
Mayle & Hungate Buildings have included the Blue Goose Grocery
Store, Gibsons, the F.O.E., and now Fernando's Cafe & Cantina. |
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Built before 1890, the Perry Selden home today stands at the
northwest corner of 19th & Washington, the busy intersection of
Highways 30, 75, and 91. Selden was the mayor of Blair in 1882-1883 and
1895-1896. In the 1908 Washington County Plat Book, it was listed as the
home of L.A.Williams. Jake and Fanny Bross bought the house in 1922 and
left it to their daughter, Francis Newell Sprecher, in 1957. She in turn
left it to her daughter, Nancy Williamsen, in 1996. |
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Photograph from the Kenneth & Virginia Rhoades Collection BHPA Catalog No. HYS-0014 |
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A Dana Homecoming parade in the 1950s turns the corner of Washington
Street on Walker Avenue (now 16th Street). At the near corner in the
background is the former Blair National Bank (also known as the Huber
Building and Mathiesen Building). To its left is Arndt Hardware. A
hatchery (formerly the Merchants Hotel and City Hotel) is on the corner
of Front Street. (See also December photo of the Merchants Hotel.) |
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Blair’s third railroad depot was built in 1910 just north of the
corner of 14th and Front Streets, approximately where the 1880 wooden
depot stood. Its unique design fitted into the “Y” created by two
merging tracks – the Sioux City & Pacific line to Fremont and the
north/south line of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha
Railroad. This photograph shows the south side of the station. The
abandoned brick building was razed on October 19, 1987. |
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This view to the north looking down the former 4th
Street (now 17th Street) at the corner of Colfax features the Neo-Gothic
Methodist Church. The church, built in 1883-84 at a cost of $7,000,
featured arched Neo-Gothic windows of leaded glass, a crystal
chandelier, a carpeted main aisle and a large organ at the center of the
chancel. The steeple was later removed as a safety precaution, and the
interior was enlarged. It served the congregation until the present
church was built in the same location in 1951. |
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The City Hotel, later renamed the Merchants Hotel, stood at the
corner of Front Street and Walker Avenue (now 16th Street). The building
was a hatchery at the time it was razed. Today it’s the parking area
in front of the Enterprise Publishing Company. (This building also
appears in the photo for September.) |
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New Sponsors
Belina's Salon 1/4
(Nathan has copy)
Evonik Industrys 1/2
(Copy sent to Pounds)
JCM Investments, Inc./ Deerfield Blair
1/2 (Nathan has copy)
Washington County Real Estate 1/4 (Nathan has Copy)
OPPD full April or May
(Copy sent to Pounds)
Two River Bank NK have 1/4
(Copy sent to Pounds)
Remove
Cafe on Main
Carlson & Drefs Quality Meats
Customer1
Changes
NP Dodge from 1/4 to 1/2
Hipner from 1/2 to 1/4
