The Mystery Building on the Corner

  

I must have driven by this lot on the corner of 2nd street and Dakota avenue a million times in the years I lived in Huron, South Dakota.  I never really noticed what it was.  A gas station?  A car lot?  Who cares.   Further north on the block were a bunch of old dilapidated buildings, also garnering about as much interest.  It wasn't until some 40+ years later that I even gave it a second thought.

I was looking at some old postcards of those dilapidated buildings to the north when I noticed that there was actually *something* on that corner - a huge, very grandiose brick building!  Where did it come from, and where did it go?  These were two questions that I really wanted answered.

The Houghton Block, from the south.

The answer to the first question goes all the way back to January of 1886.  C. D. Houghton and son, local hardware store proprietors, were piling sand in front of their hardware store in preparation to build this big block of 3 stores at this corner, hence the name it was commonly called, the "Houghton Block."  Each store in this block was two-story and had a 25' store front and was 80 feet deep, with cellars under all three, and "water and drainage" were included.  Houghton and Son would also be making all their own brick for the building, with trimmings of stone, and a metal roof.  

This fine building prompted proposed additional building to the north.  Joy Brothers planned to construct their own building next door, another two story building with stone trim.   And if Joy Brothers followed through with their plans, Jacob Schaller would build a slightly smaller two-story building just to the north of them.  However, looking at old postcards, either the plans were changed or never materialized, as only single story buildings were in these locations.

By September of that year, the Houghton block was being plastered and a sidewalk was being laid in front.  Drayman Stewart hauled the large, long-awaited pieces of plate glass from the train depot to the store.  The Chicago Clothing Company moved into the corner store shortly thereafter.  

The Houghton Block from the north.  Note the Unique Theater sign.  1908.

Over the years many different businesses occupied these three stores.  Houghton himself operated his hardware store from there, as well as a novelty store.  Clothing stores, furniture stores, saloons, restaurants, grocery stores, and even the short-lived "Unique Theater" in 1908.  Later in the life of the building car dealerships predominated, with a 550 gallon gasoline tank underground.  The final business to occupy the Houghton Block was Findley Tire Store from ~1947 until ~1959.  The building was vacant in 1960.

The majestic building met its demise around 1961. Unfortunately I was unable to find any newspaper accounts of it that might help narrow down the date; however, Norm Ambrosius opened a Skelly Service Station at that location in July of 1962.

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Sanborn Fire Maps - 1910, 1892, 1898, 1904, 1916.

Huron Daily Huronite - April 15, 1891; Jan. 29, 1886; 

Dakota Huronite, Jan. 29, 1886; Sept. 02, 1886; Sept. 08, 1961; Sept. 16, 1886; Sept. 23, 1886; Oct. 7, 1886; Nov. 4, 1886; April 07, 1887;  Nov. 21, 1889; May 08, 1890; Nov. 06, 1908; Oct. 31, 1908

Huron Weekly State Spirit - May 9, 1918

Huron Daily Plainsman- July 11, 1962; Aug. 12, 1962

Huron City Directories, 1911 - 1960

Huron Journal World - May 03, 1906

Various postcards

Google Earth