119 East Poinsett Street

1898-1911: between a house and a lumber yard

  • In the May 1898 Sanborn Fire map, this lot is not yet separated out. The building that is now at 119 would have been mostly in the yard of a beautiful house and right beside a lumber yard, L.J. Green and Son Lumber & Shingle Yard.
  • The street is named Hill Street, and at that time the address was 404 Hill Street.
  • We have a photograph of the house, in the background of a automobile race.
  • By 1904 the lumber yard is gone.
  • Things are building quickly up toward Main, but in 1911 this end of the street is still quiet.

1922: No house, and the Grande!

  • By October of 1922, the house has been removed and 404 Hill Street is just an empty lot. But the big news: next door, the Grand Theatre Moving Pictures now lived in a new, large 2-story building. It's likely the house was removed to build new retail.

1930: an odd Grand store

  • In January of 1930, 404 Hill Street was still, mostly, an empty lot. However, the Grand Theatre had built a small brick addition on the side, jutting into the 404 lot, and set a good bit back from the road. Guests would enter the Grand at the front left of the main building and walk down a long hall, past a film-developing store on the right. Partway down the hall, on the left, a side door was added which opened into this new little building. On the map it's labeled a store.

1951: a store

  • By March of 1951, the little side store has been removed and a proper full-size retail establishment has been built. It's a one-story brick building with a wooden storage building extending from the back.
  • There is no alley to the right, like there is today; the entrance to the Grand Theatre is still there.
  • But there is a narrow alley to the left. Looking at the spot today, a very narrow building the width of a door and hall sit in that gap; back then, it was an alley. On the other side of the alley was the large Elmore Hotel and Cafe.

Western Auto Associates

  • Between the 1951 store and when Willie Rowe opened Dixie Shoe Shop, this building housed Western Auto Associates (though it's possible Western was the occupant in 1951). It was owned by John McMurray.

c. 1960s-2006: Dixie Shoe Shop

  • Willie Rowe was the business owner of Dixie Shoe Shop. It likely opened in the 1960s; it closed in 2006 when Willie retired.

2016-current: Abbott's Frozen Custard

  • The building owner was Jimmy Chulkas. It was leased to business owner Mark Khoury; Jason Cole was general manager.
  • Abbott's opened on January 8, 2016.
  • Khoury sold the business to Mark and Amanda Hopper, who are the current owners as of 6/2020.

Item Details

Title

119 East Poinsett Street

Subject

Building/business history

Description

Occupants and history of 119 East Poinsett Street

Street Address

119 East Poinsett Street

Item sets

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