The
Foster, Graham & Shaffer Livery, Feed and Sale Stable is advertised in a
1904 city directory recently acquired by the author.
The stable site now serves the Englert Theatre which currently is undergoing
restoration in downtown Iowa City.
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By
Bob Hibbs Recreating
a walk through Iowa City a century ago is easy – with the right resources
and images. The
old commercial city directory is a principal resource, so when the author
recently located one for Iowa City dated 1904, despite his no longer young or
nimble body he might have been caught doing back flips at its junk sale source
near the Quad Cities! Obviously,
he bought it, adding a smile and thank you to the several-bucks asking price. Images
are a separate matter, but they come from several key sources – from old
school annuals and history magazines to his 2,200-plus collection of local
postcards. Readers often volunteer the best ones – for which the author is
sincerely grateful. Old
city directories are rarer than images. Only a few were printed and sold each
year; and, unlike postcards, most were pitched as useless after they aged a
bit. The
author’s personal library holds only a half-dozen that are more than 50
years old despite endlessly searching. The 1904 is oldest and most prized;
but, those from the 1920s and 1940s illuminate other periods. Those
housed in public facilities aren’t available after 10 p.m. when most of the
postcard articles are written. Picking
up the one for 1904, the first thing noticed are front cover ads for St. James
Hotel, John Hands jeweler and Willard Welch china and housewares. All three
were prominent businesses of that period a century past. A
few pages behind the cover, a single-page history reports that Iowa City’s
8,762 population is served by two telephone companies – Johnson County
Telephone Co. and Bell Telephone (later merged). It
lists private and parochial schools – Iowa City Academy, Iowa City
Commercial College, Irish’s University Business College, St. Agatha’s, St.
Joseph’s and St. Brenden’s. Oh, wait a minute, St. Brenden’s?
Don’t recall that one; it’ll get some future research. The
history reports 14 miles of sewers, 5.3 miles of paving and macadam (early
type of asphalt) streets lit by 118 arc lights and lined by 182 fire hydrants.
Also, it notes “a $30,000 library is nearing completion” on the Linn and
College corner. The
Daily Press – yes, half of the predecessor consolidation of today’s
Press-Citizen – is offers at 10˘ a week by carrier, or $3.00 a year in
advance. On next page Union Bakery at Market and Linn hawks “bakes of the
best quality” every day at the bakery and “most of the grocery stores”
and “all stations within 50 miles.” Jewelry
is peddled at 203 E. Washington by Sam Morrison for whom a Coralville park is
now named. Best
image in the volume is a section page featuring the Coldren Opera House and
Iowa City State Bank building, now the Savings and Loan Building at Clinton
and College. Fox,
Hutchinson and Lake, “the old reliable lumber yard,” offers wares from the
site now occupied by the City Hall, police and fire facility. Iowa Brewing
offers Enlanger, “the beer for family use” at phone number 19. Drs.
Theodore and Clara Hazard, homeopathic physicians and surgeons, offer services
at 120 E. Washington, the Phoenix Block building.
C.M. Reno provides real estate services upstairs at 110˝ E.
Washington. Six
stables are noted, including Foster, Graham & Shaffer on the site which
now serves the Englert Theatre. The
old directory isn’t worth much to most folks; but, the author was thrilled
to find it. P.S.
"The Rec Center at 40” article a week ago resulted in a reunion of
three center originals in its namesake Bob Lee The
three were among anniversary fete attendees, sharing punch, cookies and
stories about erecting the structure four decades ago. Photos from the
gathering may also be seen with postcards (# 84) and 83. Next
Saturday: Iowa City’s century-old
germs lab. Bob Hibbs collects local postcards and other historic ephemera and researches history related to them. |