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The Big Change: 1st-Floor Conversion to Storerooms, 1921
In 1921, the start of the "Roaring ‘20s," stores were vying for space on High Street and found none, so the business district expanded onto Pleasant Street. The Brick Row was suddenly in a prime business location. In February 1921 the building was purchased and remodeled. The 1st-floor apartments and porches were removed and the floor level was dropped 4' (removing the porches and steps, allowing street-level entry) leaving the apartment fireplaces hanging on the walls and exposing the building's sandstone foundation masonry. On the 1st floor both ends of the building were extended, and yellow brick Art-Deco storefronts were added along Pleasant Street. The former apartments, the current "bar levels," became spacious storerooms with high tin ceilings and light pouring in through the large display windows.
| A circa 1926 view of the Brick Row Building showing the Art Deco storefronts added in 1921. The pole on the roof was probably an antenna left from The Radio Appliance Company, the first business at 123 Pleasant Street. Photo thanks to Punk Rock Larry |
In April 1921 businesses began opening in the storerooms, including Coddington's Market at 121, Max Feingold's Clothing Store at 125, The Queen Shoe Store at 131, and Hammel's Variety Store at 137. 123 Pleasant Street (the stage room) remained empty until February of 1922 when The Radio Appliance Company opened the first radio store in the region, setting up a public radio set and inviting all to experience "the wonder of the modern age." It was a neat idea, but the store closed within two years.
| A 1922 advertisement for the first business in the stage room of 123 Pleasant Street. This was an appropriate start considering what the room is now. |