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Around 1910-15, S.T. Blackmer's Clothing Store was in its second of three locations -- the first place at the northwest corner of East Grand River and North Second Street and the last two doors east.  In later years, this would be the location for Byerly's grocery store.  It is hard to see the similarities between the old and new photographs as it would appear Chase Bank drastically changed the columns and redid the windows and some of the brickwork. 

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After taking yesterday's squint shot of the east side of North Grand Avenue, I walked over to the front of Olden Days and turned back.  Today's 'then and now' shots show the southwest corner of North Grand Avenue and Power Street. 

In the late 1800's, the three-story building at the corner was built to house the burgeoning fire company, the 'lock-up,' and eventually the first library.  In later years, an opera house on the second floor became a community room, and the third floor was used by the Masons.

The one-story building just south of this building is of especial interest to me as it was the printing office of The Fowlerville Review, edited and published by G.L. Adams from 1874 until 1929.  Mr. Adams and his staff were ambitious, interested in their community, and felt the need to report everything -- I mean, EVERYTHING.  Those years of the newspaper has such a wealth of information, I could post articles for years! 

Today, Handy Township uses the first floor of the three-story building and the one-story structure for their offices.  The community room is now storage, and the third floor sits nearly empty, except for remnants of the Masons; i.e., carpeting, a stove, and a few odds and ends.

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Two old photographs -- probably taken within a few years of each other in the early 1900s -- show the North Grand Avenue side of the northeast block.  The last one is a current-day photograph, taken a couple weeks ago, and shows how much this string of buildings has changed so much. 

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Bell opera house was a popular place and a great deal can be found both in my book and on this website, as well as a pamphlet put together by Richard Hutchins in 2002.  This meeting hall was located in the second floor, the first eight windows from the left side.  The first and eighth windows are above the two staircases leading up to the second floor.  The stairway on the south side still exists but has been totally blocked off.  The one on the north side also exists but both doors are securely locked.  In the modern picture, the doorway can be seen next to Olden Days Cafe.

At some point, the north side of the opera house became a 'billboard' of sorts.  If you look closely even today you can see faint lines of paint still on the brick.

There is one change on the facade of one building I have not been able to figure out.  The building, which was incorporated into the storefronts where Maria's School of Dance entrance is (half of the building on the south side of their canopy), looks slightly different from earlier years.  At one time, the lettering of 'Place and Gale' was a part of the stonework just below the roofline.  It can best be seen in the top picture.  It is no longer there -- was it chipped off or was it something removeable?

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A picture that I came across regularly while researching my book, The Fowlerville Chronicle, was the one shown below from around 1930.  

While comparing the old one with the new picture, I noticed a two-story house at the far left side of the old photograph, which would have stood at the southeast corner of East Grand River and South Second Street.  By this time, also, it would appear the Standard gas station was located at the other corner (which you can see in an earlier 'then and now' squint shot).

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The Ford Garage was completed in 1917.  G.L. Adams wrote a glowing article describing the inside, which can be found in my book, The Fowlerville Chronicle. 

The old picture for this series of 'then and now' squint shots shows the Sprague Ford Garage in 1920.  There were stone (or brick) buildings to the west of the building.

The Ford garage was built in such a way cars could drive in the front, at the center, and be taken to the back for repairs.  Someone unfamiliar with Fowlerville, looking at the modern-day photograph, might want to dispute it is the same building.  

A rough-sawn cedar front was added to the building in the 1980s and remains.  Currently, Jeffrey's Automotive uses the back of the building for car repairs and the front has been rented by the owners of Granny Greenthumb. 

At one point, a gas station was located at the southeast corner of East Grand River and South Ann Street but now it is an empty lot.

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As I stood in front of the Harmon block (see a few days earlier when I have decided to use old terminology; i.e., Palmerton block, Sidell block, and now the Harmon block), my camera was pointed kiddie-corner across the intersection to the former location of C.D. Hamilton and Co. and then from 1970 until 2002 known as Ruth's Resale.  It is the two-story brick building at the southeast corner of East Grand River and South Grand Avenue.

In the picture, taken around 1903, 'C.D. Hamilton' can be seen to the left and upward above the four people at the corner, above the front door.  Other than that, and different window treatments, the building looks nearly the same.  C.D. Hamilton and Co. was a dry goods store -- linens, towels, household items, probably most anything you can dream up would be needed in a house.  When Dr. Ford E. Smith first began his dentistry practice in Fowlerville, he was located in the second floor before moving over to the Palmerton block.

Today, the first floor is still unfinished in some renovations that were began a few years ago, and the second floor housing Farmer's Insurance Co.

So, here are the two pictures . . .  

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An old photograph and a current-day picture are shown below of the northeast quadrant, the block facing East Grand River Avenue.  When put together like this, it is interesting to me to see how the second floors of the buildings remaining looking close to the same, but, of course, the first floors all look totally different.

The first picture was probably taken in the late 1930s or early 1940s -- the paving of Grand River Avenue took place from 1922-24. 

I sometimes wonder what the downtown would look like if all of the storefronts reverted back to the early 1900s -- would it even be practical?

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As I stood as far back on the southwest corner by the empty buildings that used to house Herbie's Used Car Sales, I tried to replicate the old photograph taken somewhere around 1900 and republished in the Fowlerville News and Views a few years ago.  My current-day picture turned out not to be quite as all-inclusive as the old photograph -- it almost appears that picture was taken with a panoramic view.  The changes are still noticeable.

One thing I do like to point out to anyone looking at the early 1900 photograph is to look closer at the bottom of the picture.  A shadow can be found.  That shadow is of the old Commercial Hotel, a brick, 2 1/2 stories above ground and 1/2 story below ground building that was finished in 1880 after the Reason House burned to the ground in 1878.  The Reason House was built in 1852-53.  It was also known as 'Independence Hall' -- reportedly dubbed by an early ancestor of the Curtis family when Benjamin Curtis swung and crashed a bottle of whisky at the building.  Somewhat like christening a ship.  

The Commercial Hotel stood until 1937 -- you can find out more about that building, such as how it was used and why it was torn down, in my book, The Fowlerville Chronicles.

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As I was still taking some pictures from the southeast quadrant, looking northwestward, the current-day photograph shows a gaping hole at the left side where there used to be trees and buildings (lumberyard storage) in the 1940s. 

As the years have progressed, the trees were replaced by a parking lot used by Bob Smith, the lumberyard building was dismantled and moved down to a farm on South Fowlerville Road, and now the land has been excavated and set up for a future building.  At present, the parking lot that was created at the back of the property is used in the summer months for the farmer's market and this last winter, a portion of the unfinished ground was flooded for an ice skating rink.

But, for now, here are the two pictures:

The Orr Threatre closed in 1959 -- does anyone remember it?  My guess is the windows on the second floor of that building, which you can see in the old photograph, were covered when this became a movie house.

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Yesterday's 'then and now' squint shots showed the Palmerton (now Harmon) block with a brick building to the west of it, which originally housed the F.J. Cook Hardware store.  This would have been in the late 1800s. 

By the early 1900s, it appeared as Mr. Cook was getting restless.  The Cooks took a trip to California and headed north up the coast to Oregon, checking out various locales.  In a future post, I will republish a letter written by Mr. Cook detailing some of that trip. 

Later that year, he accepted the position for one year as general manager of the Lansing Wagon and Carriage Co.  This plant employs at present something over 150 men at the factory at Lansing and also has branch houses at four of the larger cities of the United States -- as reported by G.L. Adams in The Fowlerville Review.  When he took this position,  he retained ownership of the hardware store and lumberyard and left the management of the business to T.M. Loomis, which was fortunate as within a month, the position in Lansing did not work out.  Shortly after all of this upheavel, he sold the stock of lumber, grounds and sheds to William Love of Portland.

So, here are the two pictures; one old and one taken just a couple weeks ago.

As a side note, in my book, The Fowlerville Chronicles, on page 77, blueprints are shown for construction of the storefront on the right side with the arched stone.  For a closer look, you might just want to stop in to the hardware store and ask Doug Burnie for a peak at those plans.  Quite intriguing.

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In 1891, a devastating fire burned all of the wooden structures in the northeast quadrant of the downtown area, and then it jumped over North Grand Avenue and burned the first brick structure of the Palmerton block.  The original wooden structure built at the northwest corner burned in 1876. 

By 1892, a new brick building stood proudly, and was highly-written about in the local paper, at this corner, and it stands there still today -- known as the Harmon block.  Well, really as the building that houses the Harmon Real Estate but wouldn't that just be fun to go back to how the buildings were named -- by owner -- and call this the Harmon block.

On a cold Saturday morning, a few weeks back, I took numerous squint shots for this 'then and now' series, starting with this corner.  Over the next couple of weeks, you will see my progression as I walked around the downtown and replicated many of the older pictures in my book, The Fowlerville Chronicles.

A couple of differences of note in the pictures include the fact the peak that can be seen on the east side of the building in the old picture no longer exists.  Also, the only building to the west (other than Ralph Fowler's house) shown in the old picture was the only other storefront.  In current times, two more brick buildings now stand.

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Today's "then and now" squint shots show the cannon that was put in place in the cemetery in 1898 (more information on this can be found in today's "history lesson"). In 1943, a picture of the cannon was taken. The two photographs I took gives evidence on how the trees have grown, and it also shows how some refinements have been made to the monument. A second picture I took, shows the other side of the monument, looking southward.

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In 1900, rural free delivery (RFD) was established for the area surrounding Fowlerville.  The first route went north of town into Conway Township.  According to G.L. Adams, the editor and publisher of The Fowlerville Review, F.N. Parsons of this place, has been appointed carrier, and the new service will go into operation June 4, 1900.

At the time this service was organized, the post office was located in the northeast quadrant, at the corner of North Second Street and East Grand River.  While working on my book, The Fowlerville Chronicles, I came across this picture -- probably taken around 1906 -- of the carriers ready to head out for the day.  According to one article, found in The Fowlerville Review, Frank Lane commenced work Thursday morning as rural carrier number six.  All routes have been changed more or less and if any mistakes are made for a few days under the new arrangements, just bear them patiently for they will very soon adjust themselves to the new routes.  This new arrangement is supposed to give the entire county solid rural delivery.

Today, that building sits empty, recently vacated by Maria's School of Dance.  Here are the two pictures -- one very old and the other taken just the other day:

As an extra note, the three one-story storefronts shown at the left side of the older picture are now Save-On (two storefronts) and Bloated Goat.

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At the northwest corner of South Second Street and East Grand River, a Standard gas station used to stand in what is now a  parking lot used by Chase Bank.  The following photograph from around 1940 shows the little building that stood just to the east of Line's Dime Store.  In the 1950s, the gas station was known as Eaton's Standard Station.

In the second picture, taken just recently, this lot is nothing more than asphalt and memories for some.  The building at the left side of the picture was built year's earlier and used as a paint shop for quite some time, probably about the time the gas station was in place.

As a side note, this particular corner is also the location, years before the gas station was located there, to be the site for Dr. Defendorf's house and medical office.  If you are curious, there's more in my book, The Fowlerville Chronicles, and, at some point, I will be adding more 'then and now' pictures regarding this corner.

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In continuing the series of 'then and now' squint shots, today's pictures show the southeast quadrant of the downtown area, looking southwest from the corner of North Second Street and East Grand River.  The first picture was taken sometime in the late 1930s or early 1940s.

In the intervening years, the facades have been reworked but the five buildings are shown.

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Today's squint shot is sort-a-kind-of a 'then and now' shot.  As the history was written, sometime around 1892, after the big fire of 1891 that burned the Palmerton Block, F.J. Cook built his hardware store just to the west of the new Palmerton building.  In my book, The Fowlerville Chronicles, there are schematics shown of the actual architect's drawings for the Cook building, provided to me by Doug Burnie.

                            

By 1915, another building was built just to the west of the hardware store (which is now also part of Fowlerville Hardware) and is not shown in the sketch below.  But I am wondering, is this 'window to nowhere' on the side of the building built around 1915 similar to one of the windows that is shown in the sketch below, on the west side of the building?  If so, that explains why I'm using these two pictures for my 'now and then' theme.  Your thoughts?

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At the southeast corner of Church Street and South Grand Avenue, the village offices can be found. A few years earlier, this former residence served as a funeral home -- that is when the large, one-story addition was placed at the north side of the two-story house. That addition was used for viewings and funerals -- it is now the council chambers.

When I began my research, I would come across this old picture (first one shown) labeled the "S.L. Bignall House" which didn't mean a thing to me and I didn't recognize what house it was in the village. As I waded my way through all the newspaper articles, I found a 1990 blurb in the Fowlerville News and Views about the Liverances purchasing the old Bignall house with plans to expand it for their funeral services. That was when I started comparing the structure (windows, porch, doors, rooflines) of the Bignall place with the Liverance funeral home building. The southern portion of what is now the village offices is that old house -- mystery solved in my book!

So, here are the two pictures for you to do the comparison also.

Of interest, I also recently found the following short blurb published in The Fowlerville Review in 1905:

The residence of W.B. Gale, also the new residence of S.L. Bignall, and the new Evangelical Parsonage are all being wired for electric lights.  The Fowlerville Lighting Co. is certainly giving very satisfactory service and are acquiring a large amount of new business.

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The St. Agnes Catholic Church has been located at the corner of Maple and Church streets (destroyed in the 1909 tornado) and then at the corner of South Second and Church streets (now the Wedding Chapel). Since the early 1970s, it has been located at the eastern portion of the village limits on East Grand River. I was not able to find any early photographs of the church, but did come across the following conceptual drawing, followed by my "now" squint shot."

If you check back a few days ago on the "then and now" squint shots, you will see pictures of the former building for St. Agnes located at South Second and Church streets. Which, by the way, is for sale on the market if anyone is looking for a church to serve as both a residence and a place of business.

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In this continuing look at 'then and now' shots in and around Fowlerville, I have two older photographs and a modern-day picture of the Carey Centennial Baptist Church on South Grand Avenue, across the street from the village offices.

At one time, a parsonage stood just to the north of the church at about where the south portion of the Curtis Grocery parking lot now stands. The oldest picture (first one), circa 1910, shows the full front of the house. The second photograph, circa 1930-40, just barely shows a corner of the house at the far right side. In the 'now' squint shot, the parsonage now longer stands, but an addition can be seen at the north side of the church that includes a portico for dropping off and picking up parishioners. Of note, the steeple also looks quite different. In 1995, the top portion of the steeple was removed, restored, then put back in place. Weather-proofing strips were added below the bell tower to enclose it from destructive weather conditions and critters.

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For many years, the St. Agnes Catholic church membership used the building at the northeast corner of Church and Second streets, across the street from the M.E. Church. This building was built after the 1909 tornado that destroyed the original brick structure, then located a couple blocks to the east. This building was supposedly built to withstand the strong winds of any future tornadoes that may work through the village.

In the 1980s, this building was sold and used as a residence for a while, with the St. Agnes parishioners moving to the eastern edge of the village. In recent years, it has been known as The Wedding Chapel.


Well, the angle wasn't quite right on these 'then and now' squint shots, but you can still see how the same building looks 30 years apart. Most of the landscaping has been changed and the front steps have been reworked. There is still the house and garage at the north side of the building.