NAPA Auto Parts

The history of this building is inextricably connected to the Hoskin’s Building on Sheridan Street and Central Avenue (now Northern Grounds Cafe). It was in that building that the Jugoslav National Home organization united eight independent Slovenian fraternal groups and the Slovenian Library for the purpose of developing a common library and meeting hall. The ‘Home’ bought the Hoskins Building in 1919 for $7500. 

By 1945, the organization began discussing expansion. To that end, they purchased the Vail Building where the Chocolate Shop and Murphy Clothing were located. Ten years later, they reached agreement on a plan to demolish the Vail Building and build the building you see today. Read more of this building’s history below.

In 1945, the Jugoslav Organization had an interest in expansion and bought the Vail Building (pictured) which existed on this corner. The Chocolate Shop, Klug’s Department Store and M.J. Murphy’s generated rental income during the period the Jugoslav organization investigated alternatives.  For ten years, they debated plans, but the costs were always too high. Finally in 1955 the JC Penney Company expressed an interest in rental space and signed a lease for the building, even before construction started. An architect was commissioned to draw up the plans according to the Penney’s specification. Amid diverse opinions, The Vail Building was torn down and this building was erected for a cost of $209,500. Loans supplemented the money the Jugoslav organization had available for the project. Through events and donations, the loans were repaid by 1965. The JC Penney Store opened in January 1957. The second floor held offices, an event room, and the National Home ‘Club’ Bar. 

The Bar did a small quiet business, mostly with the after-work crowd who would stop for a drink before heading home for dinner. Its biggest income day was Sunday when other taverns in Ely were closed due to Minnesota State Law. The Home, being a private club, could sell liquor on Sundays. It had a limited drink menu and no blender. If some unsuspecting person requested a fancy drink that required a blender, he or she would be told to, ‘go across the street’, but if they wanted a ‘real drink’ they should sit down at the bar. The patron would then be given what is known as ‘a bump and a beer,’ effectively a shot of brandy with a side of beer. These two items could be drunk sequentially, or together by dropping the bump into the glass of beer and then downing it all at once.

The bar attracted a bevy of colorful characters. Vicky Kaplan tended bar there for decades. She was a skinny little lady who could out-cuss and out-spit any seasoned logger. Bell Zgonc was the sweet manager who quietly handled any sticky situation.  Mr. Mestnik handled the money. It was a great bar.

It is unclear when the Jugoslav Bar closed. J.C. Penney’s, focusing on its catalogue sales, moved to a smaller location on Sheridan Street in 1990. Then in 1994, the building got new life when NAPA Autoparts opened in the large first floor. 

1900 – clothing store on the west, saloon on the east 

1902 – clothing store on the west (M.J. Murphy’s), the Arcade Saloon (Bart Coffey proprietor) on the east

1926 (or earlier) -- The Chocolate Shop

1945 -- Klugs Department Store moves into Chocolate Shop location

1955 – The Vail Building is demolished

1956 – Construction of this building began

1957 – J.C. Penney opens

1990 (about) – Penneys moves to Sheridan Street

1994 – Napa Autoparts

The Sanborn Insurance Maps 1900-1924.

1900 AND 1907 Ely City Directories

Ancestry.com. Accessed April 8th, 2022.

Joseph Kovach, “Jugoslav National Home”, Ely Since 1888 (The Blue Book), Ely, Minnesota. The Ely Echo. 1988

Ely Phone Directories from 1949 to 2020 (available at the Ely-Winton Historical Society).

Lee Brownell Columns, The Ely Miner.

The Anniversary Committee. Centennial Roaring Stoney Days – In Commemoration of Ely’s 70^th Birthday 1888-1958. Edition Second, October 30, 1982. Ely, Minnesota. Ely-Winton Historical Society, 1958.

Pioneer Life in Ely, Ely, Minnesota. Lee Brownell and the Iron Range Historical Society, 1981