22 South 3rd Avenue

This building was built in the early 1870s by James McIntosh and served as Sturgeon Bay's first grocery store until about 1880 when it was purchased by John Masse. It was steadily improved since that time achieving its present appearance in about 1893. Masse was the son of C.A. Masse, a Green Bay real estate entrepreneur. First used by him as hardware and tin shop, it was then used as a saloon and, in the early 1890s as a furniture store. This well maintained, plainly detailed commercial building is of architectural significance as the last remaining wood sided commercial structure within the District. A central oriel window, rectangular in section and capped with a central pediment, accents the primary facade giving it a hint of the Italianate style. Otherwise this is a simple, vernacular building. Although the storefront has been modernized, the original architectural character of this now unique example of a building type and style once common in downtown Sturgeon Bay is remarkably intact.1