Early Twentieth-Century Commercial Architecture of Rochester, Michigan

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Built by Dr. Lewis W. Curtis in 1907 to house his dental offices on the second floor, this building was also the retail location of a feed store for more than half a century. Rochester still had hitching posts on Main Street in 1927 when Alvah Dean opened his feed store here. Al Michalka bought Dean out during the Great Depression and continued to run his Main Feed and Seed store at this location until 1982. Since the departure of the feed store, the Curtis Building exterior has been restored and the building has housed, at various times, a leather goods shop, a coffeehouse, and some retail boutiques.

2. Edward Samuel Barnes Building

The Edward Samuel Barnes Building is an excellent local example of an early twentieth century commercial building. It was built for Edward Barnes in 1903 to house his jewelry business. After Barnes retired from business, the building housed at various times a barber shop, paint and wallpaper store, and other jewelers. In 2020 it is the home of the Legends in Time Native American Gallery.

3. William Tienken Building

The commercial building at 333 South Main Street was built for local merchant William Tienken in 1916 and was designed by the Fisher Brothers architectural firm of Pontiac. Tienken was a member of a pioneer Avon Township farming family, for whom Tienken Road was named. Tienken was a partner in the Tienken & Case hardware firm of Rochester until 1915, when he decided to form his own plumbing supply business. This building housed Tienken's business until 1932, after which is was the site of multiple retail establishments, including Henry Feet's grocery store, a Western Auto store, an optical shop, and a clothing boutique.

4. First National Bank of Rochester

The First National Bank of Rochester building, currently occupied by a J. P. Morgan Chase branch, was built in 1924-25 for use as a bank building. It was built by the Bond-Hubbard Company of Chicago on the site of an older brick business block, which was razed to make way for the new construction. The building has housed a bank continuously since it opened its doors to the public in February 1925. The bank is of Neoclassical style, with Corinthian columns flanking the front entrance. A U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey benchmark, placed in 1930, is embedded in the stone sill of the window immediately north of the entrance.

5. George Burr Building

This two-story, double-front brick business block was built in 1914 for hardware merchant George Burr. Important original features of the building remain intact, including the stamped tin ceiling and the large central staircase. The building has housed only two businesses in its more than a century of existence: the George Burr Hardware from 1914 to 1964, and Green's Artist Supply since 1964. It is an excellent, substantially intact example of an early twentieth century commercial block.

6. Oliver P. Gibbs Block

This double-storefront business block was built for Oliver P. Gibbs in 1919. At the time of its construction, it was located immediately south of the Idle Hour Theatre (later to become the Avon Theatre). One of the first tenants in the Gibbs block was a confectionery store known as the Cole Brothers' Sugar Bowl, whose business traffic was undoubtedly drawn from the theatre next door.

7. Idle Hour Theatre

This building was constructed in 1913 to house James Wilson Smith's Idle Hour Theatre, which was previously located across the street in the Smith/Crissman building. The theatre moved into its new quarters in February 1914. Under new ownership in 1936, the business was renamed the Avon Theatre, and an Art Deco glass front was added to the building during a remodel. The Avon Theatre operated until the early 1950s, when an electrical supply company moved into the building. It has since housed a variety of businesses, but is most notable as the former home of Rochester's first successful movie theatre.

8. James Wilson Smith/Crissman Block

The James Wilson Smith/Crissman Block was built in 1901 and 1904 by Rochester hotelman James Wilson Smith, whose Hotel St. James stood on the southwest corner of Main and Fifth (now University Drive). Smith was a prominent Rochester businessman who used his new building to expand his enterprises. In addition to the hotel, he operated the Idle Hour Theatre, Rochester's first moving picture venue. Eventually, the building passed into the ownership of the Crissman family, and was well-known as the home of the Crissman Pharmacy until 1966. The northern two-thirds of the building was destroyed in a 1992 explosion and was rebuilt in 1992-93.

9. State Savings Bank Building

The State Savings Bank building was constructed in 1907 as a double storefront and was home to the short-lived State Savings Bank of Rochester. The second storefront was originally filled by the Tuttle & Sullivan undertaking parlor. The building was designed by Saginaw architect Clarence L. Cowles, who was also the architect of the Doherty Hotel in Clare, Michigan, as well as the 1914 renovations to the First Congregational Church of Rochester.

10. Rochester Light and Power Company Building

This building was built in 1909 for the Rochester Light & Power Company, later acquired by Detroit Edison (now DTE Energy). Rochester Light & Power was the first company to provide reliable electrical power to the residents of the village of Rochester. Detroit Edison used the building as a local office until approximately 1990, at which time it was leased as retail and professional office space.

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Early Twentieth-Century Commercial Architecture of Rochester, Michigan

Created by Rochester-Avon Historical Society on November 25th 2020, 5:41:19 pm.

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Downtown Rochester has several good examples of commercial buildings designed and constructed in the first quarter of the twentieth century. They include the State Savings Bank building, designed by Saginaw architect Clarence Cowles; the James W. Smith/Crissman block, designed by Detroit architects Spier & Rohns; and the William Tienken building, designed by the Pontiac architectural firm of Fisher Brothers. The First National Bank building, erected in 1924, is the only example among this group that has retained the same business type for its entire existence.

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Early Twentieth-Century Commercial Architecture of Rochester, Michigan

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