The First State Bank Building

This site originally housed a retail establishment. In 1913, the building you see today was erected as a bank, The First State Bank, with Mike J. Murphy as President.  Mr. Murphy was also an early mayor of Ely in 1927 and 1928. At opening, the capital stock of the bank was $25,000 and was funded completely by the people of Ely during a time when banks were not always trusted. The columns on the front of the building are made of imported Italian marble, meant to convey a sense of permanence and reliability.   However, this bank, as so many banks in the 1930s, did not fare well in the Depression. It closed its doors in 1936, following the federally declared bank holiday, leaving depositors with considerable losses.   

There are still people in Ely today who want to get their money back from this unfortunate bank failure. 

After the bank closed in the 1930s Joe and Mary (Deyak) Klun, owners of a grocery and general merchandise store on Central Avenue, bought the building.

In 1939 Frank Strukel, brother to Mary Klun, rented the building and ran a liquor store here for 23 years. He may have benefited from the walk-in safe as a place to store higher end spirits. The safe still exists today.

Frank was born in Ely in 1908 to John and Francis (Grebenc) Strukel. John and Francis came from Yugoslavia and raised ten children in the Ely area. Frank initially worked for the city as a WPA payroll clerk, but in 1939, he started the business on Sheridan Street which he ran until 1962. Frank married Helen Kovall in 1934 and they raised one child, Virginia, initially living in the back section of the building and then later James Street.  Frank lived to be 93 years old. 

In the 1970s the building was home to a series of businesses often sharing the space. They included Hagglund Law, Ely Realty, Rick’s Clip Joint (hair care) and MacMillan Electric. In the 1980s the building primarily provided offices for attorneys. In the 1990s Roth Chiropractic had offices here as well as several attorneys and a CPA firm.

Dr Roth retired and sold the building in 2021 to a corporation in Cook Minnesota – also the owners of the Boathouse next door. We wait to see what new businesses will open here. 

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1900 – retail

1913 – this building was constructed for use as a bank

1936 – the Bank closed during the Depression

1939 – Frank Strukel Liquors

1976 – Ely Business Center including the following businesses: Ely Realty Jack Garske and Duane Krause, MacMillan Electric, Rick’s Clip Joint, Rick Hild proprietor, Clarence Hagglund, attorney, John Bransom,

1983 – Phillips & Newman Law

1988 – Phillips & Newman Law, William Defenbaugh, atty

1990 – Roth Chiropractic

The Sanborn Insurance Maps 1900-1924.

1900 and 1907 Ely City Directories.

Ancestry.com. Accessed April 8th, 2022.

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).

Information from Virgie Ivancish (daughter of previous business owner).

Information from Dr. Lars Roth (previous building owner).