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The building destroyed by fire at 107 E. Main in Shawnee Thursday stood 114 years and had quite a history, with its beginnings in 1897 as a saloon.
Johnny Kneisel, a Shawnee historian who has been fascinated with studying downtown buildings, said the building was constructed in 1897 for a man named Sam Harris, who served as proprietor of the first business there — the Kentucky Liquor House, a high-class saloon.
The upstairs part of the building, which was 107 1/2 E. Main, was the Palace Billiard and Pool Hall.
With numerous businesses operating there over the past century, if the walls could have talked, they probably would had many stories to share.
When Oklahoma became a state in 1907, the saloon trade closed thanks to prohibition, he said. Later, in 1909, the building housed the Oasis Theatre, but the location was well known as the Neeley’s Confectionery by 1914, he said, which was a popular soda shop.
Kneisel, who loves the Main Street buildings, was sad about the fire loss.
“I almost feel like crying,” he said. “But I’m so glad they saved the buildings on both sides — it could have been worse.”
Kneisel, who had been helping owner Lori West do historical research on the building, was just inside the business Monday, a much different site than the pile of bricks that remained Thursday afternoon.
“I’ve been studying history for 40 years — all are special to me,” he said, adding he’s thankful some of this building’s history has been documented.
In 1990, much of the building’s history and information was captured in a University of Oklahoma College of Architecture project.
That paperwork, provided by Kneisel, shows the site of the building was originally purchased in 1896 by W.J. Legg, a postmaster, for construction of a wood frame building for use as the Shawnee Post Office. It appears that frame building was demolished in 1897 before a brick, two-story structure was built and opened for business as the wholesale liquor house and saloon.
Although it had a fairly plain frontal facade before the fire, underneath that on the second floor were the original four arched windows.
Other businesses in operation over the years included the Blain’s Fashion Shop in 1916. It was later a bank in the 1930s and offices upstairs were occupied by doctors, a dentist and realtors.
Over the years, it housed many clothing shops, it seems, and also was home to the Averill photography studio in 1946.
In the 60s, it was The Vogue Shop and became another womens wear store through the 1980s, later becoming Monica’s Ladies Apparel in 1983.
In 1990, when this research was completed, the business had been the Clothes Closet for many years, and the property later housed a children’s clothing store.
The building destroyed by fire at 107 E. Main in Shawnee Thursday stood 114 years and had quite a history, with its beginnings in 1897 as a saloon.
Johnny Kneisel, a Shawnee historian who has been fascinated with studying downtown buildings, said the building was constructed in 1897 for a man named Sam Harris, who served as proprietor of the first business there — the Kentucky Liquor House, a high-class saloon.
The upstairs part of the building, which was 107 1/2 E. Main, was the Palace Billiard and Pool Hall.
With numerous businesses operating there over the past century, if the walls could have talked, they probably would had many stories to share.
When Oklahoma became a state in 1907, the saloon trade closed thanks to prohibition, he said. Later, in 1909, the building housed the Oasis Theatre, but the location was well known as the Neeley’s Confectionery by 1914, he said, which was a popular soda shop.
Kneisel, who loves the Main Street buildings, was sad about the fire loss.
“I almost feel like crying,” he said. “But I’m so glad they saved the buildings on both sides — it could have been worse.”
Kneisel, who had been helping owner Lori West do historical research on the building, was just inside the business Monday, a much different site than the pile of bricks that remained Thursday afternoon.
“I’ve been studying history for 40 years — all are special to me,” he said, adding he’s thankful some of this building’s history has been documented.
In 1990, much of the building’s history and information was captured in a University of Oklahoma College of Architecture project.
That paperwork, provided by Kneisel, shows the site of the building was originally purchased in 1896 by W.J. Legg, a postmaster, for construction of a wood frame building for use as the Shawnee Post Office. It appears that frame building was demolished in 1897 before a brick, two-story structure was built and opened for business as the wholesale liquor house and saloon.
Although it had a fairly plain frontal facade before the fire, underneath that on the second floor were the original four arched windows.
Other businesses in operation over the years included the Blain’s Fashion Shop in 1916. It was later a bank in the 1930s and offices upstairs were occupied by doctors, a dentist and realtors.
Over the years, it housed many clothing shops, it seems, and also was home to the Averill photography studio in 1946.
In the 60s, it was The Vogue Shop and became another womens wear store through the 1980s, later becoming Monica’s Ladies Apparel in 1983.
In 1990, when this research was completed, the business had been the Clothes Closet for many years, and the property later housed a children’s clothing store.
