Two large department stores in Evansville? For nearly 30 years, from 1904 to the 1930s, the Grange Store in the first block of West Main Street and the Economy Store in the first block of East Main Street sold a wide variety of merchandise in grand buildings that were said to rival those in Milwaukee.
The stores' annual spring and fall sales brought people to Evansville from the surrounding countryside as well as many smaller towns in the vicinity. The streets of Evansville were filled with shoppers attracted by sales and entertainment. Income for the Grange and the Economy totaled several thousand dollars on the sale day, a great sum of money when men's suits sold for just $5.
The Economy Store owners, H. A. Langemak and Verne Axtell, rented space from Almeron Eager. When Eager died in 1902, all commercial property he owned became part of the Eager estates, administered by three trustees. This included the site of the first Economy store located on the south side of the first block of West Main Street and several stores Eager owned on the south side of the first block of East Main street.
In 1903, the Economy Store occupied two store fronts in the Eager Block built in 1897 on West Main Street and Langemak and Axtell had rented the store to the west for additional room. Their offices and merchandise were crowded into 75 x 75 feet of floor space and it was still not enough.
The Economy Store was a rapidly growing business whose principal competitor was the Grange Store, and by 1904, Langemak and Axtell were again in need of floor space. Jud W. Calkins, a local grocery store owner, joined the Economy Store in March 1904, increasing the stock and the number of customers coming into the store.
The owners of the Economy had been looking around the city for additional space, and the Eager trustees promised to build them a new store. The plans for the new Eager Block made it the second largest mercantile floor space in Wisconsin, west of Milwaukee. The new Grange store was said to be the largest.
In March 1904, the Eager trustees, George Pullen, Allen Baker and Robert D. Hartley, announced that the estate would be building a large store on the south side of East Main Street that would cover the entire area from the Pioneer Drug Store to the Post Office which was then located at 11 East Main.
The old buildings on the site would be torn down. One of the buildings was the remaining portions of the old Methodist Church, erected in 1847. The building was the first church and one of the first frame buildings erected in "the grove". Those who had been among the first settlers remembered that the church was painted white with four enormous posts through the center. It was a plain building, with no steeple and no stained glass windows. One large stove was used for heating. In 1855, when the Evansville Seminary was formed, the church was used as classrooms for the new school.
When the Methodists built a new church on South Madison Street in 1867, the property on East Main Street was sold for commercial purposes. Some forward looking citizens had a village plan and they expected that retail businesses would be locating in a commercial district near the intersection of Main Street and Madison. Although there were no official zoning ordinances, businessmen and property owners wanted Evansville to grow in an orderly manner.
A cemetery to the south of the of the old church was removed in 1855 in anticipation of the commercial growth. The bodies were reinterred at the Maple Hill Cemetery. However, some of the unmarked graves were missed and when cisterns and sewers were dug in later years, human bones were found in portions of the land that had been Evansville's first cemetery.
In March 1868, Almeron Eager and his brother-in-law, William Smith, opened a general store, known as Smith & Eager store to the west of the former Methodist Church building. The two men had married the Boyce sisters.
Smith had been in the general store business in Janesville. The Evansville Citizen reported Mr. Eager to be "an honorable, industrious, independent farmer". The families moved into the second story of the store.
Ten years later, in 1878, Almeron Eager paid $1,000 for three stores to the west of their store site. Included in this purchased was the old Methodist Church property. Eager owned these buildings until his death in 1902 when they became part of the Eager Estate. It was the combination of these property on East Main Street that became the location for the second Eager Block in Evansville.
Before the new store could be built, the old buildings on the site needed to be cleared away.
The Eager trustees
placed a notice in the newspaper that bids would be taken "on all, or any part of
the buildings owned by the A. Eager estate between the post office and the
Pioneer drug store." The plans
were to realize a small amount from the purchase of the buildings, which would
then have to be moved to other sites, or dismantled for the lumber.
The second stories of the buildings were still in use as apartments when
the trustees made their announcement and the tenants began looking for other
rental properties.
W. F. Biglow purchased the first store west of the post office and planned to move it to North Madison street where he was building a new house. However, the job must have proved too difficult or too costly and he sold the building to Mat Van Wormer who moved it to make an addition to a house he was building on North Madison Street. East Main Street was blocked for two days as the building was moved to its new location. The old Methodist church, which had been remodeled into a store was dismantled.
Throughout the spring and summer, the reporter for the Evansville Review noted the progress of the construction of the new store. William Meggott, the contractor for the Grange building on West Main Street, was chosen to oversee the work on the Eager building. Meggott also designed buildings and it is probable that he was the architect, since no other person was given credit for the design.
The new Eager Block had 96 feet of frontage on East Main Street and a building depth of 100 feet deep. The cream brick exterior was in line with the other buildings on East Main which included the Pioneer Drug Store to the west and the Byron Campbell building which housed the post office and the Masonic Lodge on the east. The new store was designed for five departments on the main floor, a basement for storage and modern apartments in the second story.
The old buildings were cleared away by the end of April and construction began in the first week in May with the excavation of the basement. Many of the same people who had just finished work on the new Grange block were employed in building the new Eager block. The mason contractor, Isaac Brink, laid a cement foundation for both stores.
By June the first floor joists of the building were in place. Masons had the front of the building nearly completed and the carpenters were working on the second floor by the end of that month. The July 21, 1904 issue of the Evansville Review announced that F. S. Baker & Co. had received the contract for the plumbing work.
In late September the interior of the store was nearly finished. The ceilings were painted white with a gilded molding. The interior walls and doric columns were also painted white. The mahogany balcony, shelves, counters and show cases were finished with an oil stain.
There were five large windows in the front of the store that lighted the five departments on the first floor of the structure. There were also large windows in the south end of the building and a large sky light in the center of the store that increased the amount of natural light.
The new store was divided into five departments, clothing shoes, dry goods, hardware, crockery and grocery. The balcony held the cloak and suit department and the cashier's desk. There were rugs and carpets in the second floor. Waiting rooms and toilets for both sexes had been built for the convenience of the Economy Store customers.
One of the new store employees, Charles Spencer, who managed the shoe department, was one of the first occupants of the apartments above the store. An Evansville native, Spencer had been working in Janesville. His new job in the Economy store brought him back to Evansville and his family moved into the new Eager flats.
In October the Economy Store began moving their merchandise from West Main Street to the new store on East Main. Boots, clothing a dry goods were moved into the store on October 22, according to the diaries of James Powles, who sometimes worked in the store. Exactly a month later, he new Economy Store opened for business. Large crowds of people attended the opening.
On November 22nd and 23rd, 1904, the new Economy Store opened its doors for a celebration of a new beginning. The store was festively decorated with palms, ferns and chrysanthemums. Music was provided the Evansville Seminary students and an orchestra from Beloit. Chase & Sanborn tea and coffee company sent demonstrators to the opening, as did other manufacturers of food, stoves, shoes, furs, and other products.
In December, the sales were repeated and again music was provided. The Grange Store in the next block also celebrated their spring and fall sale days with product demonstrations by manufacturers and entertainment for their customers. For many years thereafter, the Economy and the Grange coordinated their sales days in the spring and fall and hundreds of people came from miles around, by wagon, carriage and train, to examine the merchandise and listen to the entertainment.
Extra clerks were hired just for the fall and spring opening sale days. One of the local citizens who took on temporary jobs was James Powles. He was hired for the fall sale in 1906. On the night of October 24, 1906, Powles wrote his daily diary report: "Opening day at the Economy Store. I helped them in p.m. Good crowd for the day. Sales $3,000." Powles recorded in his diary, that the following day was "a quiet day in business after yesterday's rush at the Economy and Grange."
Again the following year, Langemak and Axtell prepared for the October 30 sale, by hiring 25 extra clerks just for the day. Hundreds of people came to listen to the Kneff & Hatch orchestra from Janesville. It was the greatest sale day since the store opened three years earlier.
The Economy owners were always looking for ways to make their store and parking more convenient for their customers. In the summer of 1908, they built a covered platform along the entire width of the south end of their building. Customers could drive up to the store and unload on the platform without having to get out in the rain and mud during wet weather.
The basement of the store was remodeled in 1910. What had once been a store room became the hardware, horse goods, china and crockery departments.
It was the combined talents of the three principal members of the firm that seemed to make the business successful. H. A. Langemak concentrated on the advertising campaigns and developed the large ads that appeared in each weeks' local papers as well as the flyers that went out to Rock, Green and Dane county residents.
Axtell selected much of the merchandise and made frequent trips to Chicago to purchase new goods for the store. It was the philosophy of the managers that they should keep small amounts of products on hand, "a buy often and sell quickly" program.
Calkins' experience in the grocery business gave credibility to that portion of the business. Within six years, the new Economy Store was recognized as a strong employer in the city.
Langemak, Axtell and Calkins, the three principals in the Economy Store, were always looking for innovative ways to advertise their business. Large display ads in the newspapers promoted their sales each week. Elaborate decorations were placed around the store, including Japanese lanterns, huge banners and American flags.
The Economy Store also used new technology to let customers know they were open for business. The store had the first electric sign in the city installed in October 1912. Although electricity had been used for lighting businesses and homes for many years, a new electric sign was cause for notice in the Evansville Review.
For the three owners of the Economy, being active community members was good for business. Langemak, Axtell and Calkins worked with enthusiasm to promote Evansville as a good place to live and do business.
H. A. Langemak had a strong background in the department store business before coming to Evansville. He had worked in dry good stores, general stores, and department stores in four cities in Wisconsin and Illinois before moving to Evansville in 1898.
Langemak considered himself an advertising expert and his partners agreed. He used his skills to promote the growth of Evansville, as well as the Economy store. From 1910 until the First World War, an organized group of Evansville businessmen, calling themselves the Commercial Club, attempted to persuade new industries and businesses to locate in Evansville.
The Commercial Club was a group of forward looking men who wanted the community to prosper. By promoting new businesses and industry, the promoters believed that their own businesses would grow. Langemak joined the first Commercial Club venture organized in 1910 and the group successfully brought at least one new industry, a vegetable canning company, to Evansville that year.
Jud Calkins became president of a the Commercial Club in 1914. During his administration the club rented one of the largest flats in the second story of the Economy block. The apartment included five rooms furnished with leather davenports, library tables, chairs and rockers. The permanent location of the club meant the members would have a place to meet and entertain potential businessmen who wanted to locate in Evansville. The members were asked to pledge support for three years and pay dues of $10 a year for the upkeep of the club rooms.
Verne Axtell's role in the community was in local government and church activities. He served as an alderman on the City Council and in later years served as justice of the peace. He was also superintendent of the Congregational Church Sunday School for many years. Axtell's business interests were not limited to the Economy Store. He served on the board of the Farmers & Merchants State Bank and also invested in Canadian wheat land with several other Evansville businessmen including T. C. Richardson, the manager of the Economy's chief competitor, the Grange Store.
Verne
Axtell
The thirteen year partnership of the three men ended suddenly when Jud Calkins unexpectedly died in August 1917. He had been attending a meeting with other members of the Economy partnership. As he left the Economy office, Calkins fell down the stairs leading from the office to the main floor of the store. When Axtell and Langemak reached him, he was already dead.
The Evansville Review praised Calkins as a man who would have the lasting regard of the community. "His name and influence have been associated with the growth and development of the city." Langemak and Axtell never took in another partner. The two remaining partners continued to run the Economy Store on their own following Calkin's death.
The Eager Trustees continued to rent the apartments and offices above the Economy to individuals and businesses. These occupants stayed short periods of time, then moved. Several doctors were occupants of office in the second story over the years the Economy was in the building.
In 1909, Dr. A. F. Haag moved his offices from the Baker block into the Eager Block, above the Economy Store. Later, another doctor also operated out of the same location. The 1918 Evansville Review ads indicated that Dr. K. W. Shipman, an Osteopathic Physician, had offices over the Economy Store. By 1935, Dr. W. E. Bray and Dr. K. K. Ford, Physicians and Surgeons had offices in the building.
Other businesses also operated in the second story. A beauty shop run by Charlotte Magee operated on the second floor of the Economy. Magee had been in business for 12 years when, in January 1930, a fire nearly destroyed the building. It started from an explosion of a kerosene heater in the beauty shop and flames spread quickly to the rafters and the floor below. Fortunately, the Evansville Fire Department responded quickly to douse the blaze. Only $300 damage was done to the building, but many feared that the flames could have spread throughout the entire Economy Store. That same week it was announced that Magee had sold her shop to Theresa Erickson. Three years later, Dolly Wesenberg and Clara Olson, rented the area for a beauty shop and Theresa Erickson moved to a ground floor shop in the next block west.
As other businesses took up residence in the building, the Economy Store continued to operate on the first floor but the store appeared to have reached its zenith by the 1920s. While the Grange Store in the next block west had taken over the basement, as well as the second story of their building, the Economy Store stabilized but did not expand. Christmas 1929, was the last time that toys were advertised in the basement of the Economy. Dolls could be purchased for 50 cents. Candy sold for 25 cents a pound. Groceries, clothing and toys were the principal items sold.
By 1930, the Economy had given up use of the basement of the store and the Eager trustees had that part of the building remolded for a recreation center and ice cream parlor. The new basement amusement center was named "The Arcade" and operated by Louis Belongy who had purchased the Evansville Bowling Alley that had previously been housed in the Baker Block.
The bowling alley equipment was moved into the basement below the Economy and bleachers were erected near the alleys for spectator seating. Belongy advertised that he would be organizing leagues and tournaments for both men and women. He especially encouraged the women to take part in bowling and held a weekly ladies' night. Belongy also had a soda fountain, booths, and an attractive lounge in the new recreation center. The operation lasted just three years and by November 1933, the alleys were once again located in the second story of the Baker Block.
The severe depression of the 1930s affected many businesses in Evansville and the Economy store was no exception. The community could no longer support two large department stores.
In an attempt to recover some of the charge accounts that had not been paid, the Economy held a raffle for a basket of groceries to those who purchased merchandise or paid up their account, in late 1932.
In what seemed like a final hope for a their business, the final Economy ad in 1933 was a Christmas/New Year's greeting: "Something tells us 1934 is going to produce that long-hoped-for Prosperity and Happiness in this community. May you and your get yours share of it. The Economy Store.
Axtell and Langemak managed to hold onto the store for another three years. In June 1937, a Quitting Business Sale was in progress for the old Economy Store. Men's suits sold for $3, less that the cost of a suit in the early 1900s. Shoes and boots sold for five cents each. In contrast, the Grange Store ads for the same week advertised men's suits at $14.95-19.75.
The era of the Economy Store was over. Langemak opened a men's clothing store in another location, and Axtell retired.
The Eager Trustees, who now included Leonard Eager and his mother, Gertrude, attempted to fill the vacant store front but the Depression had taken a sharp hold on Evansville businesses. To find a single business that would rent the entire space of former department store was nearly impossible.
In August 1937, Gertrude Eager announced that there would be two stores moving into the vacant building. One of the stores, a forty-foot frontage area of the Eager Block, had been rented to William A. Steffin of Fort Atkinson. Steffin had managed the Penney Company store in Fort Atkinson. He would be opening a Ben Franklin Store that would carry men's and ladies wear, light hardware, toys and other smaller goods. The second store was the A & P store.
As with any building project going on in the business district, there were many onlookers as the old store front was taken down and a new Ben Franklin Store front was installed. The materials were delivered by rail and installed by Paul Dehnert.
The Ben Franklin company had more than 2,600 stores throughout the United States. Each store was owned independently, but the association with the Ben Franklin Company allowed local store owners access to merchandise that had been purchased in large quantities by the company. The combined buying power of the large number of stores meant better prices for customers, according to the Ben Franklin advertising.
Each store also had a front designed by the company, as well as shelving and other fixtures that were specially made for Ben Franklin stores. The Eager Trustees agreed to the remodeling of the inside and outside of the portion of the store to be used by Steffin's new store.
The interior was completely remodeled with new lighting fixtures and new shelving. The new materials arrived in September and Russell George and Elmer Northam installed the shelving for the new store. It was considered to be the most modern and attractive stores in the city.
It had taken just three months for the new Ben Franklin exterior and interior changes and grand openings were planned in October 1937. William Steffen, his wife, Gertrude, and their daughter Marion were employed in the store. The Steffens employed six other people, including Mrs. Bonita Probst, Rose Popanz, Helen Park, Marion Miner, Mildred Funk and Mildred Croft. For the opening days, they intended to hire several other temporary employees.
While the Ben Franklin store was being remodeled, the Eager Estates also set to work on the floor space to be rented to the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, commonly known as the A & P. The new A & P was to be managed by L. B. Goodrich, who had been managing a store in Plymouth Wisconsin. Tex Loveless, of Edgerton, and Jens Norum of Evansville were also employed in the store.
The A & P held a grand opening at the same time as the new Ben Franklin. To entice people into their store, they gave away 400 loaves of bread to the first 400 customers in the store. A new beginning for an old store was in progress.
The Eager Estate's remodeling of the 1904 Economy store building into three store fronts was the beginning of many years of changes that would occur in the building. Each store was given a separate address.
Exterior stairways were opened on the front of the buildings to the apartments. Above the store were 10 apartments and offices with three to five rooms in each rental unit. Little attention was paid to fireproofing the walls between the new store fronts, and in later years, this would prove to be disastrous.
Occupants of the apartments changed frequently, but one of the professional offices was maintained for sevreal years. In 1937, a recent graduate of the Northwestern Medical School, Dr. Samuel S. Sorkin, M. D established his first practice in the second story of the Eager building. Patients were required to hike a long flight of stairs to reach his office.
Sorkin had served his intership at St. Mary's Hospital in Madison and decided to locate in Evansville. Two years later, he married. Sorkin raised his family in Evansville and spent his entire professional life here.
Another professional renter in 1938 was Joseph G. Page, Attorney at law. He was listed at 7 1/2 East Main St. Page later moved to Janesville and opened a law practice in the Jackman Block. In the late 1940s, the attorney advertised that he would continue to serve his local customers by meeting them in Evansville in the evening.
The Eager Estate trustees persuaded Hampel's Bakery to move from the north side of the street, at 12 East Main, into a newly remodeled room in the Eager Block. The new store was at 9 East main, in an area of the old Economy Store building just east of the Ben Franklin store. Ham sandwiches and coffee were served at the bakery during its grand opening in June 1938.
Although they had made a splashy beginning and advertised heavily in the local papers, the A & P store did not stay in Evansville. An October 13, 1938, ad stated that the A & P would hold close out sales from October 10-15, 1938. The west store of the building was vacant.
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In 1940, Warren Reese moved his pool hall and restaurant from the Fisher Building at 19 East Main into one of the stores in the Eager Block. The business was known as the Stockman's bar and was a local gathering place for stock buyers and real estate agents who conducted business as they played cards or played pool.
Five years later, just before Christmas in 1943, the Kroger company announced that it was opening a self service store in west store of the Eager Block. The new location was being remodeled and painted. Iver A. Mickelson was the manager of the store. The company had been in Evansville for 25 years at various locations in the business district. The first location was on the north side of the East Main Street, then the store moved to West Main Street, before opening in the old Economy Store.
At the opening of their store at the new location, the Kroger company offered bread for five cents a loaf and offered their customers "an exciting adventure" at their new store. Many of the brands offered at the store were Kroger brands, such as their famous Spotlight Coffee. Customers could grind their own coffee and the fragrance filled the store. A three pound bag of the freshly ground coffee sold for just 59 cents. The store also offered local produce and in an advertisement reminescent of the old general stores, Kroger's offered to buy eggs from local farmers.
The store was a popular shopping spot in Evansville and needed additional space. In 1946 the Kroger Store rented a second store at 1 West Main at the corner in the next block and kept their store the old Economy Store building as well. However, by February of the following year, Krogers had given up the space in the former Economy Store building and the Hamilton Hardware replaced the Kroger Store. Kroger's then operated exclusively out of the store at the corner of Main and Madison Streets.
Origianlly owned by Harry M. Hamilton the Hamilton Hardware store had opened in the Baker Block in August 1936. After Harry's death in 1939, his wife and their son-in-law Howard Beecher managed the store. When the Baker Block was sold to the Boreva Garmet Co. in 1946, Mrs. Hamilton and Beecher decided to move into the old Economy Store building. Moving an old store to a new location was cause for a festive occasion and nearly 500 people attended the opening of Hamilton Hardware at 5 East Main Street.
The renters in the Eager Block seemed to be constantly changing. In May 1948, the Hampel and Foss Bakery was sold to Wallace Chaney of Beloit. It became known as Wally's Pastry Shop. Chaney purchased the bakery equipment from Mr. & Mrs. Foss, who had taken over the Hampel bakery. Chaney had previously owned a bakery in Clinton and had worked in a bakery in Beloit. Chaney, his wife and two daughters moved to Evansville. Updating the business was very important to Chaney and he wanted to install new equipment as soon as possible. Bread, rolls, pies, cakes, cookies and other delicious bakery products were offered by the new owners. He employed Mrs. Robert Levin as his assistant.
The most stable store was the old dime store, in the same location since 1936. The Ben Franklin store operated by William Steffen and his wife, Gertrude in the middle section of the Eager building was sold to Howard Cufaude in 1960. Cufaude had been associated with the F. W. Woolworth Company in Chicago.
Other changes included new offices for Richard Eager, an attorney, and great-grandson of Almeron Eager, the original owner of the property. He moved into the farthest store east in the Eager Block.
In 1967, Roberts Liquor Store moved from a building across the street to the old Economy Store building. The Union Bank & Trust had decided to expand their bank and dismantled the building that had housed the Robert Liquor Store. They offered the Roberts' store the option of moving into the west side of the old Economy Store, in the area that had formerly been occupied by Hamilton Hardware.
In 1972 the Eager Estate remodeled for Gas Company one of the stores on the east side of the building for the Wisconsin Gas Company. The remodeling was reported to have cost $5,238, according to building inspector reports. For the next four years, the occupants of the building remained stable. The Wisconsin Gas Company, Richard Eager's law office, the Ben Franklin Store and Roberts Liquor Store.
On Palm Sunday 1976, the first of two disastrous fires hit the building. Early Sunday morning, while many Evansville residents were in church, the fire alarm sounded. Passers-by had seen smoke coming out the the Ben Franklin store and finally the heat became so intense that one of the front windows blew out. Heavy black smoke gushed from building.
Evansville fire department responded immediately, many of the men being called by the fire whistle from church services. However, they needed aid from other departments and called for the Janesville Fire Department to send reinforcements.
Firemen fought the blaze and had it under control within an hour and a half but they were on the scene for several more hours. The entire building had been threatened, including the law offices of Richard Eager, the Wisconsin Gas Company office, and the Roberts Liquor Store. The early detection of the fire and quick response by the fire departments meant that damage to three other busineses was limited to smoke, soot and water.
The fire was believed to have started from a faulty electrical outlet on the east wall of the dime store, near the front corner. A clock plugged into the outlet had a severed wire and had stopped at 10:15 a.m. and boards behind the outlet box were charred.
In addition to the four businesses in the building there were also ten second-floor apartments. Occupants included Lee Barnard, Louise Hosely, Richard Schneider, Tony Allen, Rod Davis and Bob Corning. Fortunately all were evacuated safely from the building. Even stores that were farther away, Ken's Karpet Korner at 1 East Main and Phyllis' Fasions at 11 East Main reported smoke damage.
Cufaude's Ben Franklin Store was heavily damaged by fire, smoke and water damage. The contents on the first floor and in the basement were considered a total loss. Pictures of the fire in area newspapers showed charred merchandise, and water running from the store's open front doors. Windows had blown out from the heat and others were knocked out by the firemen to get access to the fire. Cufaude and a crew of helpers boarded up the store windows with large plywood sheets.
By the following Monday, electricity had been restored and at least one business, the Roberts Liquor Store was open to customers. Most of the people who rented apartments found they were homeless because of the damage from the fire. The Eager Trust moved quickly to repair the building. Repairs to the building reports cost $10,000, according to a building inspector's report.
The Ben Franklin was expected to open in the fall of 1976, but in July, Cufaude removed the large letters from the front of the Ben Franklin store. He said that he would retain ownership of the franchise for the store, but the Eager Trust, headed by Leonard Eager was asking more than he wanted to pay for rent.
The largest portion of the store, which had housed the Ben Franklin Store was remodeled, but now empty. The owners announced that the store was for rent. The following July, Cufaude became business manager for the Evansville Community School District. He eventually sold the Ben Franklin Store franchise and the store reopened.
By 1980, Richard Eager had moved his law offices to 16 West Main and the old Economy Store building contained three businesses. Wisconsin Gas Company occupied 20 foot store area. Ben Franklin occupied 55 foot store area middle and Roberts Liquor Store occupied 20 foot store area west.
In late 1980, Doris Roberts decided to retire from the liquor store business. She sold the contents of the store to Molly Porter who was about to open Molly's Place at 16 East Main Street. The Shoe Store, operated by Russell Felz of Whitewater moved into the former liquor store. The Gas Company built a new house, at the eastern edge of the City and a clothing store moved into that vacant area.
In September 1984, the building was again treatened by fire. At 12:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning passersby discovered flames shooting up through the back stairway and the roof was ignited in a matter of minutes. Though the Evansville Fire Department responded quickly after getting the call, the fire was out of control. Apartment dwellers above the stores were evacuated in their night clothes.
Realizing the potential hazard to the downtown business block, the local fire department immediately asked for mutual aid from surrounding communities and Orfordville, Janesville, Brodhead, Edgerton, Brooklyn, Footville and Fitchburg responded. Attempts were made to enter the building to knock down the fire, but smoke and fear of collapsing floors forced the firemen to withdraw. Portable water tanks were set up on side streets and water was pumped from Lake Leota to supplement the over-worked water mains in the city. No amount of effort was able to contain the fire.
When daylight revealed the collapse of the entire roof and it was obvious that the brick front of the store bowed-out from lack of support, local authorities blockaded the street in front of the store. People feared that the front of the building would collapse endangering the lives of anyone in the vicinity.
Michael Bichanich, the proprietor of the Ben Franklin store had been on the scene all night long and declared his store a disaster. Russell Felz, who owned the Shoe Store reported a loss of $45,000 in inventory. He too had stayed on the scene all night long. Boots 'N Britches, an apparel shop, the third renter in the first floor of the building had also lost the contents of their store.
With nothing left but the exterior walls, the Eager Trust decided not to rebuild. The City building inspector issued a letter of condemnation, as he considered the building to be a public nuisance. Roger Berg purchased the property in November and went before the City Council to ask for help in saving the burned-out property.
Thanks to a supportive city government, the building was saved. After consulting with the city attorney, Mayor, John Jones said he would support Berg's proposal to save the building, allowing Berg time to work out his plan for reconstruction. A group of local businessmen including, Berg, Robert Judd, and Lewis Farnsworth, were interested in rebuilding the store and they simply needed time to explore the possibilities for grants or other financial support for the project.
By December, the investors were re-roofing the old Economy Store, with a metal roof from the Varco-Pruden company. The building had been saved and the 1904 Economy Store, though only a memory, was still an important part of the historic Evansville business district.