Watson Block/Commercial Building
1902
The Watson Block building at 256 First Avenue North/106 Third Street North dates to the early 1900s. The original building on the site was a single-story laundry. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune of March 3, 1902, the laundry was a dilapidated, red brick structure that had long been an eyesore in the area. Also on the site was an old wooden shack built as a house in the early days of the city. By the end of March, the laundry had been removed, and excavation had begun for the new building.
The Minneapolis Journal reported on March 1, 1902, that the proprietors of the new building would be H.P. Watson, George E. Bell, M. Bresslauer, and Horace Earl. The four men signed a one-hundred-year lease with L.S. Gillette, who purchased the building site. The building was to be known as the Watson Block.
George Bell believed that when he leased the lot that he had acquired a forty-four-foot by ninety-six-foot property. When the lot was surveyed, however, it was short a strip measuring forty-four feet by 3.6 inches requiring Bell to spend an additional $150 to acquire the additional land needed to construct the building. Early surveyors were often careless and indifferent to potential problems simply because a corner stake was a few inches short (The Minneapolis Journal, March 22, 1905.)
The Journal article also stated that when selecting the site, the developers canvassed the area and determined that the corner lot would be an excellent location for a first-class office building. After receiving support from brokerage firms and dealers of merchandise, it was decided to proceed with construction. Increased demand in the wholesale district placed rentals of existing buildings at high demand. The building was to be used exclusively for offices. Occupants on the ground floor would have private entrances (with different addresses) on Third Street, with the remainder of the tenants entering on First Avenue. On completion, the Minneapolis Star Tribune of October 5, 1902, noted that fifty percent of the space was already rented.
Architect Charles S. Sedgwick was chosen to design the building. Charles Sumner Sedgwick was a successful architect in Minneapolis. He moved from New York to Minneapolis in 1884, and opened his own office. Several of his buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places. He was designated a master architect by the city’s heritage preservation authority. Sedgwick also designed Westminster Presbyterian Church on Nicollet Mall, Dayton’s Department Store, and Burton Hall on the University of Minnesota campus.
The front of the office building was constructed of Indiana stone, with pressed brick and terra cotta, a galvanized iron cornice, and plate glass fronts. The five-story building included a basement. The building was fitted with a steam heating plant and both electric and gas lighting. There were two electric elevators.
By October of 1902, the building was identified as the Commercial Building, rather than the Watson Block (The Minneapolis Journal, October 28, 1902). Early tenants included Apgar & Korthof; Minneapolis School Engraving and Watchmaking; Phoenix Club; L.E. Doudiet; Second Avenue Investment Company; Austin, Nichold & Company; Minneapolis Circular Letter Company; R. G. Dun & Company (later know as Dun and Bradstreet; and Sharpe & Dohme.
The Commercial Building made headlines on 12-4-1909, (Minneapolis Journal). Proctor Soap employees were accidentally locked in their second-floor offices by a janitor. They called the police to rescue them, but it was the fire department which did the rescuing by ladder.
Over the years, the building has been home to unique tenants including Sharpe & Dohme, a pharmaceutical firm, which, in 1932, was tapped to rush 500 pounds of serum to South Dakota to fight an anthrax epidemic. In 1938, former Minnesota Governor, Joseph Burnquist established his campaign headquarters in the building while campaigning for Attorney General. In the 1940s and 1950s, the International Ladies Garment Workers union was a tenant.
The building was renamed the Palladium National Insurance Building during the 1930s when it became headquarters for that company. No subsequent history is available for the company history. The current Palladium Insurance was founded years later.
In May of 1958, the building sustained significant damage when a four-alarm fire burned out of control for two hours destroying the fifth floor. The fire was first noticed by a passer-by who reported smoke pouring from a third-floor window. Thousands of spectators watched one hundred fire fighters fight the blaze. Six firefighters were injured and hospitalized. The fire started in the basement at 7:45 p.m., and the flames shot up an abandoned elevator shaft to the fifth floor. A café, four businesses, and several labor union offices were damaged by smoke and water. Damage was estimated at $200,000. Adjacent buildings were also affected.
Tenants at the time of the fire included:
First floor: R & L Distributing Company—wholesale toilet goods, Commercial Café (106 N Third), Johnson Paper and Supply (112 N Third), Empire Furniture (252 First), Machine Exchange (254 First). Second floor: Meyer M Badiner Knitwear—bathing suits, and Mill City Company storage. Third floor: International Ladies Garment Workers Union. Fourth floor: Vacant. Fifth floor: Century Boiler Company.
The Commercial Café may have been the longest, though non-continuous, tenant in the building. Documents show that a restaurant named “Commercial Café” became a tenant in 1934 and continued to function off and on in the same space until 1964. The café’s address was listed as both 106 and 108 North Third Avenue. There were several different owners over the years including Bonnie Colsten, Otto Walter, and Raymond Brown. The space was called Bonnie’s Commercial Café during Colsten’s tenure. The Browns owned the café at the time of the 1958 fire. They restored the space and reopened after the fire.
Various businesses called the Commercial Building home during the ensuing years including Sabre Travel Agency in 1991.
The building has recently been renamed the Watson Block, although the Commercial Building name is still on the First Avenue North side of the building. It is a venue for corporate events, social gatherings, non-profit events, and wedding receptions. The exterior remains the same, and the historic aesthetic of a brick and timber construction interior has been combined with contemporary finishes.