ESLER BUILDING
209 South Bridge Street

1875 Commercial Italianate
Home Tour 2004

This wonderfully ornate commercial building was built in 1875 by Benjamin T. Esler.  In fact, his initials—B.T.E.--still decorate the front façade of the building. Mr. Esler owned most of block 10 in the heart of the business district in the early days of the village. He was a shopkeeper for many years, served as postmaster for a time, and, along with other members of his family, helped to establish the Congregational Church here. The Grand Ledge Independent in 1886 said: “Mr. Esler may be spoken of as the pioneer businessman of Grand Ledge, he having been continuously engaged in business here longer than any other person…”

Benjamin Esler came to Grand Ledge in 1856 with his father, Edward Esler, and his brothers and sisters. His father and brother, Robert, made fine reputations for themselves as brick masons, and built many business buildings and homes in town.  They did the brick work on this building.   Another brother, William, was a minister, and his sisters married into the pioneer families that helped to settle the new village.  Benjamin opened a small store in September 1858.  In 1861, the same year he married Minerva Holmes, he built a two-story frame store building, 22x45 feet, on the same lot where Millbrook building is now.  His business prospered and he decided to build a new brick building.  He moved the older frame building off the site and in 1874 began work on the foundation for his new store, which was described a few years later in an 1886 article from The Grand Ledge Independent as being “…one of the largest and finest in the town.”  The building process took a considerable length of time.  The Grand Ledge Independent reported on July 17, 1874 that work was beginning on the foundation for Esler’s store.  In the March 12, 1875 paper, it was reported that “…B.T. Esler, A.B. Schumaker, B.F. Earl and others will erect brick business buildings as soon as the weather will permit.  Let enterprise of this character be encouraged by every citizen, and in a few short years the old rookeries (note: the old wooden frame buildings) that are today visible on Bridge Street will be swept away and neat and attractive brick buildings will occupy their place…”   The building process took all of 1875, and Mr. Esler was finally able to move into his new store in January 1876.  The newspaper on Feb. 11, 1876 gave a wonderfully detailed description of the new building and some background information on how it came to be built:
“…Accordingly with a view to selling his frame store, and on its site building a structure more commodious and substantial, he leased the corner store of the Goodrich Block in 1871, and removed his stock where he remained nearly five years.  His old store being disposed of in the meantime, he built his new brick block in 1875, into which he removed Jan. 7, of the present year. This fine structure is worthy of more than a mere passing notice. It is 23x90 feet, two stories and basement, height of the front is 34 feet.  It has a good rear entrance, and the largest  French polished plate glass front in the village.  The first sixteen feet of the front is entirely of iron and glass, and cast iron corners and graceful pilasters sustaining the second story of paneled brick work of white and red, and the whole surmounted by its heavy ornamental galvanized iron cornice, give the front view a grand and imposing appearance.  The building is designed to be fireproof, the walls being 14inches thick with a hollow space, and the windows and doors supplied with sliding double shutters of iron, furnished by a firm in Grand Rapids.  The architect of the building is Mr. Gillett, of Lansing, and the plan cannot well be improved.  The mason work was done by Edward and Robert Esler, it is therefore unnecessary to say that it is substantial and tasty in all respects. E.A. Jerome performed the carpenter work, which reflects great credit upon the young man, and it is undeniable evidence of his rare mechanical skill and good taste.  There are 1140 yards of plastering in the building which has been done by Daniel Brobst in a manner that declares him to be a master workman. This elegant structure has been handsomely erected at a cost of $5000, we might here add that Mr. Esler has settled with all parties employed in its construction without any unpleasantness, and to the satisfaction of all concerned. While the upper story is conveniently arranged into business offices easily reached by a staircase and corridor on the outside of the building,  the first story is one entire apartment, fitted and furnished in modern city style for a sales room, the rear of which is at all times as light and cheerful as the front, this magnificent salesroom we find fully occupied with a most valuable stock of general merchandise all arranged in their several sections and compartments in the most perfect order and taste, and afforded at prices that cannot be undersold outside the city of Detroit.  On the north side of the room we see a select assortment of family groceries, crockery, dry goods and notions; and on the south side, gent’s furnishing goods and clothes, vests and pants, hats and caps, and boots and shoes for men, women and children. The counters are fourteen in number, each ten foot long, eight of which have plate glass tops, with drawers beneath for display of the class of goods in the department just back of them, a very tasteful and convenient arrangement for both salesman and purchaser, and all together a new feature in this part of the state. The center counter is passing through nearly the entire length of the building, piled with gent’s coats, sheetings, ticking and carpets, together with a full line of gloves and mittens, while beneath we see almost countless numbers of boxes of boots and shoes, coarse and fine, for men and boys.  All this immense stock is so arranged as to be seen and examined to advantage, in the least possible time, in this beautiful and well lighted room.  Mr. Esler does a very large business as none will doubt, three salesmen being occupied most of the time. He takes personal supervision over his business and devotes his time diligently during business hours to the several details of his trade.  His rapid rise from a small beginning to his present proud position in mercantile life, stamps Mr. Esler as a man of more than ordinary business talent and tact, especially when we take into consideration his popularity with the general public as a dealer, shown by the names on his book of our best farmers and townspeople that have year after year been retained as his heaviest and most desirable customers.  It may, we think, be safely said, that no one man in Grand Ledge has done more for its material improvement than B.T. Esler. He has improved several lots, built and owned several good houses, and has ever been advanced as the most ready and willing to improve our schools and increase our church accommodations and privileges. To lose him from among us would be a public calamity.  But we are happy to say, that there is no immediate cause of fear in this respect, as Mr. Esler has no intentions than to remain in Grand Ledge and do in the future as in the past—all in his power for the beautiful town with which he has fully identified all his business interest, and where he hopes to see in due time the close of a successful business career.   The Independent is happy to display his name conspicuously each week at the head of its mercantile advertising column, hoping he may for many long years occupy his pre-eminence in our ranks.  May his star of prosperity never decline.”

The Sanborn Insurance Maps give us some clues to the uses of the building during the early years.  The 1886 Sanborn map shows a two-story building with exterior stairways on the south side giving access to the second floor.   In the 1880’s the second floor was E.A. Marvin’s photography studio  In 1890, John Calkins, who had a restaurant two doors north, bought the building when B.T. Esler moved to California, where he lived the rest of his life. In 1892, it was a bakery.  In 1900, a billiard hall.  In 1907, it was the local Post Office.  In 1916, the Crystal Theater was there.  The 1916 map tells us that the original address was 551 S. Bridge; the street numbering system was revised in 1914 to comply with regulations issued by the U.S. Post Office, and it was then that the current street number 209 was assigned.

Around 1920 it became the Van Horn Meat Market.  In the 1930’s, veteran grocer Leo Palmer opened a grocery store in the building. Mr. Palmer came to Grand Ledge from Marshall Michigan.  The first Saturday he opened his store, which was located on North Bridge Street, he bought six loaves of bread in the morning, and he still had two loaves left that night.  Business picked up, and he was able to expand his business. Besides the grocery store at 228 North Bridge Street, he opened a restaurant called the Jefferson Inn (later called the Palmer Inn) at 226 North Bridge. Then he opened his second grocery store at 209 South Bridge Street.  His good fortune didn’t last long, though.  In April 1938 he was forced to declare bankruptcy. 

Archie King, another veteran grocer, moved into the store shortly after that. He was a man with a great deal of experience in the grocery business.  He worked at the Rose & Vail Meat Market for eight years before he actually purchased that business, which he then expanded to include grocery items.  His grocery store was at 213 North Bridge Street before he moved across the bridge to 209 South Bridge shortly after the Palmer bankruptcy in 1938.  From the city directories it appears he conducted business here at #209 through 1945. 

Around 1945 the store became the Willis Brothers Market, owned by Clare and Kenneth Willis.  The Willis brothers certainly were entrepreneurs—their other brother, Wayne, had a clothing store almost directly across the street.  The brothers grew up on West Front Street.  After his army service, Kenneth came home to establish his life and care for his family.  His brother Clare wanted to open a grocery store, and he and Kenneth pooled their resources and talent and opened the Willis Brothers grocery store, which remained in business for many years at this location.  The building was showing its age by this time, and Ken’s daughter Freida Schneeberger recalls the old, creaky, wooden floors and wooden shelves.  She remembers the two big front windows and the recessed doorway.   The building had a devastating fire on July 4, 1960  which destroyed much of the interior of the old structure and caused approximately $40,000 in damage.  The building was extensively remodeled and updated after the fire. The Grand Ledge Independent Sept. 8, 1960 reported the opening of the newly renovated building:  “There’s a bright and airy atmosphere about the “new” Willis Brothers Market, which is holding open house this weekend in its newly remodeled store. The huge front windows which stretch from the ceiling to within a foot of the floor, the wide aisles and the extensive use of creams, tans, and greens in the color scheme add to the fresh appearance of the products displayed.  Biggest innovation in the store are the double entrances with front and rear check-out counters. Easy access is thus gained to the city parking lot to the rear. Considerably different throughout is the store which was virtually gutted by the disastrous Fourth of July fire.  Fortunately for the owners the large meat coolers and storage escaped the fire.  Even they, though, have a new look about them, with a honey colored grain wood facing.  Willis has been known for many years for its “home” style meat, cut to the request of the customer.  The large meat block thus retains a central place in the store, with low side dividers.  The tiled floor is a soft tan and cream, with the acoustical ceiling in lighter tones, also with a pattern.  Shelving, also in cream, carries a green striping which carries the eye horizontally.  Counters are of gold-flecked Formica.  About thirty feet more of frozen storage counters have been added, and the food is departmentalized for easy access.   The Willis Brothers have added two cute touches, a huge hot dog on top of the meat counter, and a banana tree topped with leaves and hooks on the trunk to hold bananas”. It was at this time that the lower half of the front façade was given the veneer of modern brick and the doorway was moved from the center to the side. 

Many other changes and modernizations were done after the 1960 fire to make the building more practical for the modern storekeeper, and to comply with modern regulations and codes.  One of those new code regulations called for the installation of a firewall between #209 and the building next door, #213.  When a devastating fire in the 1990’s burned several buildings on the block, including #213, it was that firewall that stopped the fire from destroying #209.

 There were two other minor fires at the store, and after the third fire, the Willis Brothers closed their business and sold the building to Frank Eschtruth.

The upstairs of the building was used as apartments and offices over the years until the 1960 fire.  The second floor was not rented after the renovation that followed that fire.  In 1937 two retired men lived in two upstairs apartments: J.W. Williams and Wm. Marratt.  Mr. Marratt was a retired photographer.  In 1945 there was a third apartment upstairs: Williams and Marratt still lived upstairs, as did Earl O. Smith and his wife Sadie.  Mr. Smith was a clerk at The Barn.  In 1950 Catherine Cooper, a widow, Andrew Brown, and Irma Sunday lived in three units upstairs.  In 1956 the tenants were Andrew Phinney and his wife Gladys, and Norman Cox and his wife Fredia.  Mr. Phinney was a carpenter and Mr. Cox was a city employee. 

In 1966 the building housed the Town Finance Company.

In January 1981, Nancy Nagel opened a health food store called the Grain Barrel. Nancy, a nurse, became interested in health foods when she was dealing with her husband’s allergy problems and she began to learn about the effects of diet on overall health.  The business was a family operation, with husband Ron, mother Wanda, and children Noel and Mark helping in the store as they were able.   In February 1997 she sold the business to Jan Phelps of Mulliken who moved her business to 106 West River Street in 1990. 

The store continued in the food store tradition with the next owners.  It was known as Kelly’s Baked Goods store from 1990-1992. The owners were Kelly and Matt Dufour; the business started out at 203 S. Bridge St. and moved two doors down to #209 in June 1990. Kelly Jensek later became the sole owner of the business, which was called Just Kelly’s. 

In 1993 Sunseekers tanning salon moved into the building.  The business was opened about 1987 in Cedar Village Shopping Center.  Michelle Adams, owner of Sunseekers, moved the business to 209 South Bridge Street in early 1993.  Exactly four months later, on July 19, there was a disastrous fire that destroyed several businesses immediately to the south of #209.  Sunseekers sustained some damage from the fire, but the cleaning and repair work was done quickly and the store reopened in August. 

Alan Fox moved his business, The Glass Fox, to this location from North Bridge Street in the fall of 1999, and opened for business in the new location in early 2000.  The Glass Fox specialized in decorative glass gifts and home décor items, as well as custom glasswork for homes and businesses. Alan Fox also specialized in the custom paving bricks that are used for many fundraiser projects, such as at our own Opera House. He opened Fox Custom Glass at 227 North Bridge Street in 1992.  Alan and Mary Fox bought the building at #209 from Paula Eschtruth, who had received it from the estate of her father, Frank Eschtruth.

 Alan and Mary did extensive renovation in the old building.  They removed all of the partitions and false walls that were left from previous businesses.  They took down the dropped ceiling and exposed the original high ceilings.  The beautiful hardwood floor, original to the building, was repaired and refinished.  Pieces of flooring were replaced as needed, matched as closely to the original as possible.  The old woodwork was gone, but the Foxes had new pieces made to replicate the original design.  This building originally did not have an inside stairway. Access to the second floor, in the very early days, was from an outside stairway on the south side of the building.  Around 1890, when the building at #213 was built by J.S. Holmes, that exterior stairway was incorporated and access to the second floor at #209 was gained through #213.  Alan Fox put in an inside stairway to the upstairs.  Since glasswork is his specialty, it is no surprise that Alan installed an etched glass transom window over the front door. 

Roger Millbrook bought the building from Alan Fox in July 2003 as an office for his CPA firm, Millbrook, Nicholas & Nicholas.  On the exterior, the brick was repaired and the lower part of the front façade was remodeled to make it more in keeping with the style of the upper façade.  Inside, he continued renovations begun by Alan Fox and reconfigured the space to meet the needs of a modern office.  Roger and his father, Roger Millbrook Sr., have done most of the work themselves.   They repositioned the stairway, removed portions of the old plaster to expose the original brick walls, refinished and repaired the upstairs floors, and replaced windows and doors. On the stairway wall going upstairs, he uncovered the old exterior doorway and window spaces, and uses them as a display area for old bottles and artifacts from the past discovered during the work.  On the second floor, the work continues.  Roger’s office is a large bright room overlooking the street. The etched glass that Alan Fox designed for the front door to the building now graces the transom over the door to the office. Roger says that he loves old buildings and always wanted to be located downtown, and as he looks down at Bridge Street from his office, he finds the hard work to have been well worth it.

This building is a wonderful example of adapting an old building for use as a modern business establishment, while retaining the grace and beauty that characterized it when it was first opened for business over one hundred and twenty-eight years ago.  As The Grand Ledge Independent said long ago in 1875: “This fine structure is worthy of more than a mere passing notice.”—it is once again a point of pride for Bridge Street.