Early Twentieth Century Postcard of Sandusky

This postcard was created by noted photographer Louis James Pesha in the early 1900s. The eastern side of Columbus Avenue is pictured in Sandusky’s busy downtown district.   The Cooke building, with a flagpole atop a decorative tower, can be seen at the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Market Street. Stone’s Block, which housed the general offices of the Lake Shore Electric Railway, is at the southeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Market Street. At this time N.E. Marshall ran a bookstore at 210 Columbus Avenue. The S.H. Knox and Co. 5 and 10 Cent Store was in business at 214 and 216 Columbus Avenue. The Dietz and Mischler cigar store, at 224 Columbus Avenue, was known for selling Siesta cigars for five cents each. Puck, a cast zinc statue, stood in the front window of the store from the late 1800s until about 1915. Puck now can be seen at the Follett House Museum.

The Bauman Brothers sold wallpaper at 226 Columbus Avenue, and the Melville Brothers drugstore was located at 228 Columbus Avenue. Also in the 200 block of Columbus Avenue was William Seitz Sons, merchant tailor and the American Banking and Trust Company. O.S. Alcott ran a men’s furnishing store at the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Washington Row. You can read a portion of the sign of the O.S. Alcott store in the close up view of the postcard below.

Thanks to Mr. Pesha, we can take a peek into our community’s past. Sadly, L.J. Pesha was killed in an automobile accident in 1912.

Early Twentieth Century Views of Stone’s Block

According to the Ohio Historic Inventory for Erie County, Stone’s Block was built around 1870 in the High Victorian style. The building features ornate cornices and ornamentation on the centered gable, and the windows have cut stone lintels. The building is located on the southeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Market Street. From the 1880s until 1908, the M. and A. Lebensburger men’s clothing store was in business at the street level of Stone’s block. From about 1910 to 1919, the Lake Shore Electric Railway had offices at the Stone Block. The postcard below refers to the Interurban Station in the building.

Here is a view of Stone’s Block and Market Street on a cold day about 1905.

From 1921 to 1964, the S.S. Kresge store was in business in the Stone’s Block, and the Jupiter store was there from about 1965 to 1985. Later businesses at Stone’s Block were Bourbon Street and Cabana Jack’s. A new business venture, the Small City Taphouse, is about to open in the building at 202 Columbus Avenue. The Stone’s Block has been a vital part of downtown Sandusky for over a century.

The C.F. Denzer Company

An article in volume 85 of the American Stationer magazine reported that in 1919 Carl F. Denzer bought out the business of the George F. Windisch & Co. in Sandusky, Ohio. Mr. Denzer had been connected with Mr. Windisch for twenty-three years, and he had been a business partner since 1909. The C.F. Denzer Co. was located at 210-212 Columbus Avenue in the Stone Block. In the picture above, signs in the windows advertised safes, cabinets, filing supplies, and office furniture. Mr. Denzer also sold books, stationery, and sporting goods. Signs in the windows on the uppermost level of the building still featured the name of the previous owner George F. Windisch. A shoe store operated by George Ueberle and H. George Brengartner was just north of the C.F. Denzer Company. Right above the shoe store was the Christian Science Reading Room.

In a special “Ladies Night” sponsored by the Rotary Club in January, 1920, Carl F. Denzer was presented with a big barrel labeled Port Wine. Mr. Denzer pretended to open the wine and share with it with his friends, as the audience sang “How Dry I Am.” Since this event took place during Prohibition, there was most likely not any wine in the barrel.

During the Christmas season of 1921, the C.F. Denzer Co. advertised a wide variety of books, cards, games, and holiday decorations for Sandusky area residents. A title at the top of the list of books was A Web of Thought, by Marjorie Anderson, a native of Sandusky.

In September of 1926, Carl F. Denzer married Miss Corrinne Curtis, the sister of Worth Curtis. On August 23, 1940, members of the Ohio Stationers Club met at the new location of the C.F. Denzer Company on East Market Street. Mr. Denzer had sold the old C.F. Denzer building to the S.S. Kresge Company in March of 1940.

Carl F. Denzer passed away in California at the age of 59 on February 6, 1943. Though he had been in failing health, his death was unexpected. Carl F. Denzer was survived by his widow, two sisters and two brothers. Burial was at Oakland Cemetery.

Here is a postcard with a view of the Stone Block on Columbus Avenue, from the first quarter of the twentieth century: