The Barden Store is located at 622-628 58th Street in Kenosha, on the western edge of Lake Michigan in Kenosha County, the southeastern-most county in the state of Wisconsin. The Barden Store is one of many two- to four- story commercial buildings that characterize Kenosha’s historic central business district. The Commercial Vernacular form of the building is the most common in the surrounding built environment, expressed through masonry facades with modest brick articulation and details. The Barden Store is a two-story masonry building with full glass and aluminum storefront and a projecting canopy.

The building was home to the Barden Store, Kenosha’s premier locally-owned department store for more than a century. The Barden Store Company purpose-built the current building in 1907, expanded it in 1910, and remained there until 1985. The building retains most of its original features, including the historic wood windows, including unique large pivot-style second floor display windows. Despite subsequent fires and expansions, the building experienced very few exterior changes until a c. 1955 storefront remodel was executed, resulting in the addition of a substantial projecting canopy, corrugated metal paneling in place of the original transoms and replacement of storefront window (storefront evolution is typical in the context of department store history).

The history of the Barden Store is defined by two long-standing owner-managers. The first, Hugh E. Barden, was one of the founders of the store and remained its manager until his death in 1927. The second long-standing manager of note was Henry C. Hyslop, who owned and operated the store from 1934 until his death in 1967. Barden is notable for his role in founding and growing the company from a small dry goods retailer to the foremost department store in Kenosha. His tenure includes the construction of a significant addition and expansion of the store to fill the entire building. He possessed a vision for the future of Kenosha as an upscale, regional center and offered goods and services unmatched by other large stores in the city during the same time period. Barden grew his namesake store from modest beginnings into a premier Kenosha business, while Hyslop helped it remain that way through a fast-changing century. Hyslop shepherded the Barden Store through the recovery from the Great Depression, the shifts brought by World War II, a devastating fire, infiltration of chain stores downtown, movement of retail centers to suburban areas, and ever-changing consumer demands of the twentieth century. Hyslop helped locally-owned Barden’s thrive at its downtown location long after similar establishments, including several chain department stores, were shuttered or relocated to new developments on the outskirts of the city. As chain department stores, discount stores, and suburban growth shifted consumer habits, Hyslop managed to retain the classic department store at Barden’s while also adjusting to changing times.