106 E GALE AVE

106 E GALE AVE

Trempealeau

Galesville

1884

C. 1890

1994

large retail building

Commercial Vernacular

Brick

No

A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the State Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation. The third story addition was added in the twentieth century and has lessened the architectural interest of this corner building on the square. The store front is intact and, as such, is a good example of a common type. The second story was remodeled in the early 1890s from a hall to additional retail space. As built, the Gilbertson and Myhre store provided the community with an "Opera House." The second floor, equipped with a stage, scenery, and balcony, served as a theater and hall. The entry and stairs were located at the rear of the building on Main Street. When the roller skating craze hit the nation in the early 1880s, the hall was converted to a roller rink. In the early '90s the hall was closed to accomodate a men's clothing department for the store. Gilbertson-Myhre Company, which was incorporated in 1910, was a business established on a small scale in 1873. G.O. Gilbertson was one of Galesville's most successful businessmen. He became the President of the Farmers and Merchant's State Bank of Galesville in 1913. Gilbertson was also active in the early operation of the Arctic Springs Creamery, a Cooperative, founded in 1899.

(A) Cornice inscription. (B) "The Galesville Centennial," 1954, p. 37. (C) Wisconsin Industrial Review - Galesville Edition, Vol. XIV, No. 164, August 1913, pp. 12, 17. (D) Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge, History of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin (Chicago, 1917), p. 806, 813.

Downtown Historic District

Sep 18, 1984

Jan 01, 1989

Yes