Wall Street building to be demolished

The Jasper Development Corporation plans to demolish this structure at 120 Wall Street W. It’s not yet clear when the demolition will take place. K. Kuphal

The Jasper Flooring & Hot Tubs building at 120 Wall Street W. in Jasper is headed for demolition.

Jasper City Council members during their Nov. 14 meeting approved a demolition permit allowing the Jasper Development Corporation (JDC) to demolish the structure. JDC President Bob Quissell said later that the JDC purchased the property from Brian Persing a few months ago after the roof over the east part of the building collapsed and plans to demolish the structure because it poses a safety hazard.

In addition to the collapsed roof, the west wall is bowed and there are gaps between the stones in multiple locations. Inside the building, there are holes in the floor and ceiling, and mold on the walls and ceiling.

“The building isn’t worth fixing,” said Mayor Les Nath, before the council approved the demolition permit.

Part of the roof of the building at 120 Wall Street W. in Jasper has collapsed into the building. The Jasper Development Corporation has purchased the property and plans to demolish the structure. K. Kuphal

Quissell said there’s no set date for the demolition, but he expects it to happen before the end of the year. He said the JDC plans to keep some of the Jasper quartzite stones from the building for future use and plans to plant grass on the lot and market it for redevelopment. The property is right next to the former bowling alley lot, which is also owned by the JDC.

According to the book “Jasper Centennial,” printed in 1988, the “G. Friedrich 1910” engraved on a stone on the east part of the building refers to Gustav Friedrich, a German immigrant who was born in 1859 and moved to the United States in 1884. He bought the building from A.P. Smith in 1899. A.P. Smith Hardware was started in 1888 and Smith built the structure at 120 Wall Street W. and moved his business there sometime after that.

Friedrich added onto the building in 1910. In 1911, he and his sons, Otto and Carl, became partners under the name of G. Friedrich and Sons. The business was sold to Lester Bauman in 1944. A year later, Otto and John Schluenz bought the hardware store and operated it under the name of Friedrich and Company. Otto sold his interest to Schluenz in 1956.

The hardware store became a charter member of the Our Own Hardware company in 1913 and all of the owners up until at least 1988 when the “Jasper Centennial” book was written were affiliated with that company. Richard and Patricia Rieck operated Jasper Flooring & Hot Tubs out of the building for several years before selling the property to Persing.