Third Street, looking west from Palmer House, Grand Island, Neb.
Description
Color postcard (14 x 9 cm) with a view captioned "Third Street, Looking West From Palmer House, Grand Island, Neb." On the left side of the street is a sign on the building stating "Wolbach's" and to the right on the corner is a building with a clock tower. The street is empty and there are utility poles lining the right side of the street.
This image is taken from Grand Island's Palmer House Hotel which stood at the southeast corner of East Third Street and North Sycamore. The Palmer, developed by real estate promoter C.W. Scarff, opened in 1888 as the city's leading hotel. The hotel closed in 1977 and was razed in 1979. Wolbach's department store, seen across the street, was started by Michael Wolbach who arrived in Grand Island from New York City in 1873. He selected the southwest corner of Third and Pine Streets to build a small, one-story frame building 20 by 50 feet. In 1874, Michael’s brothers Jacob S. and Samuel N. joined him in Grand Island and the store became known as Wolbach Brothers. In 1881, a new two-story brick building replaced the original frame store at the same location. In 1884, S.N. Wolbach became sole owner and renamed the store Wolbach & Sons. The building was expanded in 1884. Extensive remodeling projects were completed in 1901 and in 1929, when the store received the Spanish-stucco style exterior it maintains to this day. The building with the clock tower was the Michelson Building on the northwest corner of 3rd and Pine. It still stands, minus the clock tower. Source: Karen Keehr, Curator of Research, Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer, 3133 West Hwy 34, Grand Island, Nebraska.
