Can you believe it’s another Tuesday? And time for another WHAT post? Today we visited downtown Wausau with 505 Third Street as our destination. Yes, we will take any chance we can to visit Janke Book Store. It’s the siren call of books -who can resist?
But, this was not always the home of Janke Book Store. This commercial style building was built in 1965 and became home of Walgreen’s. Note the arched picture windows and above the door door, as well as the large (metal?) tiles above windows
It was then listed as vacant in the 1985 and 1990 city directories.
In about 1991 it became the fourth and current home of Janke Book Store. The store had first been located just across the street in the area where the bank plaza is now. Its second and third homes were just north of its current location- but all on the same block. (Check out the bulletin board near the entrance to see photos of the locations).
Janke Book Store is the oldest bookstore in Wisconsin! The store was founded in 1874, and purchased by Carl Janke and Reno Kurth in 1919. In 1948 Carl became the sole owner. It has remained a Janke family business since that time – and a true Wausau gem.
