It’s WHAT time! And we have been out wandering and looking at buildings again! This time we headed down to the Kolbe neighborhood to 1244 South 9th Avenue- Jim’s Corner Pub. We heard this is the place to get a little blackberry brandy to chase the chill.
As the date by the roofline says, this was built in 1930 in a commercial style typical of taverns. It is built with rusticated concrete blocks (with a stamped pattern). Rusticated blocks were popular as an inexpensive alternative to brick, and for their fire proof qualities. Henry Ford was a big supporter of using them in construction.
We did some searching through the City Directories and found the following starting in 1933:
Listed at 1242 South 9th Avenue
1933 – Anton Schneck Tavern (he lived upstairs)
1938 – Green Light Tavern (still owned by Schneck)
1939 – Green Light Tavern, but now owned by Josephine Gutowsky. She and her husband, John lived upstairs. He was a stone cutter.
1942 – Walter Wiederhoeft Tavern (wife is Ruth)
Now listed at 1244 South 9th Avenue
1945 – Walter Wiederhoeft Tavern
1947 – George Nimz Tavern
1950 – John Forge Tavern
1954 – Norm’s Tavern (Norman Kolberg owner)
1966 – Don and Betty’s Bar (Steilens owners)
1970 – listed as Don Steilen but not as tavern
1971- 73 – tavern is vacant, apartment in use
1974 – Norm An’ Jean’s (owned by the Niemis)
1977 – Cozy Corner Tavern (Rodney and Sylvia Wendlend)
1985- Cozy Corner (Phyllis Penn owner)
1987 – listed aa vacant
1988 Kozy Corner Tavern
1990-91 – vacant
1992 – Kathy’s Korner
2015 – Jim’s Corner Pub
