Votruba Block facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Votruba Block
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Votruba Block (left) next to the East Jordan Lumber Company (right)
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 Location in Michigan
Location in the United States
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| Location | 112 Main St, East Jordan, Michigan |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1899 |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian |
| NRHP reference No. | 08000585 |
| Added to NRHP | July 3, 2008 |
The Votruba Block is an old building located at 112 Main Street in East Jordan, Michigan. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. This means it's a special building that is important to history. It stands right next to the East Jordan Lumber Company Store Building. Both buildings have been fixed up and now form an office complex called the Main Street Center.
Contents
History of the Votruba Block
Early Settlers and James Votruba
The Votruba family was part of a group of people from Bohemia (a region in the Czech Republic) who moved to Michigan. They settled in areas like Antrim and Charlevoix counties starting in the late 1860s. John and Anna Votruba were among the first to arrive in 1871.
Their son, James J. Votruba, was born in 1871. In the mid-1890s, James moved to East Jordan. At that time, East Jordan was a busy town because of the lumber industry. James Votruba became involved in businesses there.
Building and Early Businesses
In 1899, James Votruba had this building constructed. He wanted it to be a general store. It sold many things like groceries, harnesses for horses, and other useful items.
By 1903, James Votruba stopped running the store himself. He became a traveling salesman instead. A new business, the East Jordan Harness Company, then used the building. After that, a furniture store moved in around 1905. James Votruba might have owned this furniture store.
James Votruba's Return and Later Uses
In 1907, James Votruba returned to the general store business. He opened a new store in the Votruba Block. It sold groceries, harnesses, farm tools, candy, and other goods.
The upstairs part of the building was also used for different things. For a short time, a group called the Masonic Lodge met there. Then, from 1907 to 1910, it was a dance hall. In 1910, another group, the Knights of Pythias, reportedly started meeting in the hall.
James Votruba continued to run his store until he passed away in 1928. After that, many different businesses used the space. By the 1950s, a store called Healy Hardware was in the building. It stayed there until the 1980s. Two pizza places then used the building during the 1990s.
For a while, the building was empty and started to fall apart. But from 2002 to 2004, it was completely fixed up. This was part of a bigger project to create the Main Street Center office building.
What the Votruba Block Looks Like
The Votruba Block is a two-story building. It was built in the Late Victorian style. It has red brick walls and a wooden frame. The top of the building has a decorative iron trim called a cornice.
The building is about 23 feet wide and 100 feet deep. On the ground floor, there is a main entrance for the storefront in the middle. A narrow staircase at one end leads up to the second floor.
The second story has two sets of double-hung windows. These windows have rounded tops called transoms. The very top part of the building, the attic, has a small pair of double-hung windows in the center. On each side of these, there is a small round window. The decorative iron cornice sits right at the top of the building's front.
Inside the Building
When it was first built, the first floor was one large store space. Later, a kitchen area was added at the back. The front two-thirds of the second floor had an apartment. The back part of the second floor was one big room.
During the recent renovation project, both floors were changed. They were turned into modern office spaces.
