St. Louis Street Renaissance Brings New Life to the Old Business Core of the City

Crisp paint patterns on 1870s’ brick facades, lady barbers, a patio in the street and tuck pointing crews in bucket lifts are giving a new look to Pacific’s former Main Street.

These elements represent a true revival or renewal of the old business core of the city. St. Louis Street, formerly called Main Street or Front Street, was the life blood of Pacific’s economy, starting in the railroad boom years.

Thanks to the traveling salesmen that rode the Pacific and Frisco passenger trains, by the late 1800s residents could buy almost anything they wanted on Main Street – from fine china and jewelry to stylish clothes, furniture, and livery for the horses. It was all there in 40 or 50 family shops side by side along four city blocks from Columbus (formerly Adelaide) to Third street.

By 1900, all this buying and selling, inspired McHugh and Dailey to build their three-story emporium to compete with the 1870s Mauthe’s Department store. And they really were department stores. They offered – along with all the other daily goods – sewing machines, musical instruments, bicycles and tools. And the changed with the times. One grocery store sold automobiles. In the day of talkies, a movie theater was built.

After the advent of Walmart and big box stores St. Louis Street, like main streets everywhere, slowed to a crawl. Mom and Pop shops disappeared.

But recently businesses have been buying the old buildings and dressing them up in colors the pioneers never dreamed of.

Even before the recent spate of rebuilds, insurance broker Steve Reed rebuilt what was one of the city’s earliest filling stations at 104 West Louis to house his insurance office. His son Brad Reed’s insurance business still occupies the building.

At the start of the recent revival, First State Community Bank, with Al Baldwin at the helm, ripped away the facade of an old grocery store and constructed an architectural jewel and state of the art bank. Trudy Nickelson turned an old railroad executive mansion into an upscale party center complete with a honeymoon suite that rivals the Ritz. A former football player has expanded his barbecue eatery with a patio in the street. A pair of lady barbers dressed up the former department store/real estate building, transforming it with crisp black and white facade. East of St. Louis Street, white buildings with blue shutters also dressed up brick facades.

Now, accountant Greg Omer, eyeing all the changes going on has bought the former Birdsong Pharmacy building at First and St. Louis Street. He tuck-pointed the three-story structure, is building three modern apartments on the upper floor and is looking for an upscale restauranteur to bring a premium dining experience to the ground floor commercial space.

This landmark structure built around 1900 has been home to a store, the towns first  bank and after two buildings were combined it became a long-operating pharmacy.

Omer said the large ground floor space and location are ideal for a fine restaurant. Once he has an agreement with a restaurant he will create a facade to match the image and style of the restaurant.

“I have big ideas for what that front can look like,” he said. “I have a vision for St. Louis Street, and a restaurant on the style of Hawthorne or Sheffields, can attract people from all over the area to downtown Pacific. It’s time for Pacific to come into its own.”

Vickie Leah, who has lived on St. Louis Street her entire life, said all this change to the buildings is a welcome sign. 

“It is a renewal,” she said. “The new businesses are a reminder of earlier times. When I was growing up here, every building had stores on the ground floor and the store owners lived upstairs in the building.” 

As a small child she played on the sidewalk in front of every one of these buildings. The owners were family friends.

Leah was born in the building occupied by the lady barbers. Her mother Eunice Leach and her uncle operated Leach’s Department Store in the building. When Eunice married George Leah, the store became Leah’s Department store. Like most St. Louis Street merchant’s, the Eunice and George and their daughter Vickie, lived in the apartment above the store.  In 1965, the Leah’s bought the former Mauthe’s Department that dates to 1870 and moved their business and residence there. The landmark structure has been Vickie Leah’s home ever since.

The building went through some temporary changes in 2006 when the store was transformed into a beauty shop and sheriff’s department when the movie Saving Shiloh was filmed in Pacific.

“My building is a great place to live,” Leah said. “I can see the whole south side from my front window and I can see Blackburn Park from my kitchen. Once there was a wedding ceremony in the park and my Mom and I sat on the porch and watched it.”

The changes on St. Louis Street seemed to gel in one grand impression when the Pacific Partnership put up holiday lights throughout the downtown. “It was just beautiful,” Leah said. “I was happy to just be there.”