105-W. Main Christiansen's Drug Store & Soda Fountain

105-W. Main Christiansen’s Drug Store and Soda Fountain

William Christiansen was known as “Chris.” He came to Lowell and decided that the new M-21 just being completed would make Lowell’s Main Street a good place for a soda fountain and ice cream store. He bought Lalley’s Candy Store in 1928 which was on the Main Street bridge, the second door west of today’s Los Portales Restaurant. The restaurant is in the old Post Office building.

In 1929, Christiansen’s Candy Store and Soda Fountain was advertised. He opened a lunchroom and soda fountain and made his own ice cream.

In 1932, he bought and remodeled the old hotel (where Canfield Plumbing is today) at the corner of Main and Washington Streets, for an ice cream and paddle pop manufactory so he could make larger quantities of ice cream. He wholesaled his ice cream to other stores in Grand Rapids as well as retailed it in his own store in Lowell.

“A special delicacy at Christiansen’s which has become popular is their Chocolate Soda. A complete line of candies and tobaccos are handled by Christiansen’s,” the Lowell Ledger recorded in 1934.

In 1935, he opened a cone shop, later called a “dairy bar,” in the building where his manufactory was, as well as at his store on the bridge. Frozen food lockers (steel lockage compartments inside a walk-in freezer) were later installed in the manufactory building. Customers used these to store food before home freezers were invented or available.

In 1938, Christiansen’s Drug Company was organized and the store on the bridge in the center of town was enlarged from one 22-foot store to two storefronts by buying the store to the east. Eventually he also bought the store to the west which gave him three storefronts.

During WWII, Chris closed the dairy bar at the Canfield building location and reopened it as a meat market with a frozen food locker plant. In 1955, he enlarged the building and opened Lowell’s first supermarket. He sold the supermarket to L. V. Eberhard in 1958.

In 1962, Chris retired and sold his Drug Company and Soda Fountain to Dean Manigold and Mitchell Wieczorek. Chuck Lippert purchased the store in 1968. The name stayed Christiansen’s Drug Store until 1971 when Lippert changed the name to Lippert Pharmacy in 1971. Shortly after Lippert moved the business to the location that had previously been Christiansen’s Eberhard’s supermarket. Other businesses occupied the building on the bridge over the next several years until in 1997 the iconic Christiansen’s on the bridge was condemned and demolished.

Images:

Christiansen’s store, c. 1930.

Color picture of Christiansen’s

Set of 4 soda glasses which was used at Christiansen's Drug Store and Soda Fountain. The donor, Margaret Wood Kehrer, began working at the ice cream counter in 1955. Her recipe for "Chocolate Soda" follows: For One tall shining glass-- 2 oz. of chocolate syrup, cooked in the small kitchen. High powered stream of soda water. This will bubble up and mix with the chocolate, next add ice cream and more high-powered soda water. Stir a little with spoon, then when the bubbles rise up, you have a wonderful treat. These were the instructions from Marie, my instructor. I was 17 at that time."
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Bar stools 

Bentwood triangular chair used at Christiansen’s.