The Moffit Building
The Moffit Building
Eber Moffit worked for the Lowell and Hastings Railroad as a fireman and later for the Pere Marquette Railroad. His first wife died in 1894. In 1896, he married Miss Cassie Klingensmith, a Lowell photographer. That same year Eber built Cassie a “Ground Floor Photographic Studio” with a residence for them above it on the second floor at 109 W. Main. This building was on the north side of the Main Street bridge and was built on the spiles in the river where the J. C. Train building had been prior to the fire of 1884. Moffit covered the new building with sheet iron. Later, in 1905, Frank T. King connected the Moffit building and the Post Office by constructing a building in between which was later known as Christiansen’s Drug Store. Eber died unexpectedly at age 47 on Jan. 1, 1903. Cassie Moffit became a partner with Mrs. Eggleston in the millinery business in 1905 and married Henry Hiler in 1906. After this, the building was used by a succession of photographers including F. B. Rhodes (1906-1914), Avery E. Field (1907), Norton L. Avery (1915-1918), Harvey G. Avery (1919-1927), and F. E. Jessup (1927-1932). Norton Avery and his wife lived upstairs in 1918 when they were first married until Norton went away for WWI. Then his brother Harvey took over his business. Norton Avery made his photos under the large north skylight at the rear of the building on coated glass. Next, the Smith Radio Shop was established by Russell Smith in 1932. It handled all makes of radios and General Electric refrigerators and ranges and appliances. The Smiths lived above the store. Chris Leonard shared the building. He operated a photographic studio in the large room in the rear which was equipped with a skylight. Leonard was in Lowell only part-time as he also had a studio in Ionia. It was called the Leonard Camera Shop in the 1950s. Leonard took most area senior pictures. W. C. Doyle bought the Moffit building in 1920. F. King Doyle and Thomas (Renis) Doyle sold it to William Christiansen in 1951. His widow Ruby Christiansen remembered that there was an apartment upstairs. It was Doctor Kyser’s office then the dentist office of Dr. Vredenburg. Ruby said that the “town had me tear it down.” Images: The Moffit building is on the far left. Chris Leonard Studio with Chris and Clarice Leonard’s apartment upstairs in 1938-39. Smith Radio Shop was on the ground floor in the front. Johanna and Carl Wittenbach. Photo taken by Mrs. Cassie Moffit, 1898. Photographer F. B. Rhodes followed Cassie Moffit-Hiler in the Studio on the Bridge. This is his Ad in the Homecoming booklet, 1908. Norton Avery self-portrait. He began taking pictures in 1912 while still in high school. His first studio was in his parent’s home. He purchased the Moffit studio in 1915. Sanborn map, 1910, shows buildings on the postcard. |