Quick Facts

Originally built in 1883 as a grand, three-story Italianate hardware store, the structure was later cut down to two stories or rebuilt sometime between 1937 and 1952. 

After hosting a knitwear shop and a beauty school, the location became a staple for local shoppers as City Drug (later Clabuesch Drug and Downtown Drugs) from 1945 until the early 1980s. 

The building survived a fire in 1984, after which it was covered in a modern synthetic coating and fitted with the distinct bowed second-story windows seen today. 

NPS Description

110 East Broadway Street. 1883. 

Non-contributing (built within the period of significance but subsequent alterations have sufficiently impacted integrity to render it non-contributing) 

Description

A two-story brick commercial building covered in white painted Exterior Insulation Finishing System (EIFS). Bowed windows on the second story are replacements with fabric awnings. The storefront is glass and aluminum replacement with three separate fabric awnings. 

The south (rear) elevation is covered in vertical wood siding. No other exterior elevation is visible due to adjoining buildings. 

The interior has been remodeled, but the entry hall has a tile floor that may be original and there is a skylight above the central stairs which also may be original. 

History 

Jared Doughty constructed a three-story Italianate brick building on this lot in 1883, moving his hardware store from its previous location at 100/102 East Broadway. According to Sanborn maps, it remained a hardware store and tin shop until at least 1910. In the 1930s and 40s, it held a knitwear store, D&C Stores, and a beauty school. By 1945 it had become the City Drug store, later Clabuesch Drug and Downtown Drugs, and stayed in that use until the early 1980s, after which it changed use frequently. There were offices and at one point residences upstairs. 

Integrity Analysis 

Between 1937 and 1952, the original building was either demolished and replaced or cut down to two stories. The exterior in 1952 was brick with three double-hung windows on the second floor. The building was damaged by a fire in 1984. Sometime after 1988, the exterior was covered with EIFS, the central window covered, the two oriel windows installed. 

Sources 

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (Mt. Pleasant: 1884, 1890, 1895, 1900, 1910, 1924, 1931, 1950); Mt. Pleasant City Directories, 1925-1998; Past and Present of Isabella County, 1911; City of Mt. Pleasant Building Permits; historic photographs.