A Look Back

The St. Johns House

by Barry Bauer

Once an up and coming stopping place for drummers or traveling salesmen and other travelers, the old St. Johns House is pictured above on W. Walker St. A wrecking crew began demolishing the building on Monday, September 25, 1939.

The plan was to make way for a new office building.

In its day it was a well-kept structure. The 50-year old hotel had been neglected in later years, and its removal eliminated an eyesore and a fire trap.

The story doesn’t end there. The truth is this location never became an ‘office building.’ We remember it as the site of the new A&P grocery store that moved from its location on the S.W. corner of N. Clinton Ave. and W. Walker St. This location was later occupied by the D&C Store.

After A&P vacated the building the Gambles store moved over from N. Clinton Ave. Following Gambles was Video Land, a video game arcade. The building on the left was a second hand store, and it is now a parking lot.

This building is the current location of the UAW Local 925 hall.