Listed in Arkansas Register of Historic Places on 04/04/18

Summary

Through the years, the brick building at 208 North Block Avenue has been a home to automotive companies, a tobacco and candy store, antique stores, an electric company, an eclectic bar, and an architecture and engineering firm.The Ellis Building is being nominated to the Arkansas Register of Historic Places under Criterion A, with local significance, as a property that illustrates the history of the development of the automobile industry as related to commerce and transportation in Fayetteville and under Criterion C, with local significance, as an example of a building built specifically to accommodate the early sale and service of automobiles in northwest Arkansas.The period of significance of the structure, c. 1923 – c. 1955, encompasses the creation of the building through its final use by an automotive centered business.

Elaboration

North Block Street in Fayetteville, Arkansas, is located within the original plat of the community which was incorporated in 1841 and granted an official city charter in 1859.The area around Fayetteville was first settled in the late 1820s at a spring near the base of Mount Sequoyah.[1]The community was initially known as Washington Courthouse as the seat of the newly created Washington County in 1828.The name of the community was changed to Fayetteville in 1829 when a Post Office was established.[2]This new name was selected in order to eliminate confusion with the older town of Washington in Hempstead County.The city of Fayetteville quickly grew into a regional trading and educational center, with the Fayetteville Female Academy, Sophia Sawyer’s Fayetteville Female Seminary, and the Arkansas College of Fayetteville all founded by 1852.[3]

During the Civil War, the town was held by both the Union and Confederate forces at different times with skirmishes and actions in the area and in town from 1862 to 1864, with only the Action at Fayetteville on April 13, 1863, considered as a major conflict.During this action, Union Colonel Marcus LaRue Harrison had made his headquarters in the Tebbetts’s family home near downtown Fayetteville.Confederate General William L. Cabell tried to roust Colonel Harrison from his position, but was unsuccessful.[4]After the Civil War, the local government was reorganized and the city charter was soon dissolved due to political challenges and a new local government was organized in 1870.The devastation of the various skirmishes and battles in and around the town during the Civil War lead to a period of rebuilding.Soon new development increased in the area as the local economy flourished with the establishment of the Arkansas Industrial University in 1872, the arrival of the railroad in the 1880s, and large scale fruit and vegetable production through the late 1920s.[5]

Throughout the 19^th century, horses, mules and wagons were the primary transportation mode throughout northwest Arkansas.The first automobile appeared in Washington County in 1905 and by 1924, the price of draft animals had dropped sharply while the newest Ford model could be purchased for just over $250.[6]Also, the first decades of the 20^th century saw the development and paving of major roadways through northwest Arkansas, allowing for easier transport of people and goods by road rather than by rail.By 1920, Highway 71 had been cut along an earlier wagon road through the Boston Mountains and by 1924 a car could travel to Fort Smith from Fayetteville in four hours with good weather.In 1930, the newly paved Highway 71 was officially opened for use. [7]

The Ellis Building

In June of 1923 Dr. Edward Forrest “E. F.” Ellis purchased a long empty lot along North Block Street from the Kay family.[8]A few months later, Dr. Ellis sold the property to his son Earl Ellis who soon planned to build a new garage and office on the site to be the new home of his Ellis Motor Company, which had previously been located in the Gunter Addition to the city to the Northeast of the city’s downtown square. [9]

Residents Protest Garage on Block St.

Protests by all residenets (sic.) on the block where it is proposed to build a garage (some words unreadable – possibly “at 210”)…Block Street, were filed with the city council last evening.Action on the protest was deferred until the meeting of the council to be held Monday, July 16^th.The new garage, if erected, will be occupied by the Ellis Motor Company which will shortly move from its present quarters in Gunter Addition, to a more central location.[10]

Earl Ellis would continue to be the owner and operator of the Ellis Motor Company, until his death in 1926.[11]The building was known for several years after his death as the “Ellis Building” as seen in newspaper articles mentioning new businesses at the property.After Earl Ellis’ death, his wife and children would continue to own the property and apparently rented it out to various businesses.

Sometime after Earl Ellis’ death, the Lewis Chevrolet dealership moved into the property.According to local newspaper accounts, this soon led to a problem with local residents due to the storage of cars for sale in public parking spaces along North Block Street.In 1926, the local newspaper noted that Will Lewis, owner of Lewis Chevrolet, was unwilling to enter into a compromise with other car dealers, local property owners, and the city to use only six public parking spots per block for his cars; it is noted that Lewis believed that any regulation of the public parking spots in regards to car dealerships was bad for business.[12]The lack of space for keeping cars available for people to view and test seems to be a factor in his move to a newly constructed building and off street car lot along East Mountain Street in November of 1928.[13]Soon after the Lewis Motor Company left the Ellis Building, the Ozark Battery & Electric Company moved into the property.[14]The Ozark Battery & Electric Company had previously been located in the Lyric Building, a structure built as a theater and then renovated into office space at the corner of Block and Meadow Streets just one block to the south from their new location.

OZARK BATTERY, ELECTRIC CO. CHANGES LOCATION

The Ozark Battery & Electric company, located for the past seven years in the old Lyric building on Block and Meadow streets, has moved one block north to the Ellis building, formerly occupied by the Lewis Chevrolet company.

It occupies the entire building, which has been repainted and renovated, giving the business what is considered one of the best locations in in the city.

Willard batteries, Atwater Kent radio and Goodyear tires will be handled exclusively as in the past.

The Ozark Battery and Electric company, organized in 1920, claims title of being the first exclusive battery shop in Northwest Arkansas.It was first located in the building now occupied by the Mens’ Shop on Center street.

Battery and radio work is in charge of Harold O Wantuck, associated with the business from the beginning.Emory Larsen is in charge of the tire department.The business is owned by M. A. and F. F. Stice, the latter being the active head of the business.[15]

In 1929 the Ozark Battery & Electric Company changed its name to the Ozark Tire & Battery Company.[16]They were also advertised as a “Willard Service Station” which meant that they were an authorized dealer and service company for Willard brand automotive batteries.[17]The Willard Storage Battery Company was an early manufacturer of automobile batteries founded by Theodore A. Willard in 1896 under the original name of Willard Electric & Battery Company of Cleveland, Ohio.Originally, Willard’s company produced batteries for use by dentists, doctors, in Edison phonographs, and for railroad cars and then for automobile ignitions.Originally selling to individual automobile owners, Willard was able to convince manufacturers to use his batteries in new automobiles in 1912.By the early 1920s, Willard’s company had grown to include more than 2,500 employees and distribution in 89 countries around the world.The company would eventually decline in the 1950s and close its last plant in 1961.[18]The Willard Electric & Battery Company set up agreements with automobile service centers and electrical supply shops across the country to create authorized Willard Service Stations, where the batteries the company produced could be recharged, replaced, or new batteries redeemed if the original batteries didn’t live up to the company’s warranty.[19]During the period when the Ozark Tire & Battery Company occupied the Ellis Building a photograph was taken of the exterior, showing the various advertising signs for Goodyear Tires and Willard Storage Batteries as well as two tall “visible gas” pumps along the street edge of the sidewalk.This picture had been displayed inside the building throughout the occupancy of several tenants including the Big Star Lounge and Beaver Electric.It is now in the possession of the current owners.

The Ozark Tire & Battery Company was located at 208 North Block Street until c. 1945, when the property was sold by Florence G. Ellis and the other heirs of Earl Ellis to Leland S. Bryan and his wife Gertrude W. Bryan.[20]Leland Bryan was one of the owners and operators of the Lyle Bryan Motor Company, a local Packard dealer.[21]The Lyle Bryan Motor Company occupied the building until the mid-1950s, when the property was taken over by the Northwest Tobacco & Candy Company. [22] In the early 1980s, the building became home to the Old Town Antiques shop an then a quick succession of other antique shops.[23]In 1988 the Beaver Electric Corporation moved into the building and used it as its business headquarters until 1996.[24]By 2015, the structure was converted into a bar and lounge known as the Big Star Lounge.[25]Also, the rear of the structure and the infilled garaged door were used by scooter rental company.In 2017, part of the then vacant building was converted into office space for Cromwell Architects Engineers.[26]The remaining section of the building is currently used for storage.

As Block Avenue has evolved to house more entertainment venues, commercial spaces and restaurants; the Ellis Building has continued to be adapted to new uses. When cars were making their way into society, the Ellis Motor Company, Lewis Chevrolet, and the Ozark Tire and Battery Company used the space on North Block Avenue to provide services to locals with new cars.During the 1950s and 1960s, a tobacco and candy shop occupied the corner for local businessmen and teenagers alike.In the 1980s, antique stores honored the history of the site, using a space that was just as much an antique as the products within.Throughout the building’s history, it has kept its original flooring, large windows and garage door opening.Unfortunately, the large double-doors that opened for automobile access to the interior of the structure were removed sometime in the last few decades and replaced with a small infill garage door and a standard entry door surrounded by stucco mimicking the original stucco in the upper panels along the front façade.The large storefront windows retain their original light pattern, with a double row of square panes above creating a small transom over two larger panes below.The single central entry door with transom space above echoes the original single entry door accessed by two steps from the adjacent sidewalk.The Ellis Building continues to be an integral part of the surrounding block and the local commercial community.

Statement of Significance

The Ellis Building is being nominated to the Arkansas Register of Historic Places under Criterion A, with local significance, as a property that illustrates the history of the development of the automobile industry as related to commerce and transportation in Fayetteville and under Criterion C, with local significance, as an example of an early automotive related building type built specifically to accommodate the early sale and service of automobiles in northwest Arkansas.

“31 Years Northwest Tobacco & Candy Co. Inc.”Advertisement.Northwest Arkansas Times.23 January 1977.

“The 1923 Superior Chevrolet… Ellis Motor Company, Dealers, Fayetteville.” Advertisement.Fayetteville Daily Democrat.24 October 1922.

Baker, Russell Pierce.From Memdag to Norsk:A Historical Directory of Arkansas Post Office 1832-1971.Hot Springs, AR:Arkansas Genealogical Society.1988.

“Battery Recharging Reparing.”Advertisement. Fayetteville Daily Democrat.30 September 1929.

Campbell, William S.One Hundred Years of Fayetteville 1828–1928. Fayetteville, AR:Washington County Historical Society, 1977.

Della-Rosa, Jeff.“Cromwell opens Fayetteville office, UA graduate leading Northwest Arkansas projects.”TalkBusiness & Politics (Arkansas), April 2017.

“Economy ratio:19 to 1! … Lyle Bryan Motor Company”Advertisement.Northwest Arkansas Times.Fayetteville, Arkansas.12 October 1949.

Fayetteville City Directories, 1929-1996.

“Goodyear All Weather.”Advertisement.Fayetteville Daily Democrat.24 January 1929.

“Introducing the New Packard Clipper.”Northwest Arkansas Times.11 February 1953.

“Lewis Chevrolet Co. Moving Into New Taylor Building.”Fayetteville Daily Democrat.11 September 1928.

Neal, Joseph C.History of Washington County Arkansas.Springdale, Arkansas:Shiloh Museum, 1989.

“The New Screen-Grid Electro-Dynamic Atwater Kent Radio.”Advertisement.Fayetteville Democrat.14 September 1929.

“Ozark Battery, Electric Co. Changes Location.”Fayetteville Daily Democrat.20 September 1928.

“Radio New Prices.”Advertisement.Fayetteville Daily Democrat.25 September 1925.

“Residents Protest Garage on Block St.”Fayetteville Democrat.10 July 1923.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, 1919 & 1930.

Sitek, Zuzanna.“Owner of Kingfish, Flying Burrito To Open New Bar In Fayetteville.”5News Online (Northwest Arkansas), Jan. 22, 2015.

“Six Cars per Block May Be Parked By Dealers, City Council Declares In Compromise on New Ordinance.”Fayetteville Democrat.30 November 1926.

Stewart, Charles W."Fayetteville (Washington County)." The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture.Butler Center for Arkansas Studies.10 October 2017.Accessed 5 January 2018.

“This is a Radis (sic.) Christmas.”Fayetteville Daily Democrat.15 December 1926.

“Who Will Be First? … Lewis Chevrolet Co.208 North Block Street Fayetteville.”Advertisement.Fayetteville Daily Democrat.9 May 1928.

“Willard Batteries $17 and up.”Advertisement.Fayetteville Daily Democrat.31 March 1923.

“Willard Batteries at a New Price Level.”Advertisement.Fayetteville Daily Democrat.4 January 1921.

“Willard Service Station The Complete Battery Shop.”Advertisement.Fayetteville Democrat.11 July 1923.

“Willard Storage Battery Co.”Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.Case Western Reserve University.Cleveland, Ohio.Accessed 4 January 2017.http://case.edu/ech/articles/w/willard-storage-battery-co/.

“Willard Storage Battery – Willard Threaded Rubber Insulation.”Advertisement.Motor Record.Vol. 5, No. 4 (April 1919):60.

[2] Russell Pierce Baker, From Memdag to Norsk:A Historical Directory of Arkansas Post Office 1832-1971, Hot Springs, AR:Arkansas Genealogical Society, 1988.p. 79.

[3]Stewart, "Fayetteville (Washington County)," The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Joseph C. Neal, History of Washington County Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas:Shiloh Museum, 1989.p. 274.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, 1909 & 1919.Washington County Property Records, Deed Book 212, Page 593:K C Key and Hettie(sp?) M Key to E F Ellis, 15 June 1923.

[9] Washington County Property Records, Deed Book 218, Page 352:E F Ellis to Earl Ellis, 25 October 1923.

[10] “Residents Protest Garage on Block St,” Fayetteville Democrat, 10 July 1923.

[11] Earl Ellis (b. 25 June 1891, d. 1 February 1926) is buried at Evergreen Cemetery, Fayetteville, Arkansas.

[12] “Six Cars per Block May Be Parked By Dealers, City Council Declares In Compromise on New Ordinance,” Fayetteville Democrat, 30 November 1926.

[13] “Lewis Chevrolet Co. Moving Into New Taylor Building,” Fayetteville Daily Democrat, 11 September 1928.

[14] “Ozark Battery, Electric Co. Changes Location,” Fayetteville Daily Democrat, 20 September 1928.

[15] Ibid.

[16] “Battery Recharging Reparing,” Advertisement, Fayetteville Daily Democrat, 30 September 1929.

[17] “Willard Service Station The Complete Battery Shop,” Advertisement, Fayetteville Democrat, 11 July 1923.

[18] “Willard Storage Battery Co.,” Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, Accessed 4 January 2017, http://case.edu/ech/articles/w/willard-storage-battery-co/.

[19] “Willard Storage Battery – Willard Threaded Rubber Insulation,” Advertisement, Motor Record, Vol. 5, No. 4 (April 1919):60.

[20] Washington County Property Records, Deed Book 357, page 51:Florence G. Ellis and heirs of Earl Ellis to Leland S. Bryan and Gertrude W. Bryan, November 1945.

[21] “Who Will Be First? … Lewis Chevrolet Co.208 North Block Street Fayetteville,” Advertisement, Fayetteville Daily Democrat, 9 May 1928.

[22] “31 Years Northwest Tobacco & Candy Co. Inc.,” Advertisement, Northwest Arkansas Times, 23 January 1977.

[23] Fayetteville City Directories, 1980-1996.

[24] Ibid.

[25] Zuzanna Sitek, “Owner of Kingfish, Flying Burrito To Open New Bar In Fayetteville,” 5News Online (Northwest Arkansas), 22 January 2015.

[26] Jeff Della-Rosa, “Cromwell opens Fayetteville office, UA graduate leading Northwest Arkansas projects,” TalkBusiness & Politics (Arkansas), April 2017.