948 G Street

Address: 948 G Street

Legal Description: Lot 84 East ½

Building: Putnam/Kellogg/ Fillmore/Brayton

1874 According to an account of an early visitor to Geneva, this location was where the house of Mr. James Shepherd stood. It was the first post office.

1877 The house of James Shepherd was moved to 143 No. 9th and used as a hotel.

1877 Pliny M. Putnam built a hotel that cost nearly $5,000. It was called Putnam House. It was 32’ x 40’ and three stories with a Mansard roof.

1878 Pardue & Jameson built a livery stable at the rear of the Putnam House.

1879 J. B. Brotherhood had a livery business here. His stable was located in the rear of the Putnam House.

1880 Mr. J. A. Dempster erected another corn crib behind the Putnam House.

1881 Mr. and Mrs. Putnam leased the Putnam House to E. F. Ballou. The name was changed to the Commercial Hotel.

1882 Apparently the lease had expired and Mr. and Mrs. Putnam were again the proprietors of the Commercial House (Hotel). They refitted and refurnished their house throughout.

1882 Putnam traded his hotel for a 240-acre farm to Horace Kellogg, The hotel then became known as Kellogg House.

1884 In September, the Kellogg House was sold to A. M. Batty of York.

1885 It was called the Fillmore House with C. Banta as the proprietor.

1886 In March, the old post office building, meat market and all, was moved down near the post office on Center street to make room for one of the new brick buildings going in there in the spring.

1890 J. M. Noyes purchased the ground occupied by the Fillmore House and built a $15,000 brick hotel which retained the name Fillmore.

1892 In July, George Lods moved his stock of goods to the Fillmore House.

1892 In September, J. H. Dempster bought the stock of clothing formerly owned by George Lods in the Fillmore Hotel building.

1892 In October, the Sanborn maps showed a clothing store here.

1892 In November, J. H. Dempster arranged to have G. H. Palmer occupy part of the clothing room and to do general tailoring.

1893 In January, J. H. Dempster moved his clothing business into the Fiegenbaum building at 812 G.

1895 In April, L. W. Thompson returned from Harvard with his goods and put in a stock in the east room of the Fillmore hotel building.

1897 The Sanborn maps showed a confectionery here.

1897 In May, L. W. Thompson operated a restaurant, bakery, and confectionery store here. L. W. Thompson made improvements in his restaurant. He had the interior papered and enlarged the front room.

1899 In August, L. W. Thompson fitted up the rooms in the Fillmore Hotel to do a hotel business in connection with his restaurant.

1902 In July, L. W. Thompson sold his restaurant in the old Fillmore hotel building to W. H. Carson.

1902 In August, the Sanborn maps showed a confectionery here.

1908 The lower floor was occupied by the John McPherson saloon in the west room next to the Wight building and by the Frank Bridel restaurant in the east room next to the Woodworth building.

1908 In October, the Fillmore Hotel burned. The walls of the lower story in the front part of the building remained standing. The stock and fixtures were considerably damaged.

1909 Mrs. Alice Brayton contracted to build new brick business rooms on the site of the old Fillmore Hotel. This building was two stories in height.

1909 W. S. Nicholas operated a hardware, furniture, and undertaker business in the east half. His furniture was located on the 2nd floor.

1909 The Sanborn Maps showed a hardware store here.

1910 After the Citizen’s State Bank fire, the bank set up for business here in W. S. Nicholas Hardware Store.

1912 In May, W. S. Nicholas sold his hardware and furniture store to W. C. Weatherford of Minneapolis KS.

1912 In June, Weatherford took over, but Nicholas remained with Mr. Weatherford in charge of the harness and undertaking departments.

1913 In October, W. C. Weatherford sold his stock of hardware and furniture to Nelson Brothers of Minneapolis, who placed George Bixby of Geneva in charge of the stock.

1913 In November, Nelson Bros. employed W. S. Nicholas to attend to the undertaking part of their business.

1915 Nelson Bros. Furniture moved the hardware stock from Geneva to Milligan. F. A. Placek became manager of the business.

1916 In January, W. W. Scott of Beatrice purchased the Nelson Brothers furniture stock. Mr. Nicholas continued to manage the store.

1916 In February, the stock was closed out at auction by Mr. Scott. The building on Court Street was left vacant.

1916 With Nelson Bros. leaving town, W. S. Nicholas continued his undertaker business at 138 North 9th.

1933 The Sanborn maps showed movies here.

1943 The Sanborn maps showed movies here.

1946 Tom Ewalt purchased the Sunbeam Theater from Albert Beams and changed the name to Rialto Theater. Mr. and Mrs. Goold continued to operate the theater along with Martin Burroughs who handled the projector.

1946 In December, Mr. and Mrs. Ewalt had the Star Neon Company of Minden, Nebraska design and install a neon sign at the theater. The marquee was one of the most modern and latest designs. 350 feet of neon tubing and bulbs were used to illuminate the marquee with Rialto in bold letters at the top and room below on both sides to advertise the current movie.

1947 In November, a new picture machine and new sound equipment was installed at the Rialto by Tom Ewalt and Harry Goold. The equipment was the latest and most improved technology at the time.

1949 In March, the Ewalts remodeled the theater and made extensive changes inside and outside. Changes made to the interior were: a new lobby, lounge, manager’s office, popcorn booth, and a “cry” room for restless babies. Also in the construction a balcony was added along with improvements to the stage, projection booth, exits and rest rooms in the basement. To the exterior a new front was installed with two double doors with a ticket booth in the center which could sell tickets from the street or from the lobby.

1950 In February, due to poor health, Harry Goold retired as manager of the Rialto theater. Mrs. Goold (Anna) , wife of Harry, sold tickets. They had been connected with the theater for about 20 years. At the time the couple will rest before making any future plans. Apparently Mr. and Mrs. Goold recovered their health because in 1952 they seemed to be employed again at the theater. In 1960 they retired again.

1957 In January, Mr. and Mrs. Tom Ewalt sold the theater to Mrs. Marguerite Freeman. The new owner continued to operate the theater with the current employees, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Goold and Martin Burroughs was the projector operator.

1958 In December, Marguerite Freeman sold the picture show equipment and building to Vaughn Fulton. Mr. Harry Goold continued as manager and was assisted by Mrs. Anna Goold.

1960 In July, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Goold retired from their work as manager and ticket sales after 30-plus years at the theater.

1963 Mr. Fulton stated he intended to close the Rialto Theater in the near future. The Geneva Chamber of Commerce did some remodeling at the City Auditorium and were able to keep movies in town and show them at the auditorium.

1963 Vaughn Fulton remodeled the former Rialto Theater building and put a café in the front portion of the building. Mr. and Mrs. Wayne DuBois operated Haz-Way Coffee Shop in this location. Fulton Furniture & Carpet used the rest of the building for storage.

1970 Wayne and Hazel DuBois continued to manage the café until 1970. Frances Linder Brahmsteadt, took over the café and renamed it Fran’s Café.

1985 Fran’s Café closed the business and the equipment was removed. Fulton Furniture expanded into the area that was formerly used by the café.

1994 Vaughn Fulton closed the doors of Fulton Furniture after 47 years of business. The Loontjers then used the building for their Gambles paint and general merchandise departments.

2012 The Loontjers built a new building at 1121 G Street and changed the name to Geneva Home Center.

2012 NAPA Auto Parts Store was here.

This was ongoing as of the last posting.