Keeping Pace With Progress

by Rachel Kuehl

The Brett’s building stands empty and is somewhat of a local controversy. Is the Brett’s building worth preserving? What plans have been offered, and what ideas are there for its use? Most importantly, are we risking losing another historic building in a city that is so eager to erase Mankato’s past?

George E. Brett was born in Strong, Maine in 1845. He came to Winona, Minnesota at the age of 17 and took a job as a clerk in a local dry goods store. He worked there until he was transferred to work as manager in a branch store in Faribault, where he stayed for another two years before fate brought him to Mankato.

The year was 1868. The village of Mankato had been in existence since 1852 and was on the verge of becoming incorporated as a city. According to the census for the year of 1865, there were approximately 1,973 people living in the city of Mankato. The next census, in 1870, shows the population at 3,482--nearly doubling in five years! In 1868, the town was mainly supplied by riverboats. The railroad had not yet reached Mankato, so George Brett had to travel from St. Paul to LeSueur by train, and from LeSueur to Mankato by stagecoach.

George had borrowed $3,000 from his father-in-law in St. Paul. With these funds, he purchased a 22’x22’ building on Front Street between Jackson and Cherry Streets. He stocked the store with approximately $3,600 worth of goods consisting of fabrics and other sewing notions, and the Empire Store was born. He would continue business at this location, eventually buying out his partners until he became sole proprietor in 1895. At that time, he formed the corporation known as Geo. E. Brett, Inc. and changed the store

name to George E. Brett Dry Goods. The store was also moved from its original location to the southeast corner of Front and Jackson Streets.

Fabrics remained the store’s mainstay item, but it was the addition of such departments as shoes, handkerchiefs, millinery and specialty furs that kept Brett’s fashionable and ahead of the competition--indeed, it was said that the name of Brett’s was well-known within a 100 mile radius of Mankato. In addition to the goods that Brett’s offered were the innovative and special touches that led people to call Brett’s “the bower of beauty and good taste”--touches such as the third floor lounge, which was developed with the traveler in mind. Customers often traveled into Mankato on the train, a long and sometimes arduous journey, so a third floor lounge was made available. Called the “Brett’s Restroom”, it featured couches and writing tables and was the location of the first public telephone in Mankato, and one of the first indoor toilets. Other innovations introduced by George Brett introduced were the first delivery truck in town--it was said that Brett’s would deliver a spool of thread anywhere! Brett’s also introduced a pneumatic tube form of making change, and was the only store to date in Mankato with an escalator.

A charming paper entitled “Keeping Pace with Progress” is located in the archives of the Blue Earth County Historical Society, and details a young lady’s memories of shopping at Brett’s. It clearly shows her delight at having such a fine store in Mankato and her respect towards George Brett as a business person. It was written in 1922, and excerpts are as follows:

“Even in [the early days] Mr. Brett believed in advertising, for the very

first week he was open for busines he carried an ad in the Weekly

Record announcing his preparedness to serve the public.

Many people now living throughout southern Minnesota can recall Mr.

Brett in his early days and tell of his ability to make friends and his

“hobby” for service. The knew that when they came into the store that

he would be there, heart and soul, to personally administer that service.

It was Mr. Brett’s one great ambition and dream of life to give to

southern Minnesota a store--no, more than a store--an institution

that would stand out as an example of real service to the community.

To this end he worked untiringly...and we can be thankful that Mankato

had a merchant of the caliber of Mr. Brett with foresight and consideration

to see into the future.

On approaching Brett’s one is struck with the impressiveness of the

spacious arcade display windows which are an innovation in Mankato,

representing the newest idea in display window construction. The...

windows were considered such an important factor that a large amount

of valuable floor space...was sacrificed in order to install [the windows].

All of the fixtures on the main floor are of dark oak of the very latest

design. Display places built into the upper parts of these cases are

illuminated and attractively trimmed with merchandise which is sold

in the department. To truly appreciate what these up to date fixtures

mean in service-giving and what they mean to the sales people behind

the counter, you must really shop in this great store.

By the time we have completed our tour of the main floor, we welcome

a few minutes on the Mezzanine overlooking the store where we may

enjoy easy chairs, indulge in a late magazine, or write a letter to Aunt

Mary.

Stepping off the elevator at the second floor, we find...corset and under

muslin sections...drapery sections...and the general offices and “Elinor

Gray” Personal Shopper Headquarters. “Elinor Gray” who is in charge of

this personal shopping service is accepted by many of the store’s out-of-

town customers as an absolute authority on anything they wish to know

concerning the store. The best part of this service is that it is absolutely

free. “Elinor Gray” knows every inch of the Brett’s store from one end

to the other and whether it is a spool of thread or the most expensive

suit in the entire store, she selects it with equal care.

Journey now to the third floor and in very spacious well lighted and airy

quarters we discover the women’s ready to wear section where Mankato’s

well dressed women congregate daily to see the latest fashions...the

reputation of this section to show the latest fashions of each season in

advance of their proper time has brought to the store a following that

would be envied by stores of many times its size.

The newly added “Baby Shop” nestles in a secluded corner at the right

as we leave the elevators, giving it a scene of privacy where the mother

may select unnoticed by the other sections all the dainty little clothes

for the infant. A popular and unusual addition to the new “Baby Shop”

is the Reference Library for mothers where books may be taken out

for a specified period.

The “Downstairs Store” is really a store in itself. Reaching it from the

elevators or by a stairway in the center of the main floor, we are greeted

by table after table filled with piles and piles of new cotton goods, bedding,

sheeting, domestic goods, house dresses and aprons. [The Downstairs Store]

is noted far and wide as the most economical place for thrifty housewives

to shop. On a hot summer day when everyone else is sweltering under a sun

that says 98 degrees, the “Downstairs Store” is always as cool and

comfortable as a lake breeze.

Summing up everything in this store and taking inventory of its many

advantages--the Rest Room, Reading Room, free phone service, free parcel

checking service, electric elevators, drinking fountain, automatic sprinkler

system for fire protection, and the pneumatic tube system which carries

all cash and charge sales slips from the various departments to the main

office with lightning rapidity [one is reminded] that the great task of

“keeping pace with progress”.

George Brett was also an active member of Mankato society outside of the business world. He was reknowned for his fine tenor voice and participated in the

church choir at the Presbyterian Church. He was a stockholder and served on the board of directors at First National Bank, was one of the primary orgnaizers of the Mankato Savings Bank, and was active in various clubs and associations in Mankato. Newspaper clippings circa 1905-1915 called the Brett family “one of Mankato’s patrician

families...who [are] social and political leaders” and added that Mr. Brett “has aided in the upbuilding of every material interest of [Mankato]”.

After George Brett’s sudden death in 1915, his son, James Edwin Brett took over management of the store and stayed at the helm until 1958. At that time, his nephew Brett Taylor (son of Mary Maxfield Brett and Wilbur Taylor) took over until 1971. Management subsequently passed through the Taylor family until the store closed in the early 1990s.

Now the building stands empty--and its fate is undecided. In the fall of 1993 and winter of 1994, the Brett’s buildings were deeded and/or donated to the city, a move that was necessary due to the amount of taxes and ground rent owed to the city. Subsequently, a total of six buildings that were connected to the current building were demolished in 1994 (three buildings inside the Mankato Mall and three buildings annexed to the current building). The remaining existing building stood without too much controversy until 1999, when it was considered as a home for Mankato’s new technology center.

An editorial in the Free Press dated 6/21/99 entitled “Old Brett’s Building is Worth Preserving” supported saving the Brett’s building and using it as the technology center, or at least preserving it for future use. The author states in favor of preservation:

“No one claims the Brett’s building is an architectural gem. But neither

is it an unimportant or bad-looking building. With most of Mankato’s

old downtown destoryed over the past decades, it’s worth saving what

was home of one of the most significant businesses through much of

Mankato’s history...”

At that time, the estimate to raze the Brett’s building and build a new technology center would have been 3.9 million, while the renovation of the existing building to accommodate

the technology center would have cost around $800,000 more. This plan fell through when the city decided to locate the technology center in a different location.

In March of 2000, Gordon Awsumb of Awsumb & Associates approached the city council with a plan for redevelopment of the building. Mr. Awsumb also represents Minnesota Office Investments, the company that manages the Mankato Mall building. So far, Gordon Awsumb is the only party who has submitted a plan to the city. In his proposal to the city, he states that his goal is to “transform this historic structure into the most fashionable residential address in Mankato” and that this goal can be achieved either as developing the building into market-rate apartments or luxury condominiums. He likens this redevelopment of the Brett’s building with the successful urban revitalization of inner city areas in St. Paul, and states that some of the thousands of condominium units that were developed in this area are among some of the highest priced properties in St. Paul and that all of the units were pre-sold.

The elevations and floor plans in Mr. Awsumb’s proposal show new window openings being cut in to create light and original window openings to remain. The brickwork will be tuckpointed and treated. The ground level will have new entrances and will also contain four new access points for future retail businesses. A reflecting pool and fountain is incorporated into the design, which will compliment the park and walkways already in place at the Intergovernmental Center. Underground parking will be available for tenants of the building, and the current historic lighting and fencing style will be carried through to the exterior of the building. Mr. Awsumb compliments the structure’s exterior masonry and states that it reflects “the highest craftsmanship of the time” and intends to use the current design in the new exterior facades by use of cast replicas or re-location of some of the existing carved stone that has been hidden behind service corridors in the Mankato Place space.

Whether the Brett’s building stands or falls comes down to one thing: the price of demolition versus the price of redevelopment. Mr. Awsumb’s proposal details the cost of total renovation of the building and the income that it will bring to the city as rental/retail units or condominium/retail units as well as how much the present cost of not redeveloping the Brett’s building and/or demolishing it. For reasons of confidentiality, we cannot reveal these numbers until they are made public knowledge.

Certainly the idea of bringing more quality living space to the area is a concrete idea--the city knows that we have a housing shortage in Mankato. Other ideas for reuse have been suggested--perhaps renovating it as a hotel, which would provide more rooms for people traveling into town, perhaps to attend events at the Midwest Wireless Center. With more available hotel rooms near the civic center, events and conferences of longer durations could be booked, thus reducing the deficit there and bringing more business into downtown Mankato.

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