Feature 170: 105 West Lexington Avenue (in 2011)

Classification: Noncontributing.
Historic Name: Kramer/Jones Building.
Architectural Style: Commercial.
Construction Date: ca. 1882/1951 (facade altered).
Period 6 of Harry S Truman's Life: The Period of Post-Significance, 1972-2011.
Tax Identification: 26-230-16-03.
Legal Description: Old Town, part of lot 64.
Description: Noncontributing two-story masonry building substantially altered; rectangular in shape; shed roof and flat roof behind parapet; large display windows (ground floor) and high, undecorated panel above windows that forms high parapet. Located in the middle of the block across from the Courthouse; sidewalks along north-facing facade.
• Alterations: A major facade remodeling took place around 1951. This building appears to have been remodeled again in 1974, after which Dial Finance moved back into the building after occupying it earlier. The building is deemed to be noncontributing because alterations have compromised its historic integrity.
History/Significance: The exact construction date and the builder of this edifice are not known. The building appeared on 1885, 1892, and 1898 Sanborn maps as two stories behind the main facade and one story in the rear. A saloon occupied this building in the 1880s and 1890s. John Kramer and Oscar Jones were proprietors of this saloon in the early 1900s until around 1915, when a fruit and wholesale produce business moved into the ground-floor shop space. By 1930, Brown Drug had moved into the building and remained there at least into the early 1950s. The main facade was substantially remodeled around 1951, at which time the three bays and decorative cornice on the second floor and the transom lights above the storefront windows were covered (or totally replaced) with a smooth-surfaced facade. This facade remained in place during the occupancy of Dial Finance in the 1970s. Another substantial remodeling occurred in 1974, resulting in a loss of historic integrity.