Northeast Michigan Oral History and Historic Photograph Archive

Alpena Furniture Company (325 N. Second Ave.)

Publication
The Alpena News, 2 Jul 1976, p. 7
Description
Creator
The Alpena News
Media Type
Image
Description
Photographs were taken by The Alpena news Staff for the Heritage Edition newspaper published on July 2, 1976.

The advert that the Alpena Furniture Company ran as part of the publications is as follows:

"We've Come a Long Way

Pictured on the left is the original Cohen Block where I. Cohen first started in business with a men's furnishings store. Later it was expanded to a department store and was one of Alpena's largest retail stores with 6 store fronts. These buildings burned in 1905 and was rebuilt in 1906. Then in 1928 the Alpena Furniture Co. was organized by A.E. (Bert) Howe and Ralph Cohen. In 1946 it was reorganized with Bert and Miriam Howe and Gus Kaminski as owners - Mrs. Howe was the daughter of I. Cohen.

Prior to the bowling alley fire in 1951 the upper floor of the furniture co. housed the How Bowling Alleys and the old Trianon Ballroom. After the fire the entire upper story was converted to furniture display space.

In the 1960s the Alpena Furniture Co. expanded to take over the existing Cohen Hardware building. In August of 1969 Mr. & Mrs. George LaFleche of Alpena purchased the business which fronted some 198 ft. on Second Ave. and contained 13,000 feet of floor space on each of the three floors.

In October of 1970 the Alpena Furniture Co. purchased additional property adjacent to its northside retail outlet. The firm bought the Nowak Building which housed a formal wear shop, Alpena Industrial Sales and the Salvation army quarters, fronting approximately 70 feet on N. Second Ave.

An additional plat was purchased behind the Kesterke ice cream store and Zimmermann Office machines (formerly the Swallow Hardware). These businesses were later purchased and destroyed to provide parking for the furniture co.

The furniture co. also has some 1600 sq. ft. of warehouse space on Tawas street - from which daily deliveries to the surrounding area take place.

The current picture at the right shows the extensively remodeled front of the store as it exists today amassing the entire length of the 300 block on Second Ave."
Notes
ANC17B53F12_048 was the image used for publication. 3 negatives shown on database.
Place of Publication
Alpena, MI
Edition
1976-07-02
Date of Publication
2 Jul 1976
Dimensions
Width: 2.4 cm
Height: 3.6 cm
Subject(s)
Personal Name(s)
Cohen, I. ; Howe, A.E. (Bert) ; Cohen, Ralph ; Howe, Miriam ; Howe, Bert ; Kaminski, Gus ; LaFleche, George ; Laflecher, Dorothy ;
Corporate Name(s)
Alpena Furniture Company ; Howe Bowling Alleys ; Trianon Ballroom
Collection
Alpena News Collection
Language of Item
English
Geographic Coverage
  • Corner of River St and Third Ave:
    Michigan, United States
    Latitude: 45.0637488279294 Longitude: -83.4334581031799
Donor
The Alpena News
Copyright Statement
Protected by copyright: Uses other than research or private study require the permission of the rightsholder(s). Responsibility for obtaining permissions and for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Copyright Date
1973
Copyright Holder
The Alpena News
Copyright Holder Contact Information
130 Park Pl, Alpena, MI 49707
+19893543111
Recommended Citation
Alpena News Collection ANC 17, Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library
Terms of Use
Rights are retained by the Alpena News. Please contact the Alpena County Library for more information at specialcollections@alpenalibrary.org or call 989-356-6188 ext 17.
Contact
Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library
Email:specialcollections@alpenalibrary.org
Website:
Agency street/mail address:
211 N. First Ave.
Alpena, Michigan 49707
USA
(989)356-6188
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