Side-by-side buildings demolished to make way for five-story skyscraper

Artist’s sketch of the old Hannibal Trust Company building, at left, and the new, five-story building that was constructed 1909-1910. Hannibal Evening Courier-Post, May 12, 1910, newspapers.com

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

Three brick buildings on Broadway were demolished in order to make way for the construction of the new Hannibal Trust Company Building in 1909-10.

• 226 Broadway housed three consecutive drug stores during Hannibal’s early years, one operated by Murray Ray, later the O’Donnell Drug Co., and finally by Dr. L.E. Fisher.

• 224 Broadway housed two consecutive bakeries, the first C.H. Harris, and later by Frank Sultzman.

• 228 was formerly the home to the First National Bank, circa mid 1890s, then the First International Bank, which was taken over by the Hannibal Trust Company in April 1904. It was the later institution which made the decision to construct a new building on the corner of Third and Broadway.

First National Bank

In 1897, Cyrus Albertson was president; H. Clay Whaley was vice president; and Wilbur F. Chamberlain was cashier.

In 1904, the Board of Directors consisted of: W.J. Roth, Robert Robinson, D.H. Hafner, T.B. Arnold, Geo. B. Treat, Cyrus Albertson, C.H. Trowbridge, E.V. Morawetz, J.C. Raible, L.E. Turner, William Wilson, Henry Miller, V.H. Whaley, W.F. Chamberlain, and J.A. Miller, of Hannibal.

Sultzman bakery

Frank Sultzman, a Civil war veteran, operated a Hannibal bakery as early as 1879, located at 114 N. Third St.

By 1890, Sultzman had moved his business to 224 Broadway. The long and narrow brick two-story Sultzman building extended from Broadway northward, parallel and even to the three buildings to the west (now converted into one) owned by Sterling Holdings LLC, Sally Poole Kintz, 108 N. Third.

The oven was located in the rear of the building, with inside dimensions at 12x14 feet, holding 556 loaves at one baking.

When Mr. Sultzman died in 1905, he bequeathed the baking business to his son, Carl, who continued to operate Sultzman’s Bakery. Frank Sultzman’s wife, Nellie, (who was Carl Sultzman’s biological aunt and step mother) maintained ownership of the building.

In the early 1900s, Carl Sultzman told the Courier-Post that the company was producing 1,150,000 loaves of bread every year, and that he expected that it would be necessary to expand the business into a larger building in the near future.

That was good news for the primaries of the planned Hannibal Trust Company building, who were among Hannibal’s most prominent businessmen. They hoped to acquire the Sultzman building to make room for the planned five-story “skyscraper” on the northeast corner of Broadway and Third.

But acquiring the building turned out to be difficult task.

Frank Sultzman’s widow, Nellie, stood firm while negotiating with the men of money. In fact, it was her business savvy which nearly changed the face of the 200 block of Broadway.

In January 1908, the Hannibal Morning Journal reported that the Hannibal Trust Company had scrapped its plans for a five-story skyscraper, because they couldn’t reach terms with Mrs. Sultzman. Instead, they were moving ahead with a two-story stone and brick structure with a basement for the business department.

But by year’s end, the two negotiating teams had come to a resolution. The Hannibal Trust Company purchased the Albertson building at 222 Broadway and then traded it to Mrs. Sultzman in exchange for her building adjacent to the planned bank. The Albertson building was one door to the east of the Sultzman building, and identical in size.

In the meantime, Carl Sultzman moved his bakery to 110 (111) South Third Street.

Pharmacy

In addition to the Sultzman building, another two-story brick building was torn down in order to make room for the Hannibal Trust Company building.

It was occupied by Fisher’s Pharmacy, 206 Broadway. In order to make way for the building demolition, Dr. L.E. Fisher relocated the pharmacy to the Branham building across the street from his existing pharmacy. The prior tenant in the Branham building had been a Nickelodeon. The pharmacy’s new address was 225 Broadway.

Dr. Fisher operated a pharmacy in Hannibal for 30 years, as well as serving as Hannibal’s mayor from June 1939 to June 1941.

Mary Lou Montgomery retired as editor of the Hannibal (Mo.) Courier-Post in 2014. She researches and writes narrative-style stories about the people who served as building blocks for this region’s foundation. Books available on Amazon.com by this author include but are not limited to: "The Notorious Madam Shaw," "Pioneers in Medicine from Northeast Missouri,” “Hannibal’s ‘West End,’” “Oakwood: West of Hannibal,”  and “St. Mary’s Avenue District.” Montgomery can be reached at Montgomery.editor@yahoo.com Her collective works can be found at www.maryloumontgomery.com