Looking back: A building boom in Albert Lea
Published 11:04 am Wednesday, September 13, 2023
The north addition to St. Theodore’s Catholic school building was added in 1923 — the same year the high school opened.
Iver Dahl built a new two-story brick structure adjoining his creamery store. This 1977 photo was taken when Dahl Grocery was closing.
North Side State Bank, 437 Bridge Ave., held the grand opening of its new facility on Saturday, Jan. 7, 1923, for Albert Lea and Freeborn County residents.
In 1923, two stories were added to Hotel Albert creating 52 additional rooms with bath.
The foundation of the 65-by-132-foot west addition to the American Gas Machine Co., 233-237 E. Clark St., was completed by June 1923.
The new office building of the Southern Minnesota Gas & Electric Co. opened to the public in March 1923. The first floor featured walnut woodwork, eight 10-by-15-foot windows and a grand staircase.
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By Linda Evenson
Photos courtesy Freeborn County Historical Museum
A century ago Albert Lea experienced growth with new businesses opening, building construction and the annexation of the New Denmark area into the city. East Clark Street saw amazing changes with the addition of five two-story brick buildings in less than a year. The completion of the Barlow building at 111 E. Clark St. provided J.C. Penney’s entrance into the community in September 1923. The 42-by-120-foot structure provided balconies at each end of the store, one for offices and cashiers and the other of ladies’ ready-to-wear department.
The merchandise included shoes, dress goods, notions, men’s clothing and furnishings.
Other construction in 1923 included the Albert Lea State Bank, 201 S. Broadway; American Gas Machine Co.’s five-story addition; Trinity Lutheran Church, Washington Avenue; St. Theodore’s school addition; Naeve Hospital’s three-story 50-bed addition; a couple new filling stations and an addition to the grandstand at the baseball park on Clark Street. The cost of the 1923 buildings was $1,242,400. Albert Lea enjoyed a larger building boom in 1923 than any other Minnesota city of its class.
