Digital Division
323 & 325 Division St
Second Mergen Building
est. 1883
The second of three, this building was built in two portions during the mid-1880s, the southernmost portion in 1883 and essentially an identical replica three years later in 1886 to the North. Under many names, it has served the purpose of a variety store for most of its time downtown. In 1911, E.J. McArdell established the first store in this long line of continuity, and called it The Racket. Six years later, Frank E. Drake bought the shop from Evans & Co., a business to which he would go on to devote 38 years of his life. After 38 years, in lieu of injuries suffered from a fall and his wife’s untimely passing, Drake sold the store.
The first portion of the Second Mergen building built in 1883
Under many names, it has served the purpose of a variety store for most of its time downtown.
It existed under a few different names over the next several years, as well as spending some time as a drugstore in the 1960s, before landing on the name Northfield Variety. During this time, the front was remodeled to have the flat, single-textured look seen to the left. When the First National Bank bought the building in the 1990s to serve as an extension for the bank, the facade was restored to have a look that closely resembled the original visage of the building, which is how it still appears today. The Second Mergen Building’s current brick styling, corbels, eight rectangular windows, 1886 decorative gable, and overall upper floor architectural style are very nearly identical to those elements upon its construction, a testament to the hard work put into the restoration effort.
