Digital Division
414 Division St
Kingman Building
est. 1889
The Kingman Building—named after its 19th-century owner, A.P. Kingman—was built in 1889 to house William Koons’ books and stationery store. It replaced a wood-frame building from 1873 that had held Grover & Baker, a sewing materials and dry goods shop. The Kingman was built in a light tan brickwork style, complimenting the Bjoraker Building at the southern corner of the block.
The Kingman Building, fronted by a DJJD reenactor
After this stint as a stationery store in the 1890s, the Kingman was purchased by J.F. Revier, the owner of Opera House Meat Market, which operated just across the street at the Lockwood Opera House. This market changed hands a couple of times in the coming decades, landing in the hands of the Cornells, who would move the business off Division Street soon after.
The Reviers were some of the first meat vendors in the young town of Northfield.
The Kingman Building saw a tailor, a repair shop, a beauty store, and several clothing stores in the years that followed. By 1958, a local insurance agency headed by W.T. Nelson moved in, which stood for 30 years. Children’s and gift shops then occupied the space until 2000, when the present owner moved in: Aquatic Pets.
Visible at the right is the wood-frame building that was at 414 before the Kingman Building