Digital Division
423 Division St
Melwin Building
est. 1898
The Melwin Building, constructed in 1898, was built for the McGuire & Calhoun Jewelry business. But, it wasn’t the first building on this property. Prior to McGuire & Calhoun, the property was occupied by a different jewelry business, owned by a man named Working. There was a one story building that housed a series of restaurants, a confectionery, and the Jewelry business. But, the building was replaced by a stronger, stone and brick building—the Melwin Building. McGuire retired in 1905, but the store would continue under new names: Mueller & Bringoff.
Over the next two decades the jewelry business stayed consistent through turnover of ownership and names. But in 1928, the jewelry businesses ceased, and Hamblin Motor Sales opened. It only stayed open for a couple years, and a period of constant turnover began in 1930. Between then and 1944, the space was used as multiple retail shops and boutiques, a cafe, and a bookstore. But in 1944, John E. Smith established a business, Coast-to-Coast hardware store, that would remain in Northfield for years to come. In 1961, Coast-to-Coast moved out of the Melwin Building but they continued to operate out of the McClaughry Block (425, 427, & 429) and then the Skinner Block (415 & 417) until 1987.
Post-Coast-to-Coast, the building housed Mahler Appliance Sales and Service, the Busy Bee, and Jacobsen’s, another notable Northfield business that stayed in this building until 2003. In 2005, Swag opened, closing in 2018, and the Melwin Building is now occupied by Corbett Chiropractic & Health Enhancement.