Digital Division
504 Division St
Olson Building
est. 1890
As the Northfield commercial district began to establish itself in full swing in the late 1800s, most of this development was happening to the north, at the blocks between 3rd and 5th Street. But, thanks in a large part to the success of businessmen Thomas Olson and George K. Onstad, the 500 Block began to see some advancements near the end of the century. After the Holland and Onstad buildings were built in the 1880s, the hole between the two was filled by this new structure in 1890. It was at this time that this far end of Division Street likely started to truly feel like an integral part of the downtown.
Several businesses found a home here in the early years. A farm machinery store, a shoe store, a moving picture showroom, and a music store presided here over the course of the Olson Building’s first three decades of existence. A.O. Anfinson had a barbershop here from 1921 through the end of World War II. Following a brief stretch as an appliance store thereafter, 504 became a restaurant for twenty years, known for most of that time as the Off Campus Cafe, a reference to the town’s two colleges.
It was after the additions of the Olson and Onstad buildings that the 500 Block likely started to truly feel like an integral part of the downtown.
Al Thorpe Realty bought the building in 1969 to house his realty office, and shared the space with several other local businesses for much of his thirty-plus year tenure at this location. V Nails, one of Division Street’s newer additions, can be found here today.