Digital Division
401-405 Division St
Central Block
est. 1893
The Central Block instantaneously became one of Northfield’s most expensive projects to date when it was built for a cost of $35,000 in 1893—equal to over $1.2 million today. It replaced the building occupied by the Dampier House Hotel, a notable landmark in the James-Younger Gang raid, and stands out in Northfield’s humble skyline by the tower that protrudes from its northwest corner. This cone-roofed tower, the patterning of the corbels, and other decorative elements on the upper floors are indicative of the Queen Anne style of architecture, a Victorian-esque style that emerged in the United States around this time.
In its early days, the Block housed Eltun & Ellingboe, a men’s clothing store headed by John Ellingboe. Ellingboe was a lively, hard-working man who worked hands-on in his shop fronts here and down the street at his and his partners’ general store into his 70s. In 1945, he sold the store at last, paving the way for a new wave of businesses in the Central Block.
The shopfront you see in front of you, occupied by the Rare Pair since 1977, encompasses two of the three Division Street properties belonging to the Central Block building. So too had the Ben Franklin Variety Store in the mid-20th century. Meanwhile, its neighbor Monarch Gift Shop has been present here since 2001, although this space at 405 Division had been a gift shop under several different names for decades prior.
