THE PERKINS BLOCK

It was recently announced that one of Albion's prominent downtown buildings will have to be demolished as a result of a fire in 2014. The Perkins Block at 100 S. Superior St. on the southwest corner of Superior and Cass Streets has been a landmark for many years. It was erected by George W. Perkins (1853-1920), a Tekonsha native who operated a thriving coal, wood, fuel, hay, straw, flour, feed, etc. store with Francis E. Steele for 25 years. That firm was located across the street and River at 202 N. Superior St. If you look at some of the "Flood of 1908" photos, you can see their establishment's name painted on the side of one of the buildings on the east side of N. Superior St. Perkins was also the local agent for the Standard Oil Company for 20 years. He retired in 1916.

George erected his brick building in 1900, with construction beginning in May of that year. It replaced a wooden structure on the site. This main business space on the corner housed a drug store for much of the building's 20th century life. The "Rexall Drugs" sign hanging out front was a familiar site for Albion residents. Homer C. Blair's Drug Store was the first drug store to open here. It then became Louis C. Van Gorden's Drugs in 1912. In the late 1940s it became Joseph G. Brownridge Drugs, and in the 1960s it became the Carl Carrington Pharmacy. Continuing, in the early 1970s the store became The Medicine Place which was operated by David Entner. It moved in the late 1970s to 1402 N. Eaton St. On the north side of the Perkins Block in back is 103 W. Cass St. It was the home to the Hahn Brothers shoe repair business for many years until the late 1930s when they moved to another location.

From our Historical notebook we present a photo of the Perkins Block in the late 1940s showing the drugstore advertisement of Brownridge Drugs on the side of the building. Also pictured is the cornerstone which simply states, "GEO. W. PERKINS 1900." Unfortunately, workers tearing out the Superior St. sidewalks in the summer of 1964 chipped the upper left corner of the cornerstone, so the first two letters and part of the third are missing. How many of our readers remember going to the drug store in this building?

	Frank Passic — Albion Historian An Albion native and 1971 graduate of Albion High School, Frank Passic has been researching and writing Albion history since 1976. He is the creator of the Albion Historical Notebook, with hundreds of articles appearing weekly in the Morning Star and The Recorder. Frank maintains an extensive personal archive including Riverside Cemetery records, family surname files, genealogies, photographs, city directories, and high school yearbooks. Support his 2026 research at the Historic Albion Michigan Facebook page. Historical Notebook \| From the Archives \| Subject List \| 100 Years Ago \| Alphabetical Index \| Frank Passic Home Page \| Albion History Books \| Contact Frank
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