The building at 345 South Division was built in the late 1880s by B.B Dressler. The first floor has housed various bars and restaurants with furnished rooms on the upper floors in a boarding house setting. The earliest occupant was the Herbert J Walker Saloon, which was likely closed during prohibition. The McKenna Brothers reopened the business to bottle, sell and distribute soft drinks. They added a restaurant and reintroduced liquor when Prohibition ended in 1933. During the 1940s and 50s the McKenna Brothers beer garden gained a reputation as the watering hole from prominent local politicians such as Frank McKay and Jake Ryskamp. Art’s Bar succeeded the McKenna’s from 1963 to 1974. The building was vacant until Dwelling Place moved its offices there in 1980. In 1991 the building was rehabilitated for residential use on the upper floors.

Location

[[address:=345 South Division]] is located in the Heartside-Downtown neighborhood. Geographic coordinates are 42.956815° N, 85.667889° WLatitude: 42°57′24.534″N
Longitude: 85°40′4.4″W.

References

Portions of this post were originally written by Heather Ibrahim for the Heartside Mainstreet Program, reproduced with permission.