Verkamp Building
1899
John G. Verkamp came to Flagstaff in the 1890’s. He first worked for the Babbitts (three of his sisters were married to Babbitt Brothers), then succeeded in a number of business on his own, including lumber, livestock and merchandising. He is best known today for the Verkamp curio store at the Grand Canyon.
In 1899, Verkamp and T.A. Rickel constructed this brick building. The men rented the upper floor to the Elks, so it was known as the Elks Hall.
The ground floor was occupied most of its life by drug stores. Among the drug store operators were Kahl, Breen and Moore. The basement became Flagstaff’s first bowling alley.
McGaugh’s Newstand moved here in 1978.
In 1926, when construction of the Monte Vista Hotel began, the newspaper office was on the hotel site. Fred Breen, the newspaper owner, built a new office for the paper next to this building, which he also owned. In 1927, he applied new brick facing to tie the two buildings together. The Elks moved the same year, and the upper floor was converted to apartments.
Marker is at the intersection of North San Francisco Street and East Aspen Avenue on North San Francisco Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
