This view of a construction project in the block south of Seventh and Main streets has been totally transformed since the photo was taken ca. 1950.
All buildings in the view disappeared decades ago, beginning in the 1960s when the building of the Civic Center upended downtown’s architectural landscape. In the foreground at left is Finke’s Furniture, just “37 steps from Main,†as the store’s motto declared, and adjacent to Finke’s is H. A. Woods Drug Store on the corner.
The tall building in the distance at right is the F. W. Cook Brewing Company, which opened in 1853 when the site was still a cornfield. Assumption Cathedral is just north of the brewery, and across the street in the distance, the tower of Central High School is visible.
