on August 1st, 1907, the firm of Lindeke, Warner & Sons moved in to their magnificent new building the eyes of the -Northwest were again turned to St. Paul as the big jobbing center of the section. The growth of St. Paul as a jobbing center is no less remarkable than is the growth of this firm, now one of the strongest, most substantial, and most progressive of St. Paul’s business houses. It is interesting to note the gradual up building of this great business.
In 1878, their first year in business, the house of Lindeke, Warner & Schurmeier was located at 193 E. Third street, and occupied a floor space of 28,000 square feet. The amount of business done that year was $65,000.00. Three years later the expansion of its trade made its removal to larger quarters imperative, and early in 1881 it occupied its own new and (at that time) magnificent building at Fourth and Sibley streets. Here the floor space was 78,000 square feet, and the business done that year was two and a quarter millions of dollars. In 1892 the continued extension of trade made necessary the acquisition of the large building west of the corner, increasing the floor space to 117,000 square feet.
Soon this was not enough, so a new building was erected, covering almost the entire block bounded by Fourth, Rosabel, Broadway and Fifth streets. This building is a model of its kind; being built of the most modern materials in the most modern way. It is a fitting home for such a house as that of Lindeke, Warner & Sons. Each floor is 165 by 240 feet in area. The basement covers even more ground than this, as it extends under the sidewalks. So that the total area of the seven floors and basement approximates 325,000 square feet or practically eight acres. Looking back over the vista of 37 years this growth seems marvelous. But it is a growth that every other business house in St. Paul, that all St. Paul itself, has paralleled. And as the Northwest continues to develop and give forth the fruits of its early promise, who can say what the next thirty odd years will bring to us in the way of great er opportunities and more wonderful prosperity?
–The City of St. Paul and vicinity
A Compendium of Information
Published by Geo. F. C. Paul, 1915