Then and Now #19 - The Wallbrunn Building

📍 The Wallbrunn building located at 619 Locust Street 🏢, was constructed around the beginning of the 20th century 🏗️, though the Wallbrunn store existed on the site in a more modest building since the late 1800s 🕰️, likely the 1880s or 1890s 📆. The building housed a number of different businesses 🧵💼. By the late 1910s and through the 1920s, the Clark dry goods store 🛍️ was located here. A number of other businesses had offices in the Wallbrunn building at the time 🧑‍💼📎, and the basement housed the Oriental 🎳🎱, a bowling and billiards hall. The Jackson School of Business 🏫, formerly Maupin College which previously was at the New York Store 🏬, also operated out of the Wallbrunn building between 1910 and the 1930s 📚. By the 1950s, the J.C. Penney Company 🧥🛒 was the primary occupant. It remained there until 2000 🕰️, with upper-story offices being rented out to many other businesses 🧑‍💼📇. Since then, the building has remained mostly empty 🚪 aside from Ballet Arts 🩰✨ on part of the ground floor

Historic Photo from Livingston County Library archives. Current picture courtesy of J.T. Baysinger June 18, 2025.