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Enggren's Market in 1945
The Downtown Lakeville Business Association is committed to the improvement and preservation of the historic downtown area. In recent years, there have been major preservation and remodeling projects on a number of buildings. Here are a few of the highlights:
 The Lenihan Building, shown at right, was constructed in 1896. The basement housed the Lakeville Creamery until 1917.
When M.J. Lenihan built the two-story Grocery and Mercantile, his was the first brick building in town. The general store on the first floor was run by M.J,'s son, Frank. A ladder on a wheel extended from floor to ceiling, with a rail extending the entire length of the store. When filling a customer's order, Frank would step on the ladder and slide to wherever a needed item was located.
Another son, John, operated the creamery in the basement. The cream cans, which can be seen in the left portion of the photo, were lowered to the basement by an outside elevator. Upstairs housed a large meeting room at the rear of the building, and the telephone office was located in the front, in later years. If an emergency occurred at night, the telephone operator notified the constable, who was patrolling on foot, by turning on a red light bulb mounted on a pole outside. The constable would hurry to the telephone office to find out what was wrong.
The Downtown Lakeville Business Association special service district is a non-profit organization supporting the preservation and redevelopment of historic downtown Lakeville. Questions? Comments? Please email Judy Tschumper, DLBA Executive Director.
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