Mesker Sheet Metal Storefronts
A PIECE OF HISTORY
G.L. Mesker Marker at 115 S. Main St. (click on image for photo stream)
If you happen to find yourself strolling past the Teefey & Teefey law firm at 115 S. Main Street, you may notice that on the corner of the building at street level is a marker etched with the words G.L. Mesker & Co. Evansville Ind. Joseph Teefey did a little research and found that the sheetmetal storefront on his building and several others in the Historic Business District of Blackstone were manufactured by this now defunct Indiana based company.
George L. Mesker & Company thrived for many years with the help of the railroads enabling the shipping of these facades and due to the ease with which they could be attached to an existing building. The business grew from the firm originally launched by John B. Mesker, a Cincinnati tinsmith who moved to Evansville after the Civil War. In 1879, his sons Frank, and Bernard launched the St. Louis firm of Mesker Brothers Iron Works. Some time later, around 1885, a third son, George, started George L. Mesker & Company in Evansville, Indiana. These two firms set the standard and became the leading producers of cast and galvanized iron storefronts in the U.S. during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The H.L. Jackson building at 120 W. Broad has an iron front that came from Mesker Ironworks of Missouri according to the marker at the base of one of their pilasters (see picture below).
Mesker's biggest market by far was the company's home state of Indiana but little Blackstone, Virginia has 5 surviving examples of this manufacturer's handiwork which can be found on the Teefey and Nelms Law offices as well as on Barbara Gibbs Accounting office, the H.L. Jackson building and the facade on 109 W. Broad, formerly Winns Saw shop. Several other Mesker metal facades have been lost including the those on the two buildings that burned in the 2004 fire, Mitchell's Restaurant and Johnny's Firm & Fitness, and Upson Mercantile, a building that back in the 40's occupied the spot where Gravatt & Gravatt's office is now located. Old photos of those buildings show that they had Mesker sheet metal facades as evidenced by their familiar designs.
The surviving Mesker storefronts have many ornate designs that offer a variety of elements to emphasize with a good paint scheme. The many features require a very close look in order to pick out all the detail that can be accentuated or highlighted with a well conceived contrasting color palette. The beauty of these historic facades is that you can paint the same building an entirely different way each time you decide to repaint by simply choosing a different set of features to focus on or simply by changing your color combinations. Some of the oldest buildings in the Historic District are distinguished by the fact that they are clad with these metal facades.
Many of the features in these facades are virtually camouflaged by a one or two color palette but three or four colors allow for making selected elements "pop". Buildings varied widely in the degree to which they accentuated the architectural elements in these storefronts. The H.L. Jackson building was tastefully painted to create visual effect using three contrasting colors. In the case of the facade at 110 S. Main Street, however, a monotone paint scheme was applied to one of the most ornate Mesker facades in Blackstone. This building has literally sprung to life now that four colors have been applied where only one was previously used. The Mesker company went out of business in the 1980's but they experienced a "hey day" from the 1880s until the second decade of the twentieth century selling an estimated 5,000 facades mounted on building fronts across the country.
The big selling point for the Mesker product was that it was an extremely affordable way to get a decorative front on your building as opposed to using actual brick, stone or concrete block. The pre-fabricated storefronts can be painted to mimick all these materials at a fraction of the cost. The fact that the company is no longer in business and the time period of its existence makes these facades an authentic piece of history that adds a genuine historic flavor to small towns that sets them apart from the modern landscape of shopping centers and mega malls.
The links below show typical elements of Mesker's designs that can be found in the storefronts that are right in our downtown district:
Upper Cornice Detail
Two color palette yields very little contrast Four color palette makes little details "pop"
Teefeycornice (this treatment also is shared by the Jackson building and Nelms & Nelms PC)
Teefeycolumns (the lantern inset columns are unique to the Teefey and Nelms buildings)
Elements like these are difficult to discern unless highlighted in contrasting colors.
Gibbscornice (the seashell motif is unique to 110 S. Main, Gibbs Associates Accounting)
Columns (a common design in 2 of the 5 Mesker Facades in Blackstone)*
The set of columns pictured above are from the H.L. Jackson facade.
HLJacksonpilasters (these elements are unique to the H.L. Jackson Building)
The Metal marker on the right indicates that this facade came from the Missouri location.
*Each Mesker facade features dolphin panels flanking the columns and the columns either have rosettes or lanterns inset into the lower section and each has a similar upper column design.
A common thread among all the Mesker designed metal facades is numerous fleur-de-lis running horizontally along the facades and typically in the corners of the cornice. Many of these features are easily missed unless highlighted by contrasting colors as we chose to do by specifying three and four color palettes in the scope of work in the facade program.