History/Architecture

Babbitt Brothers Building 1887

Flagstaff from the corner of Verde St and Aspen Ave, 1910In 1888, David Babbitt, who had been running a lumberyard on this site, decided to construct a general store. Starting in late summer, he built a 35 x 70 foot structure on this corner, with the long side of the building running west along Aspen Avenue. He used red Moenkopi sandstone, locally quarried, as his principal building material.

His brothers William, George, Charles and Edward eventually joined him in the enterprise.

Babbitt Brothers General Merchandise store, 1915In 1891, when Coconino County was formed, it had no office building, so the Babbitt Brothers added to their building, renting space to the county. From 1891-1994, part of this building was, in effect, the Coconino County Courthouse. In 1904, another addition was constructed. The additions ran north along San Francisco Street, and then wrapped around the original core to meet Aspen Avenue.

The Babbitt Brothers store eventually grew to become the largest department store in Arizona and had an amazing array of goods under its roof.

Babbitt Brothers Building, 1948In 1957, during a modernizing campaign, a smooth stucco facing was placed over the original red sandstone. Thirty years later, competition from shopping centers forced the closure of the grand old store. In 1990, the stucco facing was removed and the Aspen Avenue additions to the structure were cut away, saving the San Francisco Street side of the building and restoring its original appearance.


Documentation
  1. Plaque (1995) on the side of the Babbitt Brothers Building, provided by: Babbitt Foundation, Richard & Sherry Mangum and the Main Street Foundation; 1995 owner: Babbitt Foundation.
  2. Northern Arizona University, Cline Library, Special Collections and Archives, Image Database: http://www.nau.edu/cline/speccoll/imagedb.html

HomeLast updated on 7/1/2002