Well, some folks may "Got Milk," but some Midwestern towns "Got Mesker."
This means that the fronts of some downtown buildings have the efforts of the Mesker brothers on them in the form of decorative sheet metal embossed with Fleur-delis, morning glories, majestic cast-iron columns that mimicked quarried stone. And, these were extra appealing to store owners because they were comparatively cheap.
Around the turn of the last century (1885 to 1915), more than 54,000 installations were made nationwide, but mostly in the Midwest where the two companies, one in St. Louis and one in Evansville, Indiana.
Illinois alone had nearly 7,000, followed by Indiana and Missouri at numbers two and three. The Mesker business survived until the 1980s. Mesker Brothers Ironworks is now Mesker Door Co. which makes metal doors and frames in Huntsville, Alabama.
http://illinoisx.com
Got Mesker? --RoadDog
RoadDog's RoadLog Blog: Being my travels down those great two lane highways of this nation as well as news I learn about them from media sources. Since I'm also very interested in historic preservation, there will be a lot of that as well.
The Shamrock Court Motel in Sullivan, Missouri. It can be yours for $125,000. Lots of possibilities. Actually, now you're too late. Missouri's Roamin' Rich bought it.
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