Hometown history: Kingston Court apartments

THE WAY IT WAS: Here is a photograph of the Kingston Court apartments taken on a snowy day in 1944 by Gordon Feinberg. Ground was broken for the construction of the apartment complex at 203 S. 16th St. on Jan. 8, 1924. A group called the La Crosse Apartment Co., made up of Louis Meier, Hugo Hickisch and Harry Mandel, were the original owners and directed the construction of the building. The apartments were modeled after another apartment building constructed previously in Minneapolis. Cost of the project was approximately $100,000, or about $1.4 million in todays economy. A grand opening for the new building was held on May 17 to May 19, 1924. The apartments boasted built-in ice boxes, steam heat, janitor service and hot water year-round. Local furniture stores such as Gantert Bros. were brought in to temporarily furnish some of the apartments to demonstrate to prospective renters how nice the apartments could look and perhaps provide the local furniture stores with some business.

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Hometown history: Kingston Court apartments