Salzman’s Shoe Repair/Larry’s Barber Shop - 909 1/2-15 8TH AV

 Print Listing Historical Name - College Cleaners/Salzman Shoe Shop
Style - Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements/Commercial Style
Built Year - 1906
State ID - 5WL4115

Description - One-story rectangular painted brick commercial building with flat roof with cornice of corbelled brick and with metal coping. Secondary cornice with bands of molded brick. Stone foundation. Shoe repair shop encompasses two storefronts and has large wood frame plate glass display windows with newer brick under windows. Clerestory windows painted over. Slightly inset entrances with doors with large rectangular lights surmounted by transoms; one transom has air conditioner. Unpainted wire-drawn brick kickplates under windows. Hanging sign in form of shoe above shoe repair shop. Fabric awning above northern end of shoe shop and awning shelters barber shop. Barber shop has off-center metal frame glazed door with transom and new brick under the windows. The south wall of the building has an entrance near the southwest corner that has a covered up segmental arched transom. Segmental arched windows on the rear wall are covered up.

Historical Background - This building was erected in 1906 according to the current owner, Henry Salzman. The north end of the building appears on the 1909 Sanborn map, and the remaining part of the building was present on the 1918 map. The building was divided into four spaces: 909 ½, 911, 913, and 915. The building was first listed in the city directory in 1917, when it housed the following businesses: a shoe shop (911), a barber (913), and a lunchroom (915). In 1918-20, a restaurant (911), an unidentified shop (913), and a tire store (915) were housed here. During 1922-35, a realty office (911), a shop (913) operated in the building. The Greeley Army Store operated in 915 during 1922-28, while the College Cleaners occupied the space during the late 1920s through the 1960s. The portion of the building addressed 909 ½ has been a barber shop since at least 1920. By 1940, Sansom’s Barber Shop occupied 909 ½. Sansom’s was still listed here in 1970. Another longtime business, Salzman’s Shoe Shop, began operating here in 1941. When John Salzman (b. Russia, 1890) moved to Greeley from Nebraska in 1935, the town had sixteen shoe repair shops. Mr. Salzman was a German from Russia, who learned English by reading western novels. The Salzman family had made shoes in Russia, and Mr. Salzman had a small shop in Nebraska. He started his Greeley shop with $500. The business expanded several times, and today occupies three-fourths of the space in the building. The Salzman family continues to own the building and operate the shoe repair business here.