Wednesday, February 14, 2018

The Mercantile Bank and Hollister Whitney connection

WE JUST DID some major Gretsch and Katana amp business with a man who is relearning how to play guitar. He picked out the amazing Gretsch Streamliner Junior with the Katana 50-watt amp, and he's over the moon happy. I showed him a couple of basic beginner drills and he's off to the races.

Moving the Safety Deposit boxes
Turns out he just retired from Mercantile bank and worked across the street. His wife works for Hollister-Whitney. There's a lot of history in our old Fifth and Maine Building and he asked about it.


I showed him the 1920 Hollister-Whitney birdcage elevator, and the back room where the Mercantile safe was located. We think shopping local should be an experience, and it's often more than just about picking out an instrument.

Mercantile Bank was in our building from 1905 until the early 1960s, and the two old safes are still being used. There are lots of marble pieces strewn around the various floors from the original counter in front of the first-floor safe.

1960 Security
Hollister-Whitney installed our elevator on Aug. 20, 1920. It hasn't worked in years and I'd love the Hollister-Whitney brass to know about it. Maybe they'd be interested in getting it up and working again! The man who installed it even signed our wall above the motor by the roof.

The customer is happy, and we are happy to show him around and make buying an instrument a good experience.

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