The Shull Building at 20th and Pierce Street lives! This is another building that has always fascinated me. The turret that once showed the name D. W. Shull was removed at some point as well as some of the other more grand features. Even so, its still a fine building!
Daniel W. Shull was a real estate man and was responsible for having it built. While he never occupied it, the land which comprises the area was part of the old Shull family homestead. Both Daniel and his father Jacob arrived in Omaha on a ferry in 1857.
The first picture is from the year it was built, 1888, when its original occupants were Louis Sautter and William Wilke who operated the Wilke & Sautter grocery and drug store. The partnership would dissolve in 1899 with William headed to Blackstone where he would open Wilke & Mitchell at 40th and Farnam. Louis would stay at 1054 S 20th Street and continue to operate out of the building while partnering with Ferdinand Mares.
By 1911 Sereno Crisel and Sebastian Mandolfo operated a a butcher shop and grocery store out of the building. Apparently there was an attempt to blow it up that same year when police discovered several oil soaked torches in the basement beneath a large tank of gasoline on the first floor. At the time there were four families living in the building.
In the years that followed, the newspaper archives show it was home to Acme Ice Cream Cone Manufacturers, Lynch Bros. Plumbing, Jackson Mattress Company, Tony Pane’s Bar, Pierce Street Pub and Daily Grub. While I’ve seen listings on Zillow for the apartments, I haven’t seen anything related to the corner store which is my primary focus.
I find myself a bit short of time lately which is preventing me from really being able to dive into its history. I’d love your help in telling this story so if you have more information, please share.
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