With its fine, historic marble façade, the Kriegsman Dunn law office at 417-419 Court St. is among the most distinguished of the buildings in Pekin’s old town. The building is owned by attorney Joseph W. “Joe” Dunn, whose attorney partner is J[ames] Scott Kriegsman.
The history of 417-419 Court St. reaches back to pioneer times and can be traced back the 1870s. One of the first, if not the first, to conduct a business at that location as Thomas Carstens, who is listed in the 1876 Pekin city directory as both a tinsmith and a tailor, operating a business at “517” Court St. (today’s 417 Court) that sold stoves, copperware, and tinware. It is unclear whether or not Carstens’ building is the same as today’s 417 Court St. building, but the old Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Pekin from 1885 to 1925 indicate that today’s 417-419 Court St. building had been erected by 1885. The buildings have undergone expansion, remodeling, and façade redesign since then, of course.
By the time of the 1887 City Directory of Pekin, we find George A. Luick (1826-1907) as the proprietor of a flour and feed store at “517” Court, while Redelf J. Nedderman (1849-1932) was running a boot and shoe store at “519” Court. (Redelf’s sons John and Reinhardt later founded Nedderman’s Bakery at 407 Court St.) Luick’s sons George A. Luick Jr. (1858-1916) and Henry Luick (1863-1953) often assisted him as clerks in his feed store, which is listed at “517” (417) Court St. in city directories from 1887 to 1898.
Nedderman’s boot and shoe store is also listed in each of those directories at “519” Court St., which later was renumbered for a while as “415 1/2” before it became “419” Court. The Nov. 1903 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Pekin and the 1904 Pekin city directory show that Nedderman’s store was then still at 419 Court St., but not long after that Nedderman’s boot and shoe store was succeeded at 419 Court St. by a tailor shop operated by Gustavus “Gus” Rhine (1878-1967), which is thus listed in the 1908 city directory. (Much later, Eden’s shoe store would locate at 421 Court St., next door to where Nedderman’s store had been.)
About that same time, 417 Court St. also saw a change in ownership and occupants. The Nov. 1903 Sanborn map and the 1904 Pekin city directory show that Luick’s flour and feed store had closed, and in its place was the office of the Pekin Water Works Co. Previously, the water works had had their office at the site of their power house and water tower at 328 Broadway. The city’s water works company was headed by Henry N. Lautz (1843-1910), president, and his son Walter Ernest Lautz (1881-1942), secretary and treasurer. After Henry Lautz’s death, the presidency of Pekin Water Works Co. passed to his son-in-law William B. Aydelott (1861-1941), while Walter continued as secretary and treasurer.
It was during the Lautz-Aydelott years that the 417 Court St. building was given its distinctive marble façade. According to Tazewell County Assessor’s records, this building was constructed in 1932. However, the building is certainly older than 1932, which is more likely the year of a major remodel or expansion – perhaps when the marble façade was added.
After the deaths of Aydelott in 1941 and Lautz in 1942, the Pekin Water Works Co.’s executive officers were Mrs. E. M. Sutliff, president, L. M. Cunningham, secretary, and Lewis S. Doren (1907-1991), manager. By the time of the 1948 Pekin city directory, Burl Gay Hecker (1907-1988) was secretary and manager of Pekin Waters Works. The 1961 city directory shows that Hecker by then had become president and manager of the water works, a post he retained until his retirement in 1981 after 55 years working for the water company. Pekin Water Works Co. offices remained at 417 Court St. until 1972, when the water company moved back to 328 Broadway, where new offices had been built. Pekin’s water company, now called Illinois-American Water, is still located at that site.
Meanwhile, next door at 419 Court St. Gus Rhine continued to operate his tailoring shop until the time of the 1950 Pekin city directory, the last directory in which Rhine’s tailoring shop is listed. In succession to Rhine’s shop, the 1952 and 1955 city directories show the Business Equipment Co. at 419 Court, managed by Molly Trimpl and 1952 and by J. Love in 1955. Then in the 1956 city directory, we find Lloyd E. Ummel as the proprietor of a store at 419 Court called Ummel’s, which sold lawn and garden materials, pet supplies, gifts and greeting cards, and fish and parakeets.
The 1958 city directory lists 419 Court St. as vacant that year, but the following year we find the Merle Norman Cosmetics Studio at that location, operated by Harry R. Condon and Barbara Hubbard. By 1961, Hubbard is the sole proprietor of the studio. Her business had closed by the time of the 1964 directory, which shows the building as vacant again. In the 1965 directory, we find Virginia Bittner and Norma Westervelt operating Coleen’s Women’s Clothing at 419 Court, but their store did not last long. In the next year, the Merle Norman Cosmetics Studio had reopened at 419 Court under new ownership, Mary L. Becker and Larry Becker.
The Beckers operated Merle Norman at that location until the early 1970s. After that, the 1972 and 1973 Pekin city directories show Fogliano Beauty Salon at 419 Court St., owned and operated by Beverly Fogliano and Goldie Tennell. In the 1974 directory, we find Mack’s Barber Shop at that address, the business of Mack E. Simpson (1944-2021), who had moved his barbershop to 419 Court from 407 1/2 Court. In the following year, we find that Mack’s Barber Shop had become Tom Tyler’s Barber Shop, which continued at 419 Court St. until 1990. The 1975 directory also shows Kurth’s Shop of Hair Design in the 419 Court St. building, operated by William F. Kurth, but that business does not reappear at that address in subsequent directories.
Returning to the story of the former Pekin Water Works office at 417 Court St., when the water works moved their office back to 328 Broadway, on 1 May 1972 they sold their 417 Court St. office to Pekin attorney Egbert B. “Ebbie” Groen (1915-2012), who opened the law firm of Groen & Groen with his son Keith Clary Groen. Ebbie Groen represented the 30th, 45th and 48th districts in the Illinois State Senate from 1953 to 1973. By the time of the 1975 city directory, the firm of Groen & Groen had become Groen, Groen & Carmichael, with Herbert Wayne Carmichael (1938-2019) joining the law firm. Afterward the firm became Groen, Carmichael & McCoy, from which Ebbie Groen retired in 1974.
The 1977 Pekin city directory lists 417 Court St. as vacant, but on 1 April 1977 Pekin attorney Charles R. “Charlie” Thomas (1937-2015) purchased the 417 Court St. building and there opened the law firm of Thomas & Brodie Attorneys-at-Law with his colleague James R. Brodie. Thomas & Brodie are listed at 417 Court in the 1978 and 1979 directories, but by 1980 the building had become simply the Charles R. Thomas Law Offices. 417 Court St. is listed under that name until the 1990 Pekin city directory. That year, Thomas partnered with Donald K. Birner. On 1 Nov. 1990 the Thomas & Birner Law Offices purchased the 419 Court St. building – since then, 417-419 Court St. have been a single address, both having the same owner.
After Charlie Thomas passed away on May of 2015, Pekin attorney Joe Dunn purchased 417-419 Court St. on 12 Nov. 2015 and hung his shingle outside the buildings that had once been the Pekin Water Works office and Gus Rhine’s tailoring shop. The marble façade at 417 Court still looks as it did during the decades when it was the water works. Originally “Pekin Water Works Co.” was displayed above the entrance, and then for many years it bore the name of Charles R. Thomas, P.C., but now it say “Kriegsman Dunn.”
