The DeWitt–Seitz Building is a historic commercial building in the
Canal Park neighborhood of
Duluth, Minnesota
, settlement_type = City
, nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City
, motto =
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...
, United States. The eight-story building was constructed in 1909 for the DeWitt–Seitz Company, a furniture
jobber and mattress manufacturer.
[ With ] It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
for its local significance in the themes of architecture, commerce, and industry.
It was nominated for its status as a rare surviving example of the manufacturing and jobbing factories that once populated Duluth's early-20th-century waterfront, and for its exemplary
Chicago School architecture.
In 1985 the building became the DeWitt–Seitz Marketplace, a mixed-use commercial building with shops and restaurants on the lower floors and office spaces above.
History
The building was designed in 1909 in the
Chicago school style popularized by
Louis Sullivan.
Its original tenant, the DeWitt–Seitz Company, was one of many jobbing companies founded in the port city of Duluth, buying goods from manufacturers in the eastern U.S. and Canada and selling them to growing inland markets in the west. Like many of its fellow jobbing houses clustered near the
Duluth Ship Canal, DeWitt–Seitz expanded into manufacturing its own products, in their case mattresses. By the 1930s, Duluth's jobbing industry declined rapidly in the face of increased competition, market changes, and the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. The DeWitt–Seitz Company began to focus primarily on mattress production and sale, under the brand Sanomade.
Sam F. Atkins purchased the company in 1961 and renamed it The Happy Sleeper. In 1983, the mattress business relocated to
Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and Atkins' son began renovating the old building from an industrial warehouse into retail and office space. Renamed the DeWitt–Seitz Marketplace, it opened in May 1985. Three of the first tenants—the Blue Heron Trading Company, Art Dock, and J-Skylark—continue to operate in the building as of 2019.
A new owner took over the building in 2000, adding more office spaces on the upper floors and restoring the exterior in 2007.
Gallery
File:DeWitt-Seitz Building interior.jpg, Interior of the DeWitt–Seitz Building, adapted for mixed commercial use
File:1952 DeWitt-Seitz Co.jpg, Lake Street view of the Dewitt-Seitz Building taken in 1952
See also
*
References
External links
DeWitt-Seitz Marketplace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dewitt Seitz Building
1909 establishments in Minnesota
Buildings and structures in Duluth, Minnesota
Chicago school architecture in Minnesota
Commercial buildings completed in 1909
Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota
Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota
National Register of Historic Places in St. Louis County, Minnesota
Warehouses on the National Register of Historic Places