Historical Marker

Site of Svrcek Garage

SITE OF

SVRCEK GARAGE

FRANK SVRCEK OWNED A COMMERCIAL BUILDING HERE IN THE 1890s. THE RECTANGULAR FRAME BUILDING WITH STEPPED PARAPET HAD TWO PAIRS OF DOORS, ONE TIN AND THE OTHER WOODEN. WALTER MEINEN’S CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP IN THE 1920s, AND LATER HARRY CORDES’ GARAGE, HAD A DIRT FLOOR. CUSTOMERS DROVE CARS THROUGH THE TIN DOORS AND DROVE OUT THE BACK AFTER REPAIRS WERE DONE. WILLIE SVRCEK RETURNED FROM WWII SERVICE TO FIND HIS FAMILY’S BUILDING VACANT, THEN OPENED SVRCEK GARAGE, INSTALLING GAS AND KEROSENE PUMPS AND A CONCRETE FLOOR. HE ALSO DIVIDED PART OF THE BUILDING TO BECOME VITEK APPLIANCE. THE BUILDING LATER HOUSED A FEED STORE BEFORE IT WAS RAZED IN 2012.