This pressed metal storefront is one of nearly 5,000 sold by the St. Louis firm of Mesker Brothers between 1884 and 1907. Marketed by catalog and shipped by rail, these metal fronts offered affordable yet stylish alternatives for the “public” facades of buildings. Note the repetition of motifs on this structure and the one next door. H. C. Craig Furniture Store opened in this building in 1903. Although the first floor was repeatedly altered through the years, historic photographs allowed an accurate reconstruction of the wooden storefront in 1982.