This is a photo, circa 1916, of “The Commercial House” in downtown Schoolcraft. It was headquarters for Kalamazoo County State Bank, which moved to the west side of Grand Street on April 2, 1940. This great old building still stands and now houses Bud’s Bar. In looking closely, you will notice the original building had three floors, whereas the current building has only two. Old timers in Schoolcraft have been queried as to when the third floor was removed and why. Some have said it was unsafe, others thought there was a fire in that area. If you have further information about what happened, Kim Maxam who supplied this photo from the archives of the Schoolcraft Historical Society would be interested in knowing. Her email address is maxamka@yahoo.com. If you have an old photo you would like to share, please email it to Steve Ellis at steve@swmspark.com and we will consider it for future issues and/or our Facebook page.
