Coeur d'Alene's 'City Within A City' - Part 5

Editor’s note: This is the fifth and final story in a series about the history of present-day Appleway Avenue and the businesses on Fourth Street leading up to Appleway.

The section of Coeur d’Alene, named the Sunset Heights Business District in 1948, included the businesses on Appleway Avenue and along what was then a curve onto Fourth Street.

So much has changed over the years that I have included a labeled aerial photo from 1958 to help locate the buildings.

Wiloacres gardens (just below “G”) and the Sunset Tavern (just above “F”) were covered in a previous article. Wherever possible, I have included the usual “then and now” information.

Mack’s Tire/Sunset Tire – 301 Appleway. Just below “M”

Mack Baldwin moved his business, Commercial Tire, from Sherman Avenue to this location in July 1948, when the building was built. Specializing in BF Goodrich tires, he offered anything and everything related to tires for both cars and trucks.

In 1956, the business became Sunset Tire Service and, in 1960, Sunset Tire moved into a new building at 110 E Appleway. It is now called Kenny V’s Auto and Tire service.

When Sunset Tire moved, the old building became a used furniture place but was vacant by 1966. About 1969 Jeanne and Ralph Holmberg moved Holmberg and Associates Printing from 1401 Third St. into this building. Ralph died in 1975 and Jeanne continued to operate the business until 1995. She died at age 75 in 1997. The building was torn down about this time.

Lake City Motors/Jekyll and Hyde/Dairy Queen – 305 Appleway. Just below “N”

Lake City Motors lasted nearly 40 years in Coeur d’Alene. According to the Coeur d’Alene Press, Feb. 13, 1948, the owner, Ted Tieken, was, “a pioneer in the automobile business, opening his garage at 121 Second Street in 1928.”

After operating in various locations, Mr. Tieken and his brother, Ray, on Feb. 14, 1948, opened their new building on Appleway right by the north Fourth curve. It was a concrete block building with plate glass windows, a showroom, parts department, office and garage. It also had a three-room apartment incorporated into the building for Mr. and Mrs. Tieken.

The automobiles most advertised over the years were Willys, a Willys-Overland Motors brand.

By 1966 the business was gone, and the building was vacant. In 1970, the Sonnichsen Insurance Agency briefly used the space.

The building became Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’s restaurant/tavern in 1972. At some point during the few years it was in operation, there was a drug bust at that place.

The interior of the building was converted in 1977 into a Dairy Queen. A few people have told me that, during the remodel, the building had the shake shingle siding removed. People would take shingles from the scrap pile. One person built a “fort/house” in their backyard with the scraps.

The Doghouse/Elkhorn – 322 Appleway. Just above “K”

In January 1947, Steve and Celeste Stevens opened a new tavern called the Doghouse. They had remodeled the old Toth residence which was just east of the Toth Service Station, that as previously discussed, was later Mathews’ Chevron. Mr. Toth had died in 1946 and his widow had moved. The new place offered draft and bottled beer as well as light lunches, soft drinks, candy, and tobacco.

Later, in November 1947, John and Maxine Brunelle took over the management of the Doghouse. In 1950, William Stark took over the management of the place. Throughout the 1950s, there were different managers/owners of the Doghouse — James Ewing and Watson T. and Norville Renne — as evidenced by applications for beer licenses to the city council.

In 1961, under the new ownership of Charles Rust, the name was changed to one most of us remember – the Elkhorn Tavern.

Jim Lee owned it in 1970 and John Nelson in 1975. For about 20 years, until 1983, it was quite the place. Cheap beers and loud music seemed to typify the joint.

After it sat vacant for a year, in 1984 it became the C D’ A Drinking Co., under owner, D.A. Whitwell. By 1989, the building was gone. If you stand in the parking lot east of Atilano’s Mexican Food, formerly KFC, you are there.

John’s Bargain House - 2447 N. Fourth or 330 E. Appleway. Just above “L”

On Oct. 22, 1948 John Aresvik and his sons had the grand opening for John’s Bargain House. It stayed in the family for nearly 40 years. During that time, it seems they sold everything from used furniture to appliances, playpens and even play ponds. By 1987, the business had ended. Currently it houses a title and payday loan business.

Mike’s Place – N. Fourth curve. To the right of “O”

As you can see from the photo, N. Fourth used to curve widely as it swung west, joining Appleway. The intersection has long since been reconfigured to a classic four-way intersection but, if you want to get a sense of the old curve, visualize it passing just between the current gas station/store building at the southwest corner of the intersection and the gas pump islands in front of the building. The old island formed by the curve contained two historic businesses – Mike’s Place, a tavern; and the North Star Service Station. Mike’s appeared in the business directory in 1940 with Mike Klaasen and Mrs. Onah Smith listed as owners.

By 1945, it was listed in an advertisement in the Coeur d’Alene Press as owned by Theodore A. Johnson.

An application for renewal of the beer license in 1948 listed the owner as Charles Humphrey, who also owned the adjacent gas station in the 1950s. Charles and his brother, Mike, owned the Roundup Tavern on Second Street at that time as well. In 1955, the new owner was Frank Burke. By 1957, there was no more listing for the business.

North Star Service Station — 2436 N. Fourth at the curve. Just above “P” This was the other business on the island formed by the curve. My best guess from old photos and business directories is that a service station was here, at least by 1931, owned by Charles Score and, perhaps, Morris D. Lafe.

By 1947, it was called North Star Service and owned by Frank M. Jares. He owned it until 1952 when the owner of Mike’s Place next door, Charles Humphrey, became the owner.

By 1967 it was owned by Jim and Frank Riggs. When the curve was removed (not sure yet of that date), the building was demolished. Some folks recall Conoco owned it when it was known as FasGas. They had refrigerated coolers for beer, pop and milk and sold candy, gum, chips, cigarettes and oil. At one time, they sold Grandpa’s Farm Beef, which came in a box and inside were plastic-wrapped hamburger, steaks, etc. They also sold Pop Shoppe pop there at one time.

Drive-In Dairy, Sunset Motors, Leahy’s 500, Chelsea’s – 2501 N Fourth. To the right of “Q”

This is another building that is still there! It has been many businesses over the years. In July 1946, Frank Egbers, a science and math teacher at Coeur d’Alene High School, announced in the newspaper the near completion of, “Coeur d’Alene’s newest refreshment center, the Jack Frost.” He hoped to open it by August that year, but, for unknown reasons, the official opening was the evening of May 31, 1947. The Jack Frost offered fountain specialties, hamburgers, Coney dogs, and grilled cheese with service in your car.

The business came under new ownership in April 1948. A. F. McIntyre bought it and renamed it the Tam O’Shanter Drive-In. For the next few years, the name stayed the same but there was a new owner nearly every year.

In 1950, when Kermit Knudtson owned it, trout dinners were on the menu. In June 1952, another change came along. The business became part of a chain – a Maid-Rite sandwich shop. A little research shows the Maid-Rite chain started in 1926 and their signature sandwich was more like a sloppy joe than a regular hamburger. They still carried ice cream treats but they also carried beer, as a beer license was granted to a Mr. E.J. Blair in July. The advertising for Maid-Rite was aggressive in the paper. They offered free coffee when they opened, catchy menu items such as a “gismo” (still not sure what that was). As with the original business, the Maid-Rite went through various owners over the years. Even though it left here in 1956, Maid-Rite is still in business with some of its original businesses still open. In 1956, it showed up in the business directory as the Dari-Delite. Somehow, there must have been issues because, in 1958, it was remodeled into Sunset Motors owned by Charles Plum. He sold both new and used cars. That lasted about four years until 1962, when it became Leahy’s 300 Club, under the ownership of Robert Leahy.

In 1977 it became Chelsea’s under Edwin Hatter. Chelsea’s was a favorite bar with cheap drinks and live music. Brycie’s Cheesesteaks moved into the spot in 1993. In 2012, Rob Elder created the Satay Bistro there.

And so ends the final part of the history of Sunset Heights, Coeur d’Alene’s “City within a City,” as it was called way back in 1948. This area of Coeur d’Alene is a tricky one to research not only because it has changed so much — most original tax and property records are long gone — but because the early business directories were spotty and often incorrect in covering this area of Appleway. I realize that writing a history from newspapers and business directories is not always accurate and that many folks will have great stories and memories and even some corrections or additions to this history. I hope so! Please contact the Museum if you can add to this history or have photographs to donate.

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This story and photos were first published in the Museum of North Idaho’s 2017 newsletters and are shared with Coeur Voice readers courtesy of Tom Flanagan and the Museum of North Idaho, 115 Northwest Boulevard, Coeur d’Alene. For more information about the museum, visitwww.museumni.org.