Name:   Pump House Brewery

Address:   540 Main St.

Landmark Designation: 1996

Construction Date: 1912-1918

Architectural Style: Art-Deco

The construction of this building is difficult to determine. In 1911, the Sanborn map shows this area as vacant land, however the next available Sanborn map of 1918 shows the appearance of a garage building occupying the entire property. A 500-600 gallon underground storage tank was shown at the property. An auto repair shop appeared at the southwest corner, and the Boise Lumber Company was to the west.

In 1921, the garage business known as the Ford Garage was sold to Cleland Motor Company. The Ford Garage had previously been in business for over 15 years. Mr. William Lugg, who with his wife and two children lived at 514 Kimbark, retained ownership of the building. The property was known as the Lugg Building. Mr. Lugg was an Alderman, Chairman of the Police, Fire and License Committees and a local grocer. His grocery and meat market was listed at 380 Main Street from as far back as 1910.

In 1928, the Cleland Motor Company moved out of the Lugg Building and into new quarters at 5th and Coffman.

The 1930 map shows the subject property as similar in appearance to the 1918 map; however, the underground storage tank shown on the earlier map was no longer present. An auto sales and service building appeared immediately south of the property, and a gasoline station with three underground storage tanks appeared northwest of the property. Additional gasoline stations appeared at the northwest and northeast corners of Main Street and Fifth Avenue.

Mr. Lugg opened up a Standard Super Service Station in 1930. The building was remodeled to allow for the addition of drive-in pumps. Mr. Lugg ran the station himself.

In 1935, Walter Rankin and Ludene Troxell bought the building from Mr. Lugg to operate it as a filling/repair station as well as a Chevrolet dealership. The building was again remodeled to allow for offices, a parts department, and a showroom. In 1941, Mr. Troxell bought out Mr. Rankin's interest in the business.

Mr. Troxell sold the dealership to Mr. Willis and Mr. Hajek in 1951, but Troxell retained ownership of the building. Mr. Troxell went on to become Mayor of Longmont in 1958.

The 1956 map shows the property's building as similar to its present day appearance. Three underground storage tanks were located under the property's parking lot along Main Street. The gasoline station previously shown northwest of the property had been remodeled into a restaurant and upholstery shop.

Willis and Hajek moved out of the building in 1964 to a new facility.

In 1966, the property belonged to Firestone Inc. and was used as a repair station and tire sales office.

Today, the property is owned by The Downtown Holdings Co. and houses the Pump House Restaurant and Brewery.

Reference
HPC 1996-2