From Carpeting and Clothing to Women’s Hats and More
According to a city landmark designation report, “The original building was a mansard-roofed, four-story, speculative, retail and loft-manufacturing structure with seven storefronts and three floors of offices and manufacturing space above. In the district (which was known as the city’s financial hub), the Lawrence Building was one of the largest buildings constructed for wholesale purposes. It housed primarily wholesalers that dealt in clothing, caps, hats, furs, notions and crockery. The most extensive business carried out there was millinery.
In the late 1970s and into the mid-1980s Kahn’s Clothing Outlet occupied the north storefront and the stripped walls revealed decor from that era, with names and logos of then-popular designers – like Jordache® and Oscar de la Renta® – painted in a long row around the space. After that, the building was renovated into office space that was primarily used by a variety of law firms, but also an insurance company, a title company, an ad agency and a building maintenance company
You can learn more about the interesting history of 600 N. Broadway by reading the complete On Milwaukee article written by Bobby Tanzilo.
