top of page

Since the Plainview Area History Center is dedicated to keeping the history of Plainview and the surrounding area alive,

we decided we wanted to show how things have changed around the area.

​

Here we are sharing some panoramic shots taken on Broadway. The historical shots, taken in the early 1900s were taken using a camera mounted on a rotating tripod. That kind of camera was developed to photograph the Brooklyn Bridge.

​

While the technology of taking photos like this has gotten faster and smaller the action stays the same.

The modern day photos were taken on a smart phone, using the panoramic shooting mode,

allowing the photographer to stand in one place and rotate their body to get the shot.

We'll start on the west end of Broadway and move east.

​

Click on the left or right arrows on the photos to switch between the historic and modern day views.

Then and Now - Streets

This is the intersection of what is now 5th St (formerly Church Street) and Broadway if you were looking north.

The school on the left hand side was Plainview's second 'graded' school. It burned down in February of 1924 and was replaced by the current building. The church on the right hand side is was the second location of the Church of Christ.

This building was built in 1895 and was torn down in 1963 after the church had moved locations.

Currently, the boyhood home of Jon Hassler occupies this space.

This is the intersection of what is now 4th St (formerly Jefferson Street) and Broadway if you were looking south.

The big building on the right is H.K. Oliverson's General Store. It later became Bates' General Store and is currently where Auto Value and Tom's Beauty Salon are located. Across the street is a saloon, which unfortunately we can't identify the name of. It later became Tim's Cafe, which was ruined by fire in 1964 and torn down. The new building held a jewelry store and currently is home to Stucky Chiropractic. Continuing down the block was a barber shop, which is now the Plainview Area Nancy Smith Agency, then Reif Kogel's harness shop, which is now Thrivent Financial, and a separate meat market and grocery store which are now one building as JT's Variety Store.

This is the intersection of what is now 4th St (formerly Jefferson Street) and Broadway if you were looking north.

On the left behind the tree is the J.R. Watkins' house at its original location. If you'd like more information on the Watkins' house please click here. To the right of the trees are J.H. Eggers Jewelry and the White Star Restaurant, which housed boarders in the upper level. The location has also been the site of the International Harvester Implement dealership, the Jon Hassler Theater, and currently Common Sense Development, a solar power consulting firm. Across the street is the Landon and Burchard Drug Store. The small part to the right of it was a soda fountain. The building was torn down and the current building used to house Sents department store, then the Plainview Area Youth Center, and currently the Plainview Area Community Center. Continuing down the block the buildings have pretty much stayed the same until the small white building towards the end of the block. That building was a saloon, which was torn down in 1927. It currently houses H&R Block. A couple buildings down from that was yet another saloon. This building was torn down and the space it occupied was turned into the drive in for People's State Bank when it was on Broadway. The old People's State Bank building, now housing Broadway Video and Fitness, was originally three businesses. The tall portion was an Erding's Brother Saloon, the left hand portion was the post office, and the portion at the end of the block was the Sylvester Bank.

This is the intersection of what is now 3rd St (formerly Washington Street) and Broadway if you were looking south.

The big building on the left is the Plainview Hardware Store. It is currently the Greenwood Agency building. Also notice to the left that city hall hadn't been constructed yet. There were advertisements in its location before it was built. Across the street is the former Plainview Hotel. The the building is no longer a hotel and is currently under going construction on the inside. The Plainview Legion was once located in the back of the hotel before moving to their current location. The building to the right of the hotel served as a sample room for the hotel at one point. Salesman would deliver samples of their merchandise for local businesses to try before deciding to purchase. The building was later purchased completely by First National Bank and is currently home to Mallard Seed.

This is the intersection of what is now 3rd St (formerly Washington Street) and Broadway if you were looking north.

The big building on the right is Koenig Bother's Store, which was known as 'The Big Store'. The was one of the area's largest stores, but it sadly burned down in 1940. It was replaced by a co-op that was composed of several businesses. Unfortunately the new building was also lost to a fire in 1947.  Spooner's Recreation and tax office, Mabel Wood's TipTop Cafe, Jack Magnusen's Men's Shop, King's Red and White Grocery, the Marshall-Wells Store, and Langum Produce, along with two adjoining building, were left homeless suffering a total loss. The location is now home to the High Plains Co-op. The building at the far right side of the picture (the one that's partially cut off) was Plainview's opera house, which was built by civil war veterans. The building had a pole running from one side of the inside of the building to the other to help stabilize it. In the the opera house was torn down and is the current site of the Plainview Municipal Liquor Store.

bottom of page