Historic Humboldt building comes down

Demolition crews worked throughout last week at 1322 Main St. The majority of the work was completed by the weekend.

By Shane Wofford

A piece of Humboldt history is officially no more. Throughout last week, demolition crews worked to tear down the building located at 1322 Main Street in downtown Humboldt. Crews began work at the beginning of the week, and by Friday, all that was left was the rubble.

The building has had a long tenure on the corner of Main and 14th. Originally constructed as a two-story brick-and-concrete building by George Bailey in 1914, the structure was home to the Milton I. Baum Dry Goods Store for many years in the early 20th century. P.N. Hirsch and Co. and Farmers Exchange Bank also called the building home at various points in history.

In the 1920s, a fire heavily damaged parts of the building and caused the second story to be removed, resulting in its more familiar appearance. In more recent years, the site was home to Starla’s Boutique and Salon, but has remained vacant for the past decade.

The lot will not be empty for long, however. Before the building was torn down, the Humboldt Chamber announced plans for a new three-story building to be constructed on the site. The project will be overseen by HGF Enterprise, a company formed specifically for this development by Humboldt native Detrick Osler.

“We’ve always wanted to have a retail space in the city,” said Olser, “And the first plan was to build something on the Crossing, but then this building became available. So we wanted to jump on that opportunity to come into downtown Humboldt.”

While the company and city are still in talks regarding the details of what the new building will be used for, there are some specifics Osler was willing to offer. The development is planned to be a multi-purpose building. It will contain a restaurant on the first level, which may be operated by HGF itself or be rented out to a separate business. The second floor will be dedicated to office space, and the third floor will be used for residential rentals. Osler says this could possibly be in the form of permanent apartments, hotel rooms, or an Airbnb-style arrangement. Finally, the 

Members of the Humboldt Chamber of Commerce and HGF Enterprises show off digital renderings of the upcoming multi-purpose building to begin construction in the fall.

building will feature a roof-top bar, which would be a first for Humboldt.  Digital renderings have already been created for these plans, and the project is on track to begin construction in the fall of this year. If all goes according to plan, the company is hopeful to have the building completed by spring 2026.

Osler graduated from Humboldt High School in 1996. Though he has called Nashville home for the past two decades, he says Humboldt still holds a special place in his heart, and he hopes the building will be a meaningful way to give back to the community.

“’I’m retired out of the military for about a year or so. I’ve started to look back and see what the hometown needed and wanted to give back to the community,” Osler explained. “We are gonna have a space in the building for, like, community services like, doing podcasts, and a media room for community use. We know Humboldt has had its ups and downs here, and we think it’s coming back to the ups.”