By John Horchner In 1885, on the advice of a physician Dr. Godfrey living in St. Paul, Mr. H.O. Hall and his brother Edward left Rochester, New York, to consider a new site for their business in what is now the industrial zone in south St. Anthony Park. Back then, the area was under the joint development of the Transfer Company, which owned the new rail yard, and the St. Anthony Park Company, which was selling commercial and residential land nearby. Satisfied with what they saw, the Hall brothers sold their existing business for $30,000. Along with a few other partners, they established this area’s first manufacturing company in 1886: the Saint Anthony Park Furniture Company. Before we purchased our St. Anthony Park home in 2016, one of the previous owners, Mary Lerman, pointed to a framed building permit on the wall, which indicated that Edward Hall was the original owner. She offered me a two-seater couch from his furniture company and also handed me a cardboard box filled with research. While searching historical directories from that era housed at the Ramsey County Historical Society’s library, I learned that around 1905, Edward Hall turned his interest from furniture making to real estate. Eventually, he opened an office at Como and Carter avenues, most likely the current site of Milton Square. I remember reading that the Hall family wanted to help develop north St. Anthony Park, which had largely been stagnating up to that point. According to the building permit, our house cost $5,000 to build in 1916. I imagine Hall built our house on speculation during a downturn in the market due to World War I. The house sat vacant after it was finished until the war ended. In an article Mary found from the July 13, 1919, edition […]