Glad to see that The Keenan Building, one of the centerpieces of downtown Troy, has been rehabbed and is once again going to be a vital part of the urban core. James Keenan opened this lovely edifice in 1883. When Arthur Weise wrote “The City of Troy and Its Vicinity” in 1886, the building was a thriving commercial center, with a great variety of tenants:
- Thomas H. Magill, selling millinery and fancy goods, “such as silks, velvets, laces, ribbons, ruches, plumes, wings, and other hat and bonnet trimmings, together with women’s skirts, corsets, parasols, fans, handkerchiefs, hosiery and jewelry, besides yarns, zephyrs, embroidery-silks, work-baskets and a great variety of other goods.”
- Edgar L. Everett’s art store was at the western end of the building.
- Samuel B. Mount dealt fine and fashionable furs. “His valuable stock embraces different kinds of foreign and domestic furs, seal, sable, ermine, marten, beaver, otter, mink, chinchilla, squirrel and other animal skins. He largely manufactures fur garments, sacques, dolmans, mantles, capes, circulars, and also muffs, caps, gloves, and carriage and sleigh robes.”
- Theodore A. Byram, merchant tailor, “seasonably replenishes his varied stock of cloths and other stuffs worn by men and boys from the best quality and most desirable goods in the market.”
- Hudson & Smith, insurance agents. They represented a crazy variety of insurance companies.
- Zeph F. Magill, photographer, kept studios, darkroom and framing operation on the third floor. “His long experience enables him to produce excellent photographs of all sizes.”
- “George Harrison occupies Room 6, on the second floor of the building, and sells bonds and mortgages on improved farms in the state of Kansas for investment.”
- William V. Baker, agent of the Northwestern Life Insurance Company.