Most folks now call the large building across from the post office at the corner of South Newton Avenue and East William Street the Lea Center.

For some folks this place has always been the &uot;six-story building.&uot; And years ago this structure was the Nel-Sa, Home Investment, and Erickson-Harm-Subby building. That last combination of names is based on the trio of local businessmen who had this structure constructed in 1915 to 16.

However, there are two more names to consider. One is the Hyde Building, and the other is the Gateway Motel. We’ll explain the second one later. For now, let’s emphasize the connection with the Hyde name.

This building legally had the Hyde name from 1939 to 1965. For folks who try to make a local connection with the Hyde name, the effort is going to be futile. Instead, the basis for this name is with a father and son both named Charles L. Hyde of Pierre, S.D. The difference between these two is with the middle name.

Charles Leavitt Hyde was born in Pike County, Ill., on May 23, 1860. He left home at the age of 16 to be a cowboy driving cattle from Texas to Wyoming, then

worked for a Chicago newspaper, became a traveling salesman, and gave demonstrations during his wanderings as the &uot;champion roller skater of the world.&uot;

In 1886 he was married in Marion, Ohio, lived for 18 months in Lima, Ohio, then moved west to a

frontier town named Pierre.

All the land just to the west of Minnesota was called the Dakota Territory in the late 1880s. However, there was a strong indication this large area would be divided into two states. The elder Hyde thought Pierre would become the capital of the south half. He was right and evolved into a strong promoter for both the town and the new state.

Starting in 1888 and up to 1912 Charles Hyde was considered to be the largest private landowner and richest man in South Dakota. He owned over 100,000 acres and sold at least a thousand lots in the growing city of Pierre. Hyde had three blocks of business buildings constructed in Pierre which included an opera house and the St. Charles Hotel. He also owned

a local newspaper, several banks, flour mill, a ranch and livestock, and eventually property in at least 19 states, plus Winnipeg, Canada.

I’m not sure if the father was involved in the purchase of what was then the largest building in Albert Lea in the 1930s. Charles Leavitt Hyde died on Sept. 10, 1938. His son, Charles Lee Hyde, purchased the six-story building from the Albert Lea Home Investment Co. on Dec. 30, 1939, according to a warranty deed recorded and filed at the Freeborn County Courthouse.

During the 25 years this building was owned by the Hyde firm, three local organizations had their clubrooms in the structure. The Knights of Columbus council was in the basement. Leo Carey Post 56 of the American Legion was on the first floor facing the post office. The Elks Club had the top floor. Also in this building were offices for doctors, dentists, insurance people, Turner-Jansma Music, several real estate firms, the Hyde Grill, chiropractors, attorneys, an osteopathic clinic, Midwest Loan, opticians, an advertising firm, podiatrist, the Mental Health Center, and a barber shop

In May 1965 the Hyde Building was purchased by Homer Blake of Albert Lea. This local entrepreneur

and promoter had created the Skyline Supper Club, the Skyline Shopping Center, several small motels, and had been instrumental in the construction of several homes.

Homer announced he wanted to convert this entire building into a place to be called the Gateway Motel. He soon terminated the leases of all the tenants except the Malepsy Barber Shop. The next step would be to remodel the entire structure into a modern hotel-motel with restaurant and meeting rooms. However, this next step never happened. Homer was unable to make an agreement for affiliation with one of the national motel chains. Thus, he decided to sell the building to Jim Sadler of Rochester in March 1971.

(Feature writer Ed Shannon’s column appears each Friday.)