Designated Landmarks
Pump House Brewery
540 Main Street
Landmark Designation: 1996
Construction Date: 1912-1918
Architectural Style: Art-Deco
The construction of this building is difficult to determine. In 1911 the
Sanborn map show this area as vacant land however the next available Sanborn
map of 1918, shows the appearance of a garage building occupying the entire
property. A 500-600 gallon underground storage tank was shown at the property.
An auto repair shop appeared at the southwest corner and the Boise Lumber
Company was to the west.
In 1921, the garage business known as the Ford Garage was sold to Cleland
Motor Company. The Ford Garage had previously been in business for over 15
years. Mr. William Lugg, who with his wife and two children lived at 514 Kimbark,
retained ownership of the building. The property was known as the Lugg Building.
Mr. Lugg was an Alderman, Chairman of the Police, Fire and License Committees
and a local grocer. His grocery and meat market was listed at 380 Main Street
from as far back as 1910.
In 1928 the Cleland Motor Company moved out of the Lugg Building and into
new quarters at 5th and Coffman.
The 1930 map shows the subject property as similar in appearance to the 1918
map; however, the underground storage tank shown on the earlier map was no
longer present. An auto sales and service building appeared immediately south
of the property, and a gasoline station with three underground storage tanks
appeared northwest of the property. Additional gasoline stations appeared
at the northwest and northeast corners of Main Street and Fifth Avenue.
Mr. Lugg opened up a Standard Super Service Station in 1930. The building
was remodeled to allow for the addition of drive-in pumps. Mr. Lugg ran the
station himself.
In 1935 Walter Rankin and Ludene Troxell bought the building from Mr. Lugg
to operate it as a filling/repair station as well as a Chevrolet dealership.
The building was again remodeled to allow for offices, a parts department
and a showroom. In 1941 Troxell bought out Mr. Rankin's interest in the business.
Mr. Troxell sold the dealership to Mr. Willis and Mr. Hajek in 1951, but
Troxell retained ownership of the building. Mr. Troxell went on to become
Mayor of Longmont in 1958.
The 1956 map shows the property's building as similar to its present day
appearance. Three underground storage tanks were located under the property's
parking lot along Main Street. The gasoline station previously shown northwest
of the property had been remodeled into a restaurant and upholstery shop.
Willis and Hajek moved out of the building in 1964 to a new facility.
In 1966, the property belonged to Firestone Inc. and was used as a repair
station and tire sales office.
Today the property is owned by The Downtown Holdings Co. and houses the Pump
House Restaurant and Brewery.
Reference
HPC 1996-2