The Newtown bee., 1908-03-06

The public was cordially invited te
 attend the formal opening of the new
 store of F. A. Hull & Son, 1S3 Main
 street, Danbury. Wednesday, March 4,
 1908. It is one year from the date and
 time of the beginning of the big fire,
 and they have certainly got store to
 be proud of.
 , Charles Hull, founder of this con-
 cern, was born in ISIS; learned the tin
 smith trade in Norwalk and arrived in
 Danbury in the spring of 1888. Two
 years later he married Hannah Am
 bier, daughter of Deacon Thomas Am
 bier, and in February, 1S43, began the
 erection of his first place of business
 then known as No. 1 East stree :.
 This building is still standing as or iginally built, no change in either con struction or location, having been made
 since its erection, nearly sixty-five years ago. It is now No. 3 Liberty street, rear of Austin's furniture store, and used as a barber shop. MT Hull and his father-i -in-law hauled the
 timbers out of the woods, hewed them on the ground and both of them worked on the construction of the building employing but little outside help. His old inventory book, started in 1844, shows that the business was successful from the start. In five years he was able to buy the Mayor Comstock place." corner Main and Liberty streets, and on this property he built two stores, occupying one himself and renting the other to W. F. Olmstead
 (better known and still remembered by many as "Firman Olmstead,") who occupied it many years as a book store. Over his Emporium as it was then called, was Union Hall, the only pub lie hall in the village, occupied by the Odd Fellows and other societies. In 1865 Mir Hull put a new front on his store (then Hull & Rogers'') and built three-story brick block, ad- joining it on the north, containing two stores, onesof which was occupied for some years as grocery store by James Osborne and by Parmelee & Bradley and finally by Hull & Rogers as a crockery store, and the other by vari- ous clothing firms, finally by Sam liar ris, who occupied it at the time of the "big fire" in February, 1890. when the entire block Gncluding the corner buiding) was destroyed by fire. MT Hull then sold forty feet on the corner and built fine four-story fire proof block'' (so called at the time) on the remaining seventy-one feet, Main street front, which was occupied by F. A. Hull 6 Co.,, until the recent fire on March 4th, 1907. Charles Hull died in 1891. After the last fire the interests of the other heirs in the property were by F. A. Hull, who is now October. 19O7) completing on the old 'ite strictly modern business block ,f solid concrete, reinforced with steel, actually fire proof" the floors, walls, beams, pillars, roof and stairways, and wen the floors of the show wi ndows be- ng made of concrete, and the office and 'ther partitions of asbestos blocks-so hat there will be no more fires. abso- utely nothing to burn, except the mer- handise, the burning of which will not fleet the building. This will be the nost costly, as we'll as substantial and urable building in the city. The con- truction being what is known as "mon- lithic" or the unit system" It will | e when completed, practically one sol rock. all parts being connected with oncrete. It will probably stand for as neither fires, floods nor arthquakes will be able to destroy it.