Businesses at 1905 Central Avenue

Kearney City Directories

1999 –
1903 – Dave’s Pawn Shop
1905 – Shear Magic Beauty Salon, Connie Welty
1907 – Bannerman Marketing & Tool Doctor

1992 –
1903 – Dave’s Pawn Shop
1905 – Shear Magic
1907 – Comstock TV
1909 – Shea’s Barber Shop

1980 –
1903 – Dave’s Pawn Shop
1905 – Shea Barber Shop & Shear Magic Beauty Shop
1907 – Summit Heating & Air Conditioning

1970 –
1903 – Goodwill Store
1905 – Shea Barber Shop & Kearney Typewriter Co Storage
1907 – Tractor Supply Co.

1960 –
1903 – McElroy Co. Inc.
1905 – Bonnie Jean’s Beauty Salon & Shea Barber Shop
1907 – Tractor Supply Co.

1955 –
1903 – McElroy Furnace & Sheet Metal
1905 – South Central Café
1907 – Shea Barber Shop

1952 –
1903 – McElroy Furnace & Sheet Metal
1905 – South Central Café
1907 – Stonecipher Barber Shop

1950 –
1903 – McElroy Furnace & Sheet Metal
1905 – Ken’s Café
1907 – Stonecipher Barber Shop

1947 –
1903 – Henry Christensen, blacksmith
1905 – [address not listed]
1907 – Stonecipher Barber & Beauty Shop

1941 –
1903 – Gordon Lewis, Blacksmith
1905 – vacant
1907 – George D. White café

1939 –
1903 – Claus Johnson, Blacksmith
1905 – vacant
1907 – George D. White café

1934 –
1903 – Claus Johnson, Blacksmith
1905 – David Cole Creamery
1907 – [address not listed]

1931 –
1903 – [address not listed]
1905 – [address not listed]
1907 – vacant
1909 – vacant

1926 –
1903 – Wm McIntyre, blacksmith
1905 – David Cole Creamery

1924 –
1903 – Wm McIntyre, blacksmith
1905 – David Cole Creamery
1907 – [address not listed]
1909 – Dersch & Brandhurst garage

1917 –
1903 – R A D McIntyre, blacksmith
1905 – Logan McAllister, barber
1907 – [address not listed]
1909 – McCaulay, livery

1913 –
1903 – [address not listed]
1905 – R L Foster barber
1907 – [address not listed]
1909 – S E Hawley livery

1908 –
1907 – Gibford & West, contractors
1909 – D. L. McCaulay, livery

No street directory in the City Directories before this (1904, 1892, & 1889)


Comments in 2008 -

Based on my observation of the buildings on the east side of Central for a half block north from the corner of 19th St., there appear to be four separate ones. The first one (1901 Central) is currently occupied by a laundromat, the second one (1903 Central) contains Daves’ Pawn Shop. Shear Magic Beauty Salon (1905 Central) and the former Shea’s Barbershop (1907 Central) share the third building. Overhead Doors (1909 Central) is in the fourth building.

Sometime between 1913 and 1917 a blacksmith businesses was started at the address of 1903 Central. There were at least four different owners over the years. Sometime in the late 1940’s it became a furnace and sheet metal business and then the Goodwill Store before Dave’s Pawn Shop located there in 1978-79.

The only source of information we have in the Archives about the building that currently houses the Shear Magic Beauty Salon is the Kearney City Directories. We checked the volumes in the Archives at approximately 10-year intervals. The Kearney City Library has a set of the directories in the Kearney Room if you wish to consult them to get more exact dates for the establishment of past businesses.

If the current addresses for the two parts of the building have not changed over the years, we find this history of businesses

At 1905 Central Avenue –

2006 - Shear Magic Beauty Salon
1999 - Shear Magic Beauty Salon, Connie Welty
1992 - Shear Magic
1980 - Shea Barber Shop and Shear Magic Beauty Shop
1970 - Shea Barber Shop and Kearney Typewriter Co Storage
1960 - Shea Barber Shop and Bonnie Jean’s Beauty Salon
1955 - South Central Café
1950 - Ken’s Café
1947 - [address not listed]
1941 - vacant
1939 - vacant
1934 - David Cole Creamery
1931 - [address not listed]
1926 - David Cole Creamery
1924 - David Cole Creamery
1917 - Logan McAllister, barber
1913 - R L Foster barber
1908 - [address not listed]

At 1907 Central Avenue –
2006 – empty
1999 - Bannerman Marketing & Tool Doctor
1992 - Comstock TV
1980 - Summit Heating & Air Conditioning
1970 - Tractor Supply Co.
1960 - Tractor Supply Co
1955 - Shea Barber Shop
1950 - Stonecipher Barber Shop
1947 - Stonecipher Barber & Beauty Shop
1941 - George D. White café
1939 - George D. White café
1934 - [address not listed]
1931 - vacant
1926 - [address not listed]
1924 - [address not listed]
1917 - [address not listed]
1913 - [address not listed]
1908 - Gibford & West, contractors

Perhaps the David Cole Creamery, the McCallister & Foster Barber shops and Gibford & West contractors occupied the whole building for the time period 1934 and before since the address at 1907 is not listed except in the year 1908 when the address at 1905 is not listed.

Another source of information is the Abstract for the building and/or ownership records in the Register of Deeds office. Although these will not show when the building was constructed, cross-checking the owner with the names in the City Directories might work. A jump in the tax value of the property (County Assessor’s office) might indicate when the building was built. Reading old Hub newspapers for the time when the tax value changed might show some story about construction there. But that is time consuming because several months of the paper would have to be scanned.