Photo courtesy of the State Historical Society of Missouri
Herman Zuzak opened Zuzak's Wonder Store on Main Street in Boonville, MO, early in the 20th century, selling everything from 5 & 10 cent curiosities to home furnishings. The "dimestore" idea caught on and the building housed a Woolworths for the next 40 years. One of Sam Walton's Ben Franklin stores followed, as his idea of a mega-dimestore matured into an even larger reality.
Another 40 years flew by with the coming & going of Sunny Days, Save-a-Nickel, Peacock Manor, and Premier Furniture. Then a trio of artists, on tour, brought back to town the notion of a revived Wonder Store celebrating creative endeavors from the region.
Another 40 years flew by with the coming & going of Sunny Days, Save-a-Nickel, Peacock Manor, and Premier Furniture. Then a trio of artists, on tour, brought back to town the notion of a revived Wonder Store celebrating creative endeavors from the region.
The ZUZAK Building
311-313 Main St., Boonville, MO
Situated near the original departure point for the Santa Fe Trail, this central commercial district of Boonville, MO was served from wharves at the foot of Main St. on the Missouri River. Business traffic was later invigorated by the construction of a bridge across the river and by two railroads—the Missouri-Pacific and the Missouri-Kansas-Texas lines.
Prior to c. 1920 when Herman Zuzak remodeled his two separate variety store buildings into one (note difference in the tin ceilings)—the Zuzak Wonder Store—there existed from the 1860-80’s a clothing and tailor’s shop at the sites. From 1885-1915 were book, stationary, crockery, and notions stores. By 1917 the two 311-313 Main St. buildings housed the Wonder Store.
It was in this Zuzak Wonder Store that Herman Zuzak is credited with developing the concept of the Department Store Santa. Santa would arrive in Boonville the day after Thanksgiving via the Missouri River ferryboat, Dorothy, and then proceed to his Main St. post, squarely in front of the Wonder Store. With the streets blocked off by parades, throngs gathered to be greeted by Santa, while Zuzak found his store crowded with “standing-room-only” shoppers.
The building later housed Wagner’s Ice Cream Parlor c. 1924. In 1926 Zuzak leased the store to Woolworth for their 5Ë & 10Ë store. By the 1960’s this variety store had become one of Sam Walton’s Ben Franklin stores. In the 1970-80s the building housed a men’s (Country Squire) and women’s (Sunnydays) fashion shop. The Country Squire closed in 1978 and Sunnydays in 1990. In 1992-3 a used furniture store, Save-a-Nickel, did business for a few years. Later, from August 2000 thru 2004 the Peacock Manor served the area as a home décor and gift store. Next came the Premier Furniture Outlet through 2007-08.
And then, some 90 years after Zuzak first filled his store with wonders, it reopened in 2010…filled with a gallery of original artwork reflecting a beauty of life lived here in the heartland of North America.
Please let us know of any other history you may know of the Zuzak Building.
311-313 Main St., Boonville, MO
Situated near the original departure point for the Santa Fe Trail, this central commercial district of Boonville, MO was served from wharves at the foot of Main St. on the Missouri River. Business traffic was later invigorated by the construction of a bridge across the river and by two railroads—the Missouri-Pacific and the Missouri-Kansas-Texas lines.
Prior to c. 1920 when Herman Zuzak remodeled his two separate variety store buildings into one (note difference in the tin ceilings)—the Zuzak Wonder Store—there existed from the 1860-80’s a clothing and tailor’s shop at the sites. From 1885-1915 were book, stationary, crockery, and notions stores. By 1917 the two 311-313 Main St. buildings housed the Wonder Store.
It was in this Zuzak Wonder Store that Herman Zuzak is credited with developing the concept of the Department Store Santa. Santa would arrive in Boonville the day after Thanksgiving via the Missouri River ferryboat, Dorothy, and then proceed to his Main St. post, squarely in front of the Wonder Store. With the streets blocked off by parades, throngs gathered to be greeted by Santa, while Zuzak found his store crowded with “standing-room-only” shoppers.
The building later housed Wagner’s Ice Cream Parlor c. 1924. In 1926 Zuzak leased the store to Woolworth for their 5Ë & 10Ë store. By the 1960’s this variety store had become one of Sam Walton’s Ben Franklin stores. In the 1970-80s the building housed a men’s (Country Squire) and women’s (Sunnydays) fashion shop. The Country Squire closed in 1978 and Sunnydays in 1990. In 1992-3 a used furniture store, Save-a-Nickel, did business for a few years. Later, from August 2000 thru 2004 the Peacock Manor served the area as a home décor and gift store. Next came the Premier Furniture Outlet through 2007-08.
And then, some 90 years after Zuzak first filled his store with wonders, it reopened in 2010…filled with a gallery of original artwork reflecting a beauty of life lived here in the heartland of North America.
Please let us know of any other history you may know of the Zuzak Building.