Looking for a Car Repair Place

96 Years Ago
The April 18, 1929 Colorado Transcript included an advertisement for the North Side Garage. The ad didn't include a street address, but that was standard practice at the time--almost none of the ads in the paper provided addresses. The town was small enough that they assumed you knew where Foss Drug, Linder Hardware, Rubey National Bank, and the North Side Garage were located.

In this case, they were right! The Golden History Museum collection includes a great photo of the North Side Garage (top of the article), so I've done some research to find out where it was. A search through old Colorado Transcripts turned up a 1933 advertisement that provided the address--815 Washington Avenue. With that information, I turned to the Sanborn Fire Insurance maps.

Map showing area from 8th to 9th along Washington. Grain & Feed building on the left, Machine shop mid-block — *Excerpt from the 1906 Sanborn Fire map showing the area between 8th & 9th, Washington & Jackson.*

The North Side Garage building first appeared in the 1906 map as a Machine Shop. The 1911 Sanborn map labeled it as "Repository," but the 1919 map called it an "Auto Repair Shop."

The last Sanborn Map was published in 1938. By that time, the Auto Repair Shop had been enlarged.

Returning to the old Transcripts, I learned that the owner of the auto repair business, Marvin Swena, added on to the building in 1923 so he could store autos for people who owned cars but didn't have garages.

newspaper ad for low-cost transportation Star Cars from the North Side Garage — *Ad for the North Side Garage from the April 9, 1925 Colorado Transcript*

A 1925 ad said that the North Side Garage was now an agency for Star Cars (“The Car for the Millions with the Million Dollar Motor”). The Transcript also informed me that “Our Service Station is complete in every detail, from repairs to gasoline, oil and accessories. McComb Tire and Tubes–None Better."

From 1935-1945, the same building operated as the Noble Garage and Top Shop. From 1948-49 it was Johnson’s Super Service.

In 1950 it became Hugo Buerger Buick, and remained so until that business moved to 8th Street in 1960. At that point, the building was torn down.

*April, 2025 image by Patrick Klein: site of the North Side Garage outlined in white next to Washington Avenue -* *enlarge*

In recent decades, the site held a 7-11. The gas pumps were located near the site of the North Side Garage. The property now includes a liquor store and a restaurant, but it is slated to be redeveloped as part of the overall Clayworks project.