There were several businesses that may have been at this location, which is now 6363 Highway 7. Information is sketchy because many businesses just described their locations as “Highway 7 at Brunswick” or “Across from the High School” (Central).
The first may have been the Park Hotel, which may have been the same thing as the Hinkle Hotel. It was probably demolished in the 1930s.
The next building with this address was a long brick building, which we see in a 1941 ad for Emil A. Walstrom, Plumber.
That building can be seen in the photo below, taken from the High School (Central) across Highway 7 in 1942.
It appears that a completely different building was built to replace the brick building. The fabulous shot of it below, probably taken in the 1940s from the top of the water tower by Margaret Fornell Maunder, shows Brunswick Ave. when it crossed the railroad tracks, and the 3550 building.
Culligan Soft Water Service was at this location for many years. In 1971 F.W. Packard was President, Robert J. Ford was Vice President, and the company had 92 employees. A St. Louis Park Sun Business supplement described their services as soft water, deionized water, water treating by chemical “feeding” process for industry.
The photo above also shows Johnson Auto Service (a Texaco station) at Highway 7 and Brunswick from at least November 1951, according to ads in the Park High Echo.
Carl’s Auto Body Shop is advertised at about this location in the February 24, 1954 issue of the Park High Echo. Carol (sic) O. Nordberg was the owner and services were Auto Painting, Wreck Rebuilding, Fender Repairing, Auto Glass Installed, and Welding. Unclear whether Carl’s was at Johnson’s location or at another site nearby.
From about 1976 to 1982 this building was the site of Pic-A-Pop. Follow the link for more on Pic-A-Pop.
The building was eventually demolished and replaced by municipal parking lots.