A fire swept through this block in January 1888 destroying Phil Conrey’s barbershop on this site. Neighbors to the left, Merkle’s Jewelry Store, Gohn’s Meat Market, and Jacob Dick’s Paint Store also burned down. Gohn rebuilt his decorative tin-front meat market right away, but the other lots remained vacant for many years. By 1913, the massive stone wall of Rank’s Drug Store (the original Masonic Temple) next door was sagging without a sister building to shore it up. In response, Virginia City Grand Lodge No. 1 built this classic example of an early twentieth-century brick commercial building for just over $4,600. Decorative caps on each side of the corbeled (stepped) parapet above the tall glass storefront windows embellish the otherwise modest facade. Merchant Jacob Albright moved his clothing shop from Stonewall Hall across the street and remained in business here until his death in 1933. Various other stores occupied the building over the next thirty years until Rod Marshall opened a candy store in 1971. Since then, the shop has become a beloved stop for kids of all ages.
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