Kresge Building (Augusta, Maine) a multicolor crosshatch brick pattern extends across the building above the second floor. The block was built in 1932, replacing an Italianate building that was a virtual replica of its neighbors. It originally housed S.S. Kresge's, a department store, on the ground floor, with professional offices on the second floor. Since its construction, it has been one of downtown Augusta's most architecturally unusual buildings. Kresge Building (Augusta, Maine) The Kresge Block is a historic commercial building at 241-249 Water Street in downtown Augusta, Maine. Built in 1932 to house a department store, it is a distinctive and rare local example
S. S. Kresge old, he was educated in the local public schools, the Fairview Academy, in Brodheadsville, Pennsylvania, and at the Eastman Business College, from which he graduated in March 1889. Following his graduation, he clerked in a hardware store for two years, then worked as a traveling salesman from 1892 to 1897. On March 20, 1897, Kresge began working for James G. McCrory, the founder of J.G. McCrory's, at a five and ten cent store in Memphis, Tennessee. He continued there for two years. In 1899 he founded his own company, with Charles J. Wilson, with an $8,000 investment in two five-and-ten-cent