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Frick Hardware at 321 E. 4th St. and Cecil's Office Supplies at 319 E. 4th St. The hardware store is no longer in business, but the office supplies company has apparently occupied, and continues to occupy, this space since 1978. The Poetker and Miller buildings have an upper story galvanized sheet-metal facade made by Mesker Steel. George Mesker was a prominent citizen of Evansville who operated (along with his family), beginning circa 1870, a business that made architectural iron works for buildings. Other family members made other iron products. These were immensely popular and sold nationwide. Some were very elaborate, with full metal fronts. Buildings of this type are typically one to three stories in height with a street level storefront and upper facades consisting of sheet-metal panels stamped with decorative motifs. A cornice, sometimes with a pediment bearing the owner's name and date of construction, defines the roofline. The sheet-metal elements may include a wide variety of decorative features, such as consoles, pilasters, scrolls, brackets, dentils, and finials, which feature design ornaments characteristic of each company. While the companies employed a certain number of ornaments, the combinations in which they were offered were many. As a result, it is rare to find facades that are exactly the same.

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