New Edward Jones office opens at 515 Broadway

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[June 10, 2015]  LINCOLN - On Monday, Christine Short celebrated her new Edward Jones office in Lincoln with an open house for customers and the public. Short is taking over the business of Bob Neal, who has recently retired. Short has moved the Edward Jones office from South Kickapoo Street to 515 Broadway.

Short explained that she was from Lincoln, but prior to joining Neal was driving to Springfield daily for her career. When she and Neal had an opportunity to talk, and he invited her to become a part of his office she was delighted to be back working in Lincoln.



Neal (above standing center) was present for the open house, though he said he was on day 10 of his retirement. Guests arrived early to enjoy an excellent buffet of finger foods, congratulate Short on her new office and to wish Neal the best in his retirement.

Short said the plan all along had been for her to work beside Neal getting acquainted with his customers and his business, then become the successor when he retired. She said that she and Neal had agreed that this transition time was also a good time to move the office and start fresh.

Short talked about the selection of the new location. She said when looking at the Broadway location, one aspect of the building left her with mixed feelings, the 121 Tavern sign at the front corner of the building in the alleyway. However, when she learned that there was a familial connection to Edward Jones and the sign, it became more endearing to her.



The 121 Tavern was located in the building, according to visitors at the office on Monday, in the 1950’s. One of the beers the tavern offered was a product from Griesedieck Brothers, a brewing company and distributor from St. Louis. What Short learned was that the same Edward Jones who founded the company she works with married Ursala Griesedieck, the daughter of one of these brothers. In addition, even though he had already formed his investment company, he eventually became the president of Griesedieck Brothers.

The 121 Tavern sign, restored a few years ago when the Wall Dogs came to Lincoln to work on a variety of signs, bears the logo of the Griesedieck Brothers.

Also, Short noted another interesting point. The building she is in is located next door to the building Neal worked out of years ago. Neal was at 513 Broadway from 1981 to 2000.



 

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This building is also the subject of a recent renovation project in Lincoln. The property owned by MMIL, of which local businessman David Lanterman is a part, had stood empty for quite some time. Lanterman’s group purchased the property and, after finding a tenant, re-designed the interior of the building to accommodate offices. Included in that was the creating of a better floorplan and the restoration of the vintage aspects of the building.




Lanterman had appeared before the Lincoln Historic Preservation Commission last month to discuss the historical correctness of his façade plan for the building. During that time, he shared that inside, he had been very pleased to discover that the original tin ceilings were still intact and would be salvageable. On Monday, the dark hardwood floors also look to be original.

The exterior of the building had been redesigned at some point in the past. Lanterman brought the exterior of the building back to its correct era, installing long windows with wood pillars and a large glass and wood door, which he told the LHPC was also an antique.



Talking with Lanterman last week, he said there was still some work to do on the exterior of the building, mostly new paint. He explained that with a lease agreement in place, the priority had been to get the new front of the building installed, and the interior work finished first.

Regarding the office on South Kickapoo Street, Short said there is still an Edward Jones representative in the building. Jim Sparrow has his offices there and will remain there as far as she knows.

[Nila Smith]

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