Hackett Block
(Previously known as: Hackett Block and Halper Building - 262-270 E. 4th St.)
This 5 story Romanesque Revival faced in red brick with large round-arched windows was originally built in 1890 with an addition done in 1906, adding four window bays to the west side of the building. The interior uses slow-burning mill construction which is capable of handling heavy floor loads, similar to the construction used in the Wacouta Warehouse three years later by Cass Gilbert. Clarence Johnston, Sr. was commissioned by Charles W. Hackett who had established a hardware business in St. Paul. The hardware store, Hackett, Walther and Gates Hardware Company was the largest of its kind in the city at the time the building was expanded in 1906. Charles W. Hackett was also vice president of First National Bank, president of the chamber of commerce, and president of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA).
