Chamber of Commerce
The Chamber of Commerce building (formerly Woolworth Department Store), as depicted on the 1916 Sanborn Map.
Known Name(s)
Chamber of Commerce
Address
131 S. Phillips Ave. (Inquire) Sioux Falls, SD
Establishment Type(s)
Chamber of Commerce
Physical Status
Demolished
Description
In the 1948-1953 city directories, 131-135 S. Phillips Ave. houses the J.J. Newberry & Co. Department Store. The Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce had the address of 100 W. 10th St. (the same corner), with offices on the second floor above Newberrys. The current building at the northwest corner of Phillips Ave. and W. 10th St. is a small, diner-style restaurant building and parking area.
Detailed History
As this is a Chamber of Commerce, "inquire" may have meant that travelers could come here to ask for information on safe businesses or individuals/families who would board visitors. 100 W. 10th was also the office of the Sioux Falls Community Chest, an organization that financially supported the local Booker T. Washington Service Center (also a Green Book listing, 1939-1941) after World War II.
Source: 1948-1953 City Directories; Clipping 44: "Community Center Aim of Negroes" (undated, post-WWII), 1940-1960 Scrapbook, 2007.041.00015.A-GG, Carole Ryden Collection, Siouxland Heritage Museums, Sioux Falls. Historical photograph with Chamber noted in building's mural advertisement, "photograph of 129-135 South Phillips Avenue" (1968), 1984.018.00303, Siouxland Heritage Museums, Sioux Falls, https://siouxlandmuseums.catalogaccess.com/photos/95119.
