Built around 1910, this building first serviced Siloam Springs as a bakery and was constructed as a single-story brick masonry commercial structure resting on a stone foundation possessing one interior brick chimney.  Over the decades it has housed Blake Bakery, Gardner’s Bakery, and office spaces for the News Leader newspaper. 

The building has not suffered too many alterations over the years, but the brick masonry has unfortunately been painted, which is relatively irreversible. Most of the original features are intact today; most notably, the decorative brick corbelling along the parapet and the storefront’s large display and transom windows. It appears that the entrance has been altered and might have once been recessed. A hint to the original color of the brick masonry can be seen on the corbelling of 207 S. Broadway, where the yellow paint and plaster has eroded. Due to previous and continuous preservation efforts, this building is contributing on the National Register for the Siloam Springs Downtown District. 

For more information on this building’s history, contact the Siloam Springs Museum at Don@siloamspringsmuseum.com. For information on building improvement consultation, grants and tax credit opportunities, contact Main Street Siloam Springs at info@mainstreetsiloam.org. 

Building right of Swenson Nursery Co., d. 1926, Siloam Springs Museum. 

205. S Broadway, d. 2020, Main Street Siloam Springs.