Where are Meskers?

Map of sold storefronts on the back cover of an 1911 George L. Mesker & Co catalog.

Meskers are found in historic downtown commercial centers, on Main Streets all across America. The marketing materials indicated that they were intended predominantly for commercial structures; indeed erecting a new storefront or modernizing an older one were considered musts for any shopkeeper looking to attract and retain a clientele. Opera houses, banks and hotels are but few commonly encountered uses of Mesker facades throughout the nation. A significant number of facades were also purchased by various fraternal organizations—mostly the Freemasons and the Odd Fellows, but also Knights of Pythias and others. Occasionally, the products can be found in residential districts, typically in the form of iron fences and crestings, but also as window hoods or cornices. Later products such as windows or structural steel were used in a variety of building types including schools, offices, residential and industrial buildings. Since the materials were very adaptable to numerous uses, they can truly exist anywhere. Meskers can also be salvaged and found in locations and uses different from original.

The worldwide database in Google Earth contains all confirmed building locations as well as those advertised in catalogs; it is continually updated. Supplementing it are state-by-state listings of confirmed facades in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, downloadable below. Information categories should be self-explanatory but a brief identification key is as follows:

MB = Mesker Brothers Iron Works; GLM = George L. Mesker & Co; both = elements from MB and GLM; JBM = J.B. Mesker & Son; 1903i = catalog insert; 1905T = testimonials catalog

Confirmed worldwide total: 5,858 buildings in 2,451 towns (updated June 2, 2023)

State-by-state listings:

• Alabama – 58 buildings; 33 towns
• Alaska – 1 building
• Arizona – 45 buildings; 18 towns
• Arkansas – 120 buildings; 57 towns
• California – 26 buildings; 15 towns
• Colorado – 133 buildings; 50 towns
• Connecticut – 5 buildings; 4 towns
• Delaware – 3 buildings; 2 towns
• Florida – 45 buildings; 16 towns
• Georgia – 104 buildings; 57 towns
• Hawaii – 1 building
• Idaho – 22 buildings; 13 towns
• Illinois – 999 buildings; 351 towns
• Indiana – 673 buildings; 198 towns
• Iowa – 213 buildings; 106 towns
• Kansas – 226 buildings; 114 towns
• Kentucky – 322 buildings; 99 towns
• Louisiana – 45 buildings; 22 towns
• Maine – 12 buildings; 9 towns
• Maryland – 28 buildings; 18 towns
• Massachusetts – 10 buildings; 6 towns
• Michigan – 117 buildings; 55 towns
• Minnesota – 16 buildings; 13 towns
• Mississippi – 125 buildings; 52 towns
• Missouri – 480 buildings; 208 towns
• Montana – 47 buildings; 22 towns
• Nebraska – 64 buildings; 45 towns
• Nevada – 13 buildings; 5 towns
• New Hampshire – 6 buildings; 3 towns
• New Jersey – 6 buildings; 5 towns
• New Mexico – 114 buildings; 33 towns
• New York – 112 buildings; 71 towns
• North Carolina – 126 buildings; 52 towns
• North Dakota – 5 buildings; 5 towns
• Ohio – 153 buildings; 88 towns
• Oklahoma – 56 buildings; 38 towns
• Oregon – 27 buildings; 18 towns
• Pennsylvania – 151 buildings; 77 towns
• Rhode Island – 4 buildings; 4 towns
• South Carolina – 106 buildings; 49 towns
• South Dakota – 37 buildings; 27 towns
• Tennessee – 104 buildings; 54 towns
• Texas – 359 buildings; 115 towns
• Utah – 19 buildings; 13 towns
• Vermont – 5 buildings; 5 towns
• Virginia – 89 buildings; 36 towns
• Washington – 32 buildings; 16 towns
• Washington, D.C. – 2 buildings
• West Virginia – 102 buildings; 42 towns
• Wisconsin – 172 buildings; 83 towns
• Wyoming – 109 buildings; 21 towns

International:

• Canada – 8 buildings; 4 towns
• Mexico – 1 building