Completed c. 1884, an advertisement in the Augusta Chronicle that year announced the availability of a \”very desirable new brick store for rent\” at 1106 Broad Street. Several months thereafter the building was opened as the shoe department of the popular Broad Street dry goods merchants, B.F. Kohler, and served as such until a sheriff\’s sale in 1889. Although the building subsequently housed numerous commercial and public functions, including a doctor\’s office, fruit store, lunch counter, and auto supply store, its most oft-repeated function remained in line with its initial use: general merchandise. In addition to B.F. Kohler, the building also housed Schneider\’s department store… twice. A sale advertisement places Schneider\’s at this location in 19o3 and, although the store had relocated by 1906, the building must have served the business well as the company returned to the space in 1934, after Montgomery Ward vacated. The building also offered residential space on the upper floors, including at least one eight room unit. A certified rehabilitation effort completed in 2011 has returned the building to its historic mixed use, including two commercial spaces and nine residential units. The current owner, followed the Secretary of the Interior\’s Standards for Rehabilitation in bringing this building back to life. The Emporium Building received a Preservation Award from Historic Augusta in 2011 and was awarded an Excellence in Rehabilitation Award from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation in 2012.