Completed circa 1891, the earliest known use of this building was as a furniture store owned by Alexander Thomas, of Charleston, and Thomas Maxwell. Originally from North Carolina, Maxwell elected to settle in Augusta and try his hand in furniture – an endeavor that ultimately made Maxwell a wealthy man, and led to directorships at two banks as a celebrated local businessman. Over subsequent years, the first floor served as various clothing stores and grocers; a delicatessen, millinery, loan office, barber shop, and shoe store, with residential space above. It was Abraham Garten and his business, however, which proved to be the longest running tenants, formally opening Garten\”s Men\’s Shop in 1928. Two years later, Mr. Garten was listed as residing in the apartment upstairs, where he remained with is wife, Rose, until 1955. His store operated until 1971. Thereafter, both the apartment and retail space were variously inhabited and vacated, though never with the same longevity as Mr. Garten and his Men\’s Shop.