By Elizabeth Sargeant
Toronto, Ontario — June 20, 2019 – When Tony Baumann initially saw the location he would someday open his garage in, he didn’t see the potential. That was until his brother Tyler informed him on the deep history of the 1930’s appraisal firm that made Baumann wanna buy the place and open shop. The Mankato-based building was once initially built to be a gas station, and some of the original material is still there.
“I drove by it so much without even noticing it,” Tony Baumann told Mankato FreePress earlier this month.
Wanting to maintain the 30’s theme, the brothers have kept the same logo, design and display historic memorabilia inside. They have even gone so far as to using original hoists from the station, that according to them, work perfectly fine.
“We’re getting it functioning again,” said Tony. “It dates back to 1932. It works really good for SUVs.”
The shop has not only brought in a lot of attention from potential customers but also the local community, some who were once related to former owners of the gas station and have shared their own stories about their connection to the shop.
Tony reported that, “after a long summer day spent clearing out old boxes and furniture, a neighbor stopped by for a visit. It turns out his grandfather ran the Texaco station at that location back in the 1930’s, and he had some old photos and memorabilia from back then to share.”
The Baumann brothers have also been gaining a lot of attention by displaying vintage gas pumps and three original auto bays from the station. Their dedication to maintaining some historic preservation has even stretched to the new name of the garage; The Old Town Garage.
“To keep the Old Town feel of the building, we went through a lot of work just to keep it as original or close to what it was,” stated Tyler Baumann earlier this month. “There were probably a couple hundred hours just in the office here fixing windows and doors.”
The Old Town Garage is now open and operating from. For more information on Old Town Garage or the history of the site, contact the Baumann brothers at (507) 514-7343
