The Guitar Building – Our Historic Start
Columbia Tribune 8.29.10
J.H. and E.H. Guitar began construction of The Guitar Building at 28 N. Eighth St. in July 1910. To complete the building, the contractor needed steel, which was not available locally. One of the brothers traveled to Philadelphia to purchase the steel, which was shipped to Columbia, Missouri. The building was finished June 11, 1911.
In 1940, the main floor was occupied by Conley-Meyers Insurance and Real Estate Agency, Gaylord-Rhodes Insurance Agency, George Sapp Business Office, Ercell Miller Life Insurance and Gem Drugstore. Kelly Press operated in the basement. The Guitar Building has enjoyed 99 years of continuous occupancy.
201 S. 8th St. 1948-1985
For nearly 40 years we were located on 8th Street, commonly known as the Avenue of the Columns, in downtown Columbia, Missouri. Connecting the University of Missouri to the Boone County Court House. Kelly Press was 1 block north of the Francis Quadrangle.
Sitting in the center of Francis Quad are the 6 ionic columns of the former Academic Hall, aligned with these, on the north, are the 4 iconic columns of the former Boone County Courthouse. The domed Jesse Hall and its Corinthian columns are also in the alignment.
The street is also home to the Tiger Hotel and our original location the Guitar Building. 201 S 8th is now home to D & M Sound. It’s in this location, Glenn Kelly grew his thriving business employing as many as 75 people at the height of the printing industries boom!
10 Hitt Street 1985-2005
Our 3rd stop on the US National Register 0f Historic Places in Missouri, landed our Company at 10 Hitt Street, one block South of Broadway in the former Coca-Cola Bottling Company Building.
The following is from the US National Register 0f Historic Places in Missouri “The Coca-Cola Bottling Company Building, also known as the Kelly Press Building, is a historic building located on Hitt Street in downtown Columbia. It was built in 1935, and is a 1 1/2-story, Colonial Revival style brick building with a side gable roof with three dormers. It has a long one-story rear ell. Today it houses Ragtag Cinema.”
As we have evolved from Hot Lead and Letterpress equipment, it was at the Hitt Street location where we purchased our Multi-Unit Color Presses, developed our Calendar Classics and Sports Traditions Product Lines and our Kelly Sports Properties Division was born.
4430 N. Interstate Drive 2005 – Present
In 2005 we outgrew our downtown facility and moved to an Industrial Park in north Columbia. We now have over 12,000 square feet of climate controlled production space and 3 loading docks. Our new, larger location provided greater opportunities as we moved towards digital print and wide format technology.
The expansion allowed us to meet the increasing demands of Kelly Press and Kelly Sports Properties. In 2005, we were the first commercial printing company to install a Kodak Nexpress. Digital printing drastically changed the print industry forever with the addition of on-demand print, variable data options, and shorter run capabilities. Today, we continue to be an industry leader always using new technology to benefit our Clients.
