You’ll Never Believe What’s Hiding in a Closet in This Borger Boutique

Recently we introduced you to a cute and cozy boutique in Borger, Neumann & Company.

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This is a very creative and fun boutique that also has a rich history. With a stylish and artistic store up front and a coffee shop in the back, Neumann & Co. is a wonderful place to go in downtown Borger.

But you'll never guess what's hiding behind one of the boutique's closet doors: an escalator.

And not just an escalator, it's (unofficially) the oldest escalator in Texas.

It's not a functioning escalator because it's a very old escalator. But it's definitely an old escalator that you'd never notice until someone opens up the closet door to show you.

Why Is There An Escalator?

The store itself was built in 1926. In 1935, it was purchased by C.R. Anthony and became a department store for clothing. The total square foot of the building is 6,000 sq. feet on the main floor, 6,000 sq. feet in the basement, and 3,000 sq. feet upstairs. Talk about roomy.

Is It Really the First Escalator in Texas?

Officially? No. A quick search shows that the official honor belongs to a Sears store in Houston, with 1939 listed as its date of installation.

However, the C.R. Anthony department store was purchased in 1935 and the grand opening day is associated with an unconfirmed and memorable event that could help cement its status as "first" in the history books.

Oh no, What Happened?

As you can see, this escalator is a very narrow escalator. As the story goes, during the grand opening of C.R. Anthony's department store, a very large person was riding the escalator up to the second floor and got stuck. The fire department had to be called. In order to extricate the person from the escalator, the firemen had to use large amounts of grease.

Can you imagine the embarrassment this poor person experienced?  They probably didn't show their face in public for months. I mean...we're still talking about it more than 80 years later.

Even though this escalator isn't open to the public, it is a very interesting piece of history that we are happy to share with you.