In 1913, Ed Bolever and his partner Ira Brown acquired 113 sagebrush acres on the Flat and set about to make a neighborhood of trees and gardens, which they advertised as a “transplanted California.” They named this newly platted addition Floral Park and its primary street Floral Boulevard.
While the early homes in the neighborhood were primarily bungalows, in 1916 Ed and Susan Bolever built the house at 2735 Floral Boulevard to be a showpiece of the community. Supposedly designed from patterns of the chalets in the cantons of Switzerland, the home was called the “Swiss chalet,” and was built at a cost of $6500. Native stonework was a key feature of the home; note the porch columns, the massive chimney, and the entrance to the lawn.
By 1918, the Bolevers had sold their new home to C.H. “Chaz” Mayo, owner of the Story Flour and Fuel business. The Mayos raised their 3 children here. After the death of Mayo in 1937, the home was owned by Dr, Donald Hale and his family until 1942, when Hale quit his practice in Butte to serve as a Navy doctor in World War II.
In 1942, Carl Shiner purchased the home. Carl was the son of immigrant Samuel Shiner, who founded Shiner’s Furniture in 1911. Carl and his brother Julius became owners of the business after their father’s death in 1925 when Carl was just out of high school. Located on East Park Street, Shiner’s Furniture was at one time the largest furniture business between the Twin Cities and Spokane. Carl and his wife Pearl had two sons who were raised in this home. The store closed its doors in 1981 after 70 years in business. Pearl Shiner passed away in 1984, and Carl in 1996, having lived in this house for over 50 years.
