George Buzza founded his company in Minneapolis in 1907. The early products included college advertising posters, greeting cards, books and later framed mottos. Buzza was considered to be a pioneer in his use of color and the variety of papers used in the greeting cards. In 1917 the company turned a corner with sales of $75,000, which greatly increased to $2,500,000 in 1927. The following year the company merged with the Charles S. Clark Company and in 1928 George Buzza retired.The Buzza Company was one of the best known producers of the framed lithographs known as gift mottos. Buzza knew that sentiment sold and no sentiments were spared with syrupy verses and pretty pictures for mothers and sweethearts. Other motifs include patriotic and religion writings and illustrations.
Today these framed mottos can be usually found in the $20. – $40. range, with other excellent examples going for as much as $125. Buzza closed in 1942 when stockholders liquidated the company. Minneapolis Public Schools acquired the property at 1006 Lake St. W. in 1971, but n the wake of plans to build a new administrative headquarters over North, the district put 139,222-square-foot building for sale last year without a price. Plymouth-based Dominium Development appears to have won the bidding war for the Lehmann Center, an iconic south Minneapolis building owned by Minneapolis Public Schools. The school district drew 10 offers for the site, historically known as the Buzza Building. On Dec. 14, the Minneapolis Board of Education voted to authorize its staff to negotiate to sell the building to Dominium. The company is planning a $30 million conversion project calling for approximately 120 units of affordable or “workforce” rental housing.
