Historic Preservation Status Approved!

Just got word that our request for Historic Preservation Certification was approved by the Department of the Interior and National Park Service! Thanks to Holly over at Appleseed and Pam King for making that happen. 

Original Wavy Glass

The National Park Service, which oversees the Historic Renovation Tax Credit process, wants us to keep as many of the original windows as possible.  The downside is that they are not very energy efficient, and don't open.  The upside is that the glass is old and wavy and lots of fun.

Historic Storefront Pictures

I went to the library archives hoping to figure out which furniture company used the "Furniture Co." sign that I found in the coal chute. There were only two pictures available and neither shows that particular sign, so it remains a mystery. On the bright side I found two pictures to share. During the 1930s the Counts Bros. Building housed the Maxwell-Crow Furniture Company and the Counts Brothers Sewing Machine Company. Other than signage the building looks almost the same. The only structural difference is the entrance on the Maxwell side, which is now more narrow. In the Counts Bros. picture you can see the building on the west that is now Blair Furniture and Storkland. In the Maxwell picture you can see the building that originally stood to the east, which burned down and is now a parking lot.

When I purchased the building we found an old Counts Bros. sign in the upstairs storage area; I've included some pictures below.  Interestingly it is not the same sign that is in the historic picture. Counts Bros. was there for 20 years, so the sign must have either been repainted or replaced. I had hoped to be able to restore this sign and put it out front, but it is too damaged and fragile. Instead I am going to try to preserve as much as possible and hang it in my residence.

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