SPEAKEASY??!!! I love this place! PLEASE READ!!!!! :)
So here's the deal: My parents own a building downtown, in fact the 2nd floor is half Dad's business, and half is my apartment. This building is friggin awesome! High ceilings and all that. The highlight of any tour given to those who haven't been here before. . is the 3RD floor.
Downtown is full of old historical buildings, and this one is no different. The 3rd floor stairs lead to a junction. Left is a small hall that goes past an old bathroom and into a medium sized room. The room has another small bathroom coming off of it, and a massive doorway. Right at the junction leads you into a smaller medium sized room, with an old iron heating stove and a horse hair bench. This room also has a massive doorway. Both of these doorways lead to a giant room. . . a ballroom.
This building was last used as a ballroom. The size and height of this room are just astounding. Long thick linked golden chains, old light fixtures, still hang from the ceiling. In fact, the glass globes that fit over the bulbs that would be at the end are up there too. . they're on the stage. There is a little stage, it's about two feet high, 6 feet long, and maybe 10-20 feet wide, enough for a band to play.
Yeah, it was last a ballroom, but from things I've picked up here and there, it was once a speakeasy (there's still a little latching window up on one of the doors in the front rooms), a newspaper, a tailoring shop ( there are still paper patterns on the wall). . . it's just beautiful. When I was younger, I started peeling some of the brown wallpapering and found that on the plaster underneath. . THERE ARE SIGNATURES!!! THEY'RE ALL IN THAT BEAUTIFUL, FLASHY, DELICATE STYLE. SOME OF THEM ARE DATED AND THE EARLIEST I'VE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE OUT SAYS 1886!!!!
so here's the crappy part. All of this wonderful stuff, the signatures, the floor itself, is slowly dying. When the restaurant leased one of the spaces below us, they had to put up a vent to the roof. The FIRST time the company did that, they fucked it up. . big time. . There's unbelieveable amounts of water damage to the ceiling now. The ceiling is beginning to bubble down. It's not a danger, but it IS going to get worse, because now the roof leaks. There has never been any electricity, heat, or plumbing on the 3rd floor since we've owned this building (11yrs), and it looks like it may have been longer than that. Something this beautiful does not deserve to serve as storage for empty boxes and a weight machine, all of it just gathering dust. The roof damage is now something that we will eventually have to address, as it worsens it WILL eventually become a large problem.
Anyone who has ever been up to the 3rd floor has said the same thing, "woah, we really need to fix this up! This could be a great place to have concerts/skate/parties/rent as apartment(s)/hang out!" I sooo agree. I especially want to see those irreplaceable signatures preserved. The only problem is. . . we don't have the money to fix any of it. . not even the roof (which is something that is needed for the whole building, not just for the renovation of the 3rd floor).
My friend Daniel knows a lot of people. . roofers, drywallers, insulators, plumbers. I know some electricians and my Dad is an engineer. All of this CAN BE DONE. I'm trying to get a hold of the Historical Society to see if they can finance all/some of this renovation.
Here's where you come in. If you guys can help in ANY WAY ( labor, know some one who knows some one, are you a builder, an electrician, do you have info on how I can try and get this financed, wanna send a donation? whatever) let me know! Hell, if you just wanna see it, lemme know! It will take your breath away. You will fall in love with the 3rd floor, like everyone has. You'll see why it deserves to be more than it is.
Downtown is full of old historical buildings, and this one is no different. The 3rd floor stairs lead to a junction. Left is a small hall that goes past an old bathroom and into a medium sized room. The room has another small bathroom coming off of it, and a massive doorway. Right at the junction leads you into a smaller medium sized room, with an old iron heating stove and a horse hair bench. This room also has a massive doorway. Both of these doorways lead to a giant room. . . a ballroom.
This building was last used as a ballroom. The size and height of this room are just astounding. Long thick linked golden chains, old light fixtures, still hang from the ceiling. In fact, the glass globes that fit over the bulbs that would be at the end are up there too. . they're on the stage. There is a little stage, it's about two feet high, 6 feet long, and maybe 10-20 feet wide, enough for a band to play.
Yeah, it was last a ballroom, but from things I've picked up here and there, it was once a speakeasy (there's still a little latching window up on one of the doors in the front rooms), a newspaper, a tailoring shop ( there are still paper patterns on the wall). . . it's just beautiful. When I was younger, I started peeling some of the brown wallpapering and found that on the plaster underneath. . THERE ARE SIGNATURES!!! THEY'RE ALL IN THAT BEAUTIFUL, FLASHY, DELICATE STYLE. SOME OF THEM ARE DATED AND THE EARLIEST I'VE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE OUT SAYS 1886!!!!
so here's the crappy part. All of this wonderful stuff, the signatures, the floor itself, is slowly dying. When the restaurant leased one of the spaces below us, they had to put up a vent to the roof. The FIRST time the company did that, they fucked it up. . big time. . There's unbelieveable amounts of water damage to the ceiling now. The ceiling is beginning to bubble down. It's not a danger, but it IS going to get worse, because now the roof leaks. There has never been any electricity, heat, or plumbing on the 3rd floor since we've owned this building (11yrs), and it looks like it may have been longer than that. Something this beautiful does not deserve to serve as storage for empty boxes and a weight machine, all of it just gathering dust. The roof damage is now something that we will eventually have to address, as it worsens it WILL eventually become a large problem.
Anyone who has ever been up to the 3rd floor has said the same thing, "woah, we really need to fix this up! This could be a great place to have concerts/skate/parties/rent as apartment(s)/hang out!" I sooo agree. I especially want to see those irreplaceable signatures preserved. The only problem is. . . we don't have the money to fix any of it. . not even the roof (which is something that is needed for the whole building, not just for the renovation of the 3rd floor).
My friend Daniel knows a lot of people. . roofers, drywallers, insulators, plumbers. I know some electricians and my Dad is an engineer. All of this CAN BE DONE. I'm trying to get a hold of the Historical Society to see if they can finance all/some of this renovation.
Here's where you come in. If you guys can help in ANY WAY ( labor, know some one who knows some one, are you a builder, an electrician, do you have info on how I can try and get this financed, wanna send a donation? whatever) let me know! Hell, if you just wanna see it, lemme know! It will take your breath away. You will fall in love with the 3rd floor, like everyone has. You'll see why it deserves to be more than it is.