Demolition

45°f/7.2°C this morning, chilly after last night's rain. Clear and sunny all day, low of 39 expected tonight. Brrr. Heat's on, again.

When I went to get my pedicure Tuesday,  we were surprised by this sight:

Formerly, this large old building, known as the Macintosh Building or "the old hardware building", stood here.

But now it is gone, reduced to rubble. 

No one can argue the fact that the building was in sad shape. It had been empty for years. The roof leaked,and then a few months ago a big truck struck the corner you see covered in plywood, above. The damage was more extensive than you might think, literally knocking that corner off its sandstone foundation. The owner had started restoration, I think, but that was the last blow. Since the building was in the historic district, it probably took approval by the state to get a demo license, but apparently even the state agreed that repair was prohibitively expensive. So down she went.

This is the front, a photo taken before later restoration efforts.

Look at the pediment. I wonder if it at least was saved?

The above 3 images are all from the web. It was surprisingly hard to find any pictures at all of this building, or maybe I just wasn't using the right search terms. The first one is from a real estate ad, listing the property at $375,000 for .68 acres. Considering that it is right in the center of town, I guess that's reasonable, but I wonder how the removal of the building will affect the price? Will the land be more or less valuable now?

I watched the demolition from the beauty shop, and it hurt, I have to admit, to see beautiful woodwork, old six-panel doors and even a cut stone fireplace fall to the rubble heap. Seemed such a waste! Larry is still talking about the bricks, hundreds of them, all solid bricks and not like today's bricks with holes in the center. These old soft red bricks are ideal for walks, walls, and other projects, but it doesn't look like they will be saved.

Here you can see the fireplace, just to the right and above center. There probably was at least one more, as this was on the second floor, so there undoubtedly was one below it.

And just like that, it was gone.

So much history, so many stories, lost in that pile. Think of all the craftsmen who put it together--the stone masons and bricklayers, carpenters, plumbers, electricians,  plasterers...all working in a time before the convenience of modern tools.

Then there were all the people who shopped here: farmers, riverboat workers, even housewives. In the beginning, there would have been horse harness for draft horses, parts for buggies, butter churns and washboard. As the years passed washing machines and power tools stocked the shelves. The advent of Walmart, Home Depot, and the like probably spelled the end of the old smalltown hardware store.

What will replace the old store? No one seems to know, although a few have said it might be a parking lot. If that's true, it will be sad indeed. And a commentary on our times?

Covid Journal, Day 313: Back to the Booth

A chilly 31 this morning, and then glory of glories, the sun came out. The ground is soggy, the creeks are bank-high, but today it was sunshine and just a few clouds. 

Today was grocery-shopping day, and we picked up our hams and bacons from the slaughterhouse where they were smoked and cured. I can't wait to taste them, but that treat will have to wait until tomorrow. We are well stocked up for sure now--I even bought two more turkeys to can because at 49 cents a pound they're really a bargain. So we have all the venison, pork and poultry we need for this year. That's a good feeling. My new greenhouse came and so did the seeds so the cycle will soon begin again.

I don't think I've posted photos from our Ravenswood booth recently so I'd better catch up. We've sold several more furniture pieces, so we've had to be on our toes bringing in new things.

A little Valentine's Day decor to start with. The little red chair was perfect for Christmas and now doing double duty for the next holiday.

This was a serendipitous thing--I had set this table with the King's Crown dishes, when  what should come in my mail but the newest All About Glass magazine--with King's Crown on the cover.

This cupboard is a new addition to the booth too. It's perfect for crocks, very rustic look.

Cats in ceramic--from an auction lot that also brought is the hanging light.

A bowl full of vintage buttons. If they don't sell in the next month or so I'll bring them home to list on eBay. There are some really pretty ones in there.

A keys hanger, a metal wall hanging rack for dish towels or for drying herbs, and a wheel that I think might be off a teacart or the like.

Vintage military backpack and other military clothes. These sell well from time to time but we seem to be in a lull at the moment.

Acrazy quilt that I bought on eBay for myself, but realized that it was too fragile for this house.

The last Sellers cabinet that Larry refurbished. It really looks great. These take a while to sell, but make good display units in the meantime.

Lots and lots of pocketknives from the last auction. These aren't the best, but at 12.00 each they should sell. We still have more whenever these sell down.

And more smalls, the bread-and-butter of booths.

A closer look at the crock cupboard.

And that's it. We'll be at our Marietta booth later this week but don't have any big changes planned there.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Covid Journal, Day 261: Ravenswood Booth Update

29 this morning, gray and drear. Perfect winter weather, except there's no snow.

We made our usual Friday trip to our booths in Ravenswood, and brought in more new things. Did some re-arranging too, to get it all in. 

This is the dinette set we drove to Ohio to pick up. It's in such good condition---the guy who owned it kept it polished monthly, and re-covered the chairs himself about 13 years ago. It's already pending pickup.

My own tree isn't decorated yet, but at least my booth tree is. 

Ruby prisms--maybe I should hang these on the tree?

Toys for men and boys. Might be some for girls too.

This is a talking cooking jar. The Cookie Cop says "step away from the cookie jar."

The latest Hoosier we re-did. This one has a wood top instead of the traditional porcelain one.

I have another of these teapots that I kept for myself, and it's my daily teapot right now.

The ever-popular Pyrex. It's harder and harder to find these days, at least for a reasonable price.

Don't you love the sparkle of these King's Crown teacups and saucers? 

All the ornaments on the tree are mercury glass. 

Quilts and afghans are slow sellers--people seem to want to find quilts under 50 dollars that are in pristine condition. And as you know, that's an almost impossible goal. 

I have such a weakness for pretty teacups. Anyone else suffer from this addiction? My mother preferred only English teacups, although she did have a few lithopane Japanese and some antique Chinese ones. I am not as particular, but they must be pretty, that's the one rule for me.

We will have to get to our Marietta booth this week. We've been putting it off and it's been a month. So that's next. I'm already at work on another table and chairs to replace the dinette set. 

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.