We’ve been making progress upstairs, in the space opposite the office. A lot of the progress has been behind-the-scenes/under-the radar: We got all the ducts for the heating and air put in on that side, the elevator has been going in (in order for this space to be able to be used by the public at a later date, an elevator was necessary), the electric has been roughed in, as well as other less-visible but necessary repairs/installations.
First, here’s a little walk down memory lane.
Do you remember this space when we started? Man…it had seen better days.
Ack! It was a little like a bad dream. I remember back then, as Marlboro Man and I would walk around and explore, I would just feel daunted by it all. How could we ever get on top of all of this?
Many of the windows were boarded up. It was very sad and hopeless.
But slowly, it started coming back to life.
And eventually, all the old, crumbling plaster came off the brick walls. So much better!
And you may remember that one-by-one, all the windows were fixed.
Well, here’s where we are today! The ceiling has been fixed/shored up, the plaster on the beam and column has been redone, the floor has been patched and repaired…
And—my favorite part—the window trim is up!
Man, what a difference window trim makes.
Before. Yikes!
After! We used all the original trim we could possibly salvage, but some of it was beyond repair. 75% of the window trim is original; 25% is new.
And the red windows up top: For now, those are actually just sheets of red fiberglass behind the window frames until we decide what to do up there. Evidently, those original windows were red! I don’t know why, and I have to say, I don’t really like it because it looks like the den of Satan. Ha.
What do you guys think? Should they just be clear with some great light behind them? Stained glass? Or red like the original? We have some time to decide, but I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Meanwhile, downstairs in the mercantile space…this was back before we’d done too much.
And here it is now! The progress isn’t as noticeable…but definitely there: There are new stairs we put in last year, the new walls for the elevator and storage room, plaster off the brick, old tin ceilings removed and stripped/refinished, old entrance uncovered at the far end, etc.
This space will pick up over the next few months. I’m excited.
And do you remember when we uncovered the old column and reinstated the original entrance?
Well, slowly…
But surely…
We’re getting that whipped into shape!
Thanks for letting me share what’s been doing on! I’ll post another update soon.
Meantime, here’s a link to the entire Building Project Archive if you’d like to browse the mayhem.