Upstairs Downtown: Century-old building is step back in time
Second floor now used for storage
Staff reporter
The outward appearance of downtown buildings only reveals to the world a retail or service business.
What hidden mysteries and treasures are there above the main retail areas — on the second floors of these historic buildings?
Some are finished areas that have become living spaces, meeting rooms, and even a dance studio. Many of the areas still have detailed wood trim and classic wall and floor coverings, reminiscent of a forgotten era.
It's like a walk through history where one can almost hear the comings and goings of apartment dwellers and business professionals.
A series of stories is planned to reveal the uses of the upper levels of some of these buildings that include those that are finished, those in transition, and some of the dreams property owners have for their buildings.
The series begins with the Marion County Record building.
The newspaper was established in 1870 and has been located in the same building at 117 S. Third Street for more than 100 years.
While the 6,500 square foot main floor was utilized by the newspaper business, the second floor was home to various business people that included John Riddle and abstractors Hannaford and Gardner.
The abstracting business moved to its current Main Street location in 1970.
Through the front entrance of the building, a long flight of stairs still remains with spindle railing at the top of the stairs.
When the second floor is reached, a long hallway with numerous separate entries remain intact, flaunting ornate oak molding and doors.
A couple of rooms were used as darkrooms by newspaper personnel for processing 35mm photographs. Today's digital world has made darkroom space and equipment obsolete.
Currently, this dormant area is used by the Record for storage. At this time, there are no plans to renovate the area.
The exterior of the building was renovated in the 1980s and continues to be historically preserved.
