Published: September 12, 2008 02:50 am         

Lots of building rehabilitation, construction in Palestine

Main Street Matters

There are a lot of exciting things happening in Palestine's Main Street and surrounding historic neighborhoods. The Paramount Cleaners building on the north side of the square is nearing completion and should be ready for occupancy by mid-September. The Murphy Building on the corner of North Church ad East Lacy will begin rehabilitation within the next sixty days and the rehabilitation of 115 West Spring Street began in early August.

The Henry Ash building at 115 West Spring Street is the first building to begin construction of the 6 buildings that Texas Main Street Program architects and staff provided renderings of the buildings to the owners to illustrate what the buildings will look kike once they have been rehabilitated. A historic photograph shows that the building's parapet with the original owner's name, Henry Ash, on it. Mr. Henry Ash and his brother, Michael, were merchants in Palestine. Michael Ash built the famous Bowers Mansion on South Magnolia Street. The brothers built three commercial buildings on Spring Street and all but one of the extant houses in the 200 block of South Magnolia Street.

On Aug. 6, Members of the Main Street Advisory Board, the Historic Landmarks Commission, the Planning and Zoning Commission the Mayor, the City Manager, and the Main Street Manager all toured the Palestine Main Street as well as the surrounding historic neighborhoods and discussed the existing conditions and future pans for the area with Scott Polikov of Gateway Planning Group, Inc. Mr. Polikov's assessment of Palestine was very encouraging as he observed that Palestine is well on its way and has a head start on the proper planning and management of its existing historic resources and its plans for the area. He was very encouraged and pleased to see all of the rehabilitation and revitalization in the Main Street area and the surrounding neighborhoods. Mr. Polikov's mantra is a city cannot be successful without a strong and vibrant downtown center core.

On Aug. 7, the Main Street Advisory Board held a cooperative meeting at the Redlands Bistro for all the property owners, businesses, media, and anyone interested in the development of a Merry, Merry Christmas season in Main Street Palestine. Main Street Palestine, Palestine Chamber of Commerce and Palestine Convention Bureau are sponsoring the 2008 Main Street Christmas Season. The theme is “All Rails Lead to Main Street Palestine” to encourage travelers, patrons of the Texas State Railroad, and local citizens to visit and patronize Palestine Main Street and its businesses. Beginning in late September with the Fall Fest, all businesses will start decorating with fall decorations and hay bales on the street corners. In mid-November, Christmas decorating will begin. There will be such activities as a petting zoo. There will also be Christmas lights and decorations on all of the buildings in the Main Street area, all Main Street lampposts, a Santa's Village where Santa has a throne where children can visit him, the annual Christmas Parade, and many other activities are planned throughout the Christmas season.

On August 25th, Palestine received national television coverage when HGTV aired the segment of “If Walls Could Talk” featuring Mayor Dr. Carolyn Salter's 1899 Queen Anne home, The Colley House. The home features Bradbury and Bradbury wall coverings and is historically correct in every detail including its furnishings, décor, interior and exterior colors, and color placement. The segment can be seen on HGTV's website, http://www.hgtv.com.

Grand Openings were held for two new businesses in Main Street were recently held for Adventure Advertising and Avon. Both of the businesses are located in historic commercial buildings that have entrances on Main Street. Historic photographs will enable the owners to restore the buildings to their original appearance. The Adventure Advertising building was built around 1899 and the Avon business is located in a building that started out as a one-story brick building built prior to June 1885 and was expanded to a two-story brick building prior to May 1891. It was the John R. Hearne building.

The September “Your Old House…or Building” program and workshop will be held at the Palestine Public Library on Thursday, September 25th will be entitled, “How Do I Get A Historical Marker?” Peggy Riddle, Architectural Historian and Historic Preservation Consultant with Cornerstone Heritage Preservation Services and Neely Plumb, Palestine Historic Preservation Officer and Main Street Manager will present the program, which will explain the types of historical markers, the criteria for obtaining historical markers, and the costs involved.

Also on Sept. 25, the new “Texas Big Blue Star” will be having its grand opening and ribbon cutting at 10 O'clock AM at 108 West Oak Street in the historic in the K-Wolen's building. The Texas Big Blue Star is a family Sports Bar that has been in the process of rehabilitating the interior of the building for nearly a year and features big screen televisions and other activities for avid sports enthusiasts. It will be a wonderful place for families and groups to gather and watch their favorite sports while enjoying the relaxing atmosphere. The Texas Big Blue Star offers private club memberships as well.

Don't miss another great Historic Preservation Workshop that will be held on Saturday, Sept. 27. The workshop will have three 50 minute sessions on historic landscaping for both residential and commercial properties, on historic paint colors and proper color placement for the styles of local historic houses and buildings, and on restoration and replication of historic architectural elements using salvaged historic materials and woodworking techniques. Landscape architect Anne Solsbery, Preservation Consultant Peggy Riddle, and Wood Craftsman and Restoration Specialist Paul Priestner will be conducting the workshop at the Palestine Public Library from 9 AM until 3 PM.

The monthly Chamber Mixer will be held on October 14th at the newly rehabilitated 1914 Redlands Building. The Redlands was Palestine's first downtown building to be rehabilitated, which was in 1977. It has just undergone a name change to the Redlands Historic Inn. The exterior facelift of the Redlands Historic Inn has just been completed thanks to the Palestine Economic Development Corporation's Façade Improvement Program Grant and the entire interior is being completely updated for extended stay apartments to accommodate corporate guests who will be in Palestine for an extended period of time. There will also be overnight lodging in the newly rehabilitated guest accommodations.

Remember, if you have missed any of the previous “Your Old House…or Building” programs, you can check out a video of the program from the Palestine Public Library. For more information, questions, assistance with your project, or to comment about any of these subjects, please contact me, Neely Plumb, at 903-731-8442, 903-724-3052, or via E-mail at nplumb@palestine-tx.org

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Neely Plumb is the City of Palestine's Main Street Manager and Historic Preservation Officer.

     

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