If you read last week’s paper, you hopefully saw that Main Street has partnered with the city to create a new grant program, which I am elated about, even though that feels like an understatement. Since the email notification went out last week, I have had a dozen conversations with property and business owners serious about applying. It will take some time, but historic preservation is about the long game, and I cannot wait to share before and after photos.
The article last week also made mention of the city’s historic preservation commission. There are 17 bullet points breaking down the powers and responsibilities of the commission. The one word, though, that best sums it up is preservation.
In all my time in Monroe, I have only ever seen a couple of photos that made me question that we live in one of the best places when it comes to preservation. At one point, Monroe was small enough that what is now Spring Square was home to all the municipality buildings needed. Another photo that sticks with me is of the buildings that were on the northeast corner where the pocket park is. And that is pretty much it. Yes, there have been fires and new construction, but, largely, the buildings still exist as they always have.
Rather fortuitously, when a group of us met at Suisse Haus recently, our conversation landed and gathered steam as memories were relived and recollections were tested. We were originally supposed to meet somewhere else, but the key would not work, so Suisse Haus was calling.
Someone I was with positively noted the few examples of buildings that were “modernized” in the 50’s, 60’s, even 70’s because they looked “old.” As she shared her appreciation for that perspective and the work done, I couldn’t help but think of the metal overhang that long dominated the White Block Building and the conversations that must have happened when deciding to add it.
When someone else we were with began conflating the Ludlow Hotel with the place he went to happy hour with his dad in the 1980’s, the conversation really picked up. And when a stranger joined the conversation from another table, it went into another gear. There was talk of various businesses: Klassy Ladies, Baker’s Bookshop, which was possibly on the southwest corner where the Star Nails now is, Martha Bernet’s shop, Huffman’s Dry Cleaning, Zesto, Styleshop, Miladies, Etter’s Dry Goods, and so on. Many are familiar to me only in name; some not even that.
I know that Etters is now the home of Busy Bee Floral, and that the original counter was returned to that building once Busy Bee opened. As the conversation continued, I learned that there was once a boarding house where the pocket park is located. Marquee signage ran vertically near Etters…possibly where El Mazatlan is now.
I am hesitant to write more specifics, because even though I was taking notes, I am not sure I trust them. What I am certain about is that the memories that were shared were palpable and electric. I know that for many the Local Joint space on the northeast corner, across from the pocket park, is not just Paul’s Menswear, but Schuetze’s, where many boy scout uniforms were picked up in the basement and a dentist office was upstairs. Similarly, before 213 Mercantile moved in on the south side and Das Baumhaus was for 38 years, there was a hardware store where many remember heading up the stairs to the toys on the second floor.
They are not my memories, but I do feel a responsibility. That is what preservation really is: making sure that today’s stops become lifelong memories and continued shared stories.
— Jordan Nordby is the executive director for Main Street Monroe. He can be reached at MonroeMainStreet@tds.net. Complete details on Main Street Monroe and its efforts can be found at mainstreetmonroe.org.
