If you are at all familiar with my book or this website, you will know that the 2 1/2-story brick building that used to stand at the southwest corner of the main four is a fascination for me. A picture I came across of a portion of this building photographed around 1900 got me on the long road of research to find out why this building was torn down (or if it burned, as so many tragic fires have hits this downtown area). The 'then' shot shows the building in 1937, shortly before it was taken down and the 'now' picture shows the empty storefront at the corner that used to serve as a gas station, service station, and eventually where used cars were sold. I have wished many times the old building, completed in 1880 after the "Independence Hall" (Reason House) burned in 1878, still stood at this corner. Can you almost visualize how different the downtown would look with four corners of century-old buildings at the very center of town?
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