April 2012: Demolition Trip

Part I - the floor
Dark stained hardwoods were covered in four layers of composite, from 1920s-30s linoleum to thin plywood. 

Crow bars and muscle revealed a dozen+ staples per square foot that had to be pulled by hand.

Even the family got in to it (they're so nice!).

George Paddock

George Paddock was the name of the man who built the bank. He later absconded with townspeople's money...I'll have to get the details from the historic society while we're back. They're located next door - to the north - in a section that was added on some time before 1910.

This is how the building looked in 1910 with additions on both sides.

I bought a bank

We bought a bank. An old bank indeed. This particular bank sits on the main street of a small rural town called Prophetstown. Built in 1900 it sat vacant for several years before it came up for sale. The upstairs had been gutted and was open and airy with brick walls and big windows but the downstairs was decrepid. The wide base board and hard wood features had been painted multiple times and the floors were layered in plywood and linoleum. But the pressed tin ceiling was perfect and the character, though masked in pink painted walls was present and calling to us to save it.

My family lives in the area and has for over a hundred and fifty years. They settled there when the farm land was just a bog full of mosquitoes, waterfowl, and wolves. They dug ditches and canals and drained the land for farming. They established roads and cleared timber building houses and barns. They built the town and community, and now - with this purchase - we're going to try to step back in, to honor, preserve, and reinvest.

People there look at us with a funny expression when we say we don't have a plan to open a new business or move back to occupy the space (we live in Seattle). Eventually we'll get something going but for now, our focus is renovation.

Work Session #1 one is about to commence.
• bathroom demolition
• lathe and plaster removal
• four layers of linoleum excavation

Photos and updates ahead!