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PITTSBURG —
It may be a long time before any business owners decide to set up shop in Pittsburg’s National Bank Building, but volunteers say they can see the future and are doing what they can to spruce up the building’s shops and make them occupiable.
Volunteer Kate Price has logged at least 50 hours of work scraping the faded and cracking paint from the facades of the building’s abandoned Fourth Street shops. She’s replacing it with paint donated by Sherwin-Williams and with the aid of a lift donated by Volvo Rents.
“It’s the first thing (of downtown Pittsburg) people see when they come into town,” Price said. “We thought if we just gave it some curb appeal it would make a big difference.”
There’s still a long way to go before the shops are ready for occupancy. The dilapidated paneling and dropped ceilings from the 1970s need to be gutted, and the original ceilings, some of which are elaborately molded, need to be restored. Some of the shops also have been broken into and lived in by the homeless. Price even discovered marble floors underneath the rotting linoleum floor tiles in what used to be Anthony Stevens Floral.
When the exterior has been scraped and primed, artist Sue Robinson, who painted the mural on the side of the Colonial Fox Theater, will paint 3-D awnings onto the front.
“It’s amazing how things have changed,” said Sarah Jensen, a spokesperson for the foundation. “Eight thousand vehicles pass by it every day, and I think it’s going to make a big difference.”
The building was acquired by the Colonial Fox Theatre Foundation in November of last year for $85,000, which was paid entirely by donations from the Mitchelson and Menghini families, WATCO, the Webb family and an anonymous donor. Mid America Roofing will donate roof repairs to prevent further damage, and an anonymous donor has pledged to pay for future property taxes and insurance.
The building was built in the 1880s and was home to the National Bank of Pittsburg, now Bank of America, N.A., until the bank moved to its present location in 1965. The building’s tenants then organized Pittsburg Enterprises, Inc. and purchased the building from the Bank. The building had fallen into disrepair and “was a pinstroke away” from being demolished, said Vonnie Corsini, executive director of the Colonial Fox Theatre Foundation.
“We’re just making it presentable,” Jensen said. “We don’t have the money to invest in it, but we have volunteers. The businesses that are adjacent have told us they really appreciate it.”
For more information about donating or volunteering, contact Jensen at the Colonial Fox Theatre Foundation at (620)235-0622.
It may be a long time before any business owners decide to set up shop in Pittsburg’s National Bank Building, but volunteers say they can see the future and are doing what they can to spruce up the building’s shops and make them occupiable.
Volunteer Kate Price has logged at least 50 hours of work scraping the faded and cracking paint from the facades of the building’s abandoned Fourth Street shops. She’s replacing it with paint donated by Sherwin-Williams and with the aid of a lift donated by Volvo Rents.
“It’s the first thing (of downtown Pittsburg) people see when they come into town,” Price said. “We thought if we just gave it some curb appeal it would make a big difference.”
There’s still a long way to go before the shops are ready for occupancy. The dilapidated paneling and dropped ceilings from the 1970s need to be gutted, and the original ceilings, some of which are elaborately molded, need to be restored. Some of the shops also have been broken into and lived in by the homeless. Price even discovered marble floors underneath the rotting linoleum floor tiles in what used to be Anthony Stevens Floral.
When the exterior has been scraped and primed, artist Sue Robinson, who painted the mural on the side of the Colonial Fox Theater, will paint 3-D awnings onto the front.
“It’s amazing how things have changed,” said Sarah Jensen, a spokesperson for the foundation. “Eight thousand vehicles pass by it every day, and I think it’s going to make a big difference.”
The building was acquired by the Colonial Fox Theatre Foundation in November of last year for $85,000, which was paid entirely by donations from the Mitchelson and Menghini families, WATCO, the Webb family and an anonymous donor. Mid America Roofing will donate roof repairs to prevent further damage, and an anonymous donor has pledged to pay for future property taxes and insurance.
The building was built in the 1880s and was home to the National Bank of Pittsburg, now Bank of America, N.A., until the bank moved to its present location in 1965. The building’s tenants then organized Pittsburg Enterprises, Inc. and purchased the building from the Bank. The building had fallen into disrepair and “was a pinstroke away” from being demolished, said Vonnie Corsini, executive director of the Colonial Fox Theatre Foundation.
“We’re just making it presentable,” Jensen said. “We don’t have the money to invest in it, but we have volunteers. The businesses that are adjacent have told us they really appreciate it.”
For more information about donating or volunteering, contact Jensen at the Colonial Fox Theatre Foundation at (620)235-0622.
