DOWNTOWN
Interior designer Karen Kane opened her first kitchen, bed and bath store
near downtown in 1975, left for the former SearsTown and Orange
Blossom Mall and returned to downtown, at Avenue A and Second Street.
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Missing capitals were recast, pine heartwood beams
exposed, and dropped ceilings were removed. The building
reopened last year.
“I saw the original plans from the 1920s,’’ Gates said. “I
thought it would fit best with the downtown if I restored
it to the original.’’
With the newly done facades came new streetscapes, with
brick pavers, planters, and roundabouts. The improvements
included nearly a mile of public walkways along the downtown
waterfront. Slowly, businesses were enticed back to the
historic downtown.
“Once the government started making improvements in the
downtown, after they held a planning charette in 1995, things
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PHOTOS BY GREGORY ENNS
Old City Hall, built in 1925 and designed by William Hatcher, was
restored in 1995 to its former inner and outer beauty, kicking off the
rebirth of the historic downtown.
PHOTO BY ED DRONDOSKI
The intricate details of the frieze on the Raulerson Building, now owned by Richard Coke, are highlighted with red, as are details in the arches above the
windows.