City buildings’ history uncovered

For years, building owners have individually removed small pieces of the gray concrete canopy that lines Broadway. But this summer, city workers will be taking down the remaining 55 sections of the canopy and they have a deadline: Aug. 15.

All building owners who still have portions of the canopy have signed contracts to have it removed, said Carrie Gartner, Special Business District director. The project is costing building owners $127,950 altogether.

On Monday, the City Council will consider a request from the Special Business District for $23,400 to prepare the sidewalk so all utilities, street lights and traffic signals connected to the awnings can be replaced.

“If we get council approval, we can get the canopy down by the deadline,” Gartner said. “We are at the last moment where we can get it done on time.”

The canopy needs to be removed by Aug. 15 for the city’s application to name more than 100 buildings, including many on Broadway, a National Historic District. Gartner said if the city’s application is rejected, the city would have to repeat the application process, which requires documenting the history and architecture of every building in the application.

Assistant City Manager Paula Hopkins said every effort is going to be made to get the project done on time, but it depends on the council’s decision about the additional money.

“It’s going to be tight because this is a big project to remove 55 sections of the canopy, but we are working closely with them to make that deadline,” Hopkins said.

The Special Business District has already collected $81,600 and is waiting for the last building owner to receive money from a trust to pay a portion of canopy removal costs, chair John Ott said. He said convincing landowners to take down the canopy has gone extremely well.

“Whenever you are working with a large group of people it can be a lot of work,” Ott said. “Everyone is excited about the new and improved changes to the district.”

Gartner said she hopes the council will approve the request for money because a lot of people have contributed to removing the canopy.

“We have building owners, some of whom paid to put the canopy up, writing thousands of dollars in checks to take the canopy down,” Gartner said. “It is a huge public commitment for these owners because they do not have to take down the canopy. I think the city likes to see that the private sector is doing some work to make this happen.”

Robert Tucker, owner of Tucker’s Fine Jewelry, said the building’s previous owner David Bear was the first to take down the canopy in 1972. Tucker said Bear did so because he didn’t like how it blocked his store.

Tucker is excited to see the canopy removed because he thinks cloth awnings for each building serve the same purpose, but add more character and charm to downtown.

“By having individual awnings, each building has their own color scheme, and it allows you to change the look of your building whenever you want,” Tucker said. “Aesthetically, it makes the street appear wider and allows people to notice the architecture of the whole building as opposed to only the building under the concrete canopy.”