Vintage tin cans brighten up the shelves of the street-front retail space at 172 Spruce Street. With original built-in shelves, original counters, and large, hand-blown glass display windows, the commercial spaces at the Milkint Building are perfect for any business. Open the store you’ve always dreamed of in this space!
Our next restoration project...
In the middle of the floor of the street-front retail space of our building sits a beautiful cast iron potbelly stove from 1901. We'd love to restore it one day. For now, it serves as the perfect place for candles. Photo courtesy of @bigplanetsmallworld
Happy Spring!
Wild daffodils and coltsfoot picked by our son on top of an old door we found in the building during renovations.
A beautiful, original safe
In a corner of the street-front retail space of our building sits a safe with the name of the original store owners, Milkint Bros., painted across the top. We don't know how old the safe is, but we know that the two Milkint brothers ran a general store in this space from 1905 onward. One of our contractors spent a whole weekend cracking the combination lock. There was no treasure inside, but now we have a working safe.
Rent this space!
We've started to rent out the street-front retail space of our building for events. So far, the space has hosted a 50th birthday party, a magic performance for 30 kids, and a sit-down dinner for 16 people. Planning a party? A rehearsal dinner? A wine tasting? Rent our space! Photo courtesy of @bigplanetsmallworld
Beauty in decay
When we started renovating our building the roof had caved in on one side of the building. We were able to save and restore about 40 percent of the original lath and plaster walls (on the side where the roof hadn't collapsed), but many walls were too damaged by water and mold to be saved. It's a shame, because they were beautiful, even in in their disintegrating state. Here, fragments of paint and crumbling wallpaper hint at what was once there.
A good omen
Shortly after we bought our building we found this whiskey bottle on the ground floor of the building. Since my last name is Jones, it seemed like a good omen.
With room for two
All showers in all bathrooms are tiled with all-new, white subway tile. Two bathrooms are ADA accessible and two bathrooms have the added perk of two showerheads :)
Room with a view
We’ve installed new, energy-efficient windows in each apartment. The windows have a historic profile, and look very similar to the original windows. In addition to complying with requirements for historic preservation and energy conservation, they look beautiful.
Saving the old lights
What do you do when the old wiring in your building can’t handle 120 volts? Our electrician had a brilliant suggestion: convert the power to 12 volts (the equivalent of car batteries) and get RV light bulbs. Thanks to his suggestion, we were able to save all the old lights in the retail area of our building. We’d like to preserve as many original features as possible, and we’re happy when we find ways to do so.
