The new owners of a historic downtown building plan to share the progress of their restoration work on a Facebook page named for the property’s address, “610 South Main.”
In the early stages of the work, Fred and Sharon Wilharm discovered the 1886 building’s original, decorative ceiling.
“Demolition isn’t the most exciting stage … but you get to see what’s underneath. In this case, original tin ceilings under the dropped ceilings installed in the (1990s) for an attorney’s office,” they wrote.
The Wilharms plan to take the building back to its original interior design with 14-foot-high ceilings on the first floor.
On the second floor, they found a neon Hotpoint sign that was on the building’s exterior in the 1950s, when the property was an appliance store. They also found a sign that reads, “CBS — Black-and-White and Color TV.”
The Wilharms bought the building at auction from attorney Lester Benny Guier on May 7. The property was transferred to them in early June, and one of their first improvements was installation of a new heating and air conditioning unit.
In an email to Hoptown Chronicle, Fred Wilharm said they created the Facebook page so people who are interested “can follow along.”
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
