Many older buildings had retail on first and sometimes 2nd floor and the top floor was used by the Masons or other organizations for meetings and parties. Maybe even dances and showing movies. How can you guys afford to do all this?

I love - I mean L O V E - those windows that you showed on the upper floor of the last room. They're _gorgeous_ and I hope you can get them lit up again! That back wall of outside outlets for milk truck AC looks to me like an electric car charging business waiting to happen. I mean, maybe not profitable this year or next, but soon enough. Though whatever you manage to use it for would be great. I'm in the far opposite kind of place you are - I'm from Seattle, and while we're a boom and bust town historically, even our latest "bust" has been growth, just slower. But I love love LOVE the idea of small town and rural communities pulling together like this to put things back together. (And despite being Seattle, you get more than half an hour of town and the population falls off _fast_, and by fast I mean thanks to how hilly we are, I can see a farm from my _house_. It's several hills over and the last one standing where it is! But it's still there! And I can see it! :D ) Anyway, good luck, and I'll be looking forward to your future videos and work ^_^

18:40 bathroom light is MCM and worth a bit of money. Nice building! So glad you guys got it. It’s has real character.

the thing that feeds the coal is a stoker. I grew up with it in the 50's

Good luck to you and ignore the jerks in the comments. I read all of them from the Peake building video and was disappointed with some people’s need to say useless mean things. It would be great to know what you paid for the buildings and what you think reno will cost. I love that your goal is to improve the town for the people who are living there, good on you!

I'm really enjoying how you're starting to document these and I think it's great what you're doing. Are you working with grants or win the lottery because holy cow these need sooo much work.

Very interesting building. Glad you guys are saving those old places and thanks for the tour.

What economy is left in Appalachia to justify the expense of redoing these buildings? What do you intend them to become. I lived there until 1968. It was struggling then.

I'm glad that the old building are being restored. It's going to be a lot of hard work but worth it to preserve the history of the town.

Thank you for the tours. I love old buildings and history. The pictures really added to your video. I'm watching from central PA..

You are very brave to take saving this building on. Good luck. 🙏✌️

As an architecture student, and a history nerd, I am excited to see more. From south eastern Michigan.

Lots of projects, very ambitious, I'll be following along to see how things progress 👊🏻 Best of luck !!

Omg my dad worked there til the day they shut down! I cant wait to show him this!

Cool!

Yall buying up the whole town? ;) that's awesome! make an rv park, we'll come visit! LOL. Much love from your neighbors down in East Tennessee! yall are doing great!

Please pan over the building as you talk.

Very cool

*Did they film Airborne (1993) here?*

The former Hillside Middle school, originally Naugatuck High school on Hillside Ave. in Naugatuck CT. is a beautiful marble structure built in 1905 is very similar in as the street wraps around the building just like yours. There by making all three floors accessable from the same road. 👍

The top edge is called the parapet

I love looking at how those wonderfully skilled masons build things….that Peak building is beautiful…and really cool!

Why doesn't the cameraman show the building instead of the narrators?

Forgive the spelling but would the doors your referring to be dumweighters? Elevators to get things up and down ? Sorry if it's been said I did leave the room a minute

Looks like Watkins Glen N.Y.

Is the building a Landmark designation? It seems like that build is a disaster waiting and the cost to renovate has to be astronomical.

Looks like a great project for This Old House...Better call Bob Vila!

Mud Flooded Building

I'm pretty sure those boxes on the wall on the 3rd floor are milk boxes. They delivered milk to ur door back in the early 1900s and they would place their empty jars on the ledge and the milk guy replaced it with fresh milk

There still is a Western Auto hardware store, near me, in Gretna. Va. It has the signage and advertises as such.

Hardware stores and dry goods stores used to be 2 floors of retail space and a lot would have skylights.

Just saw your Peake Building video, so awesome. Two observations about your Western Auto property. First, I think you are totally right that it’s metal ceiling points toward its being a former 2-floor retailer. I think given its age it may have been a Woolworth’s or similar 5 & dome store. The clothing mannequins may be a remnant of that… also any food counters or diner stools left behind, as those department stores often had kitchens and lunch counters. Second, looking at the silhouette of that building with the descending brickwork line along the roof, it makes me wonder if the structure was successively built in 3 sections over time. Here in NY city you will often see retailers and tenement apartments cobbled together as they expand down their lots or down the block. Macy’s Herald Square is 3 buildings successively added over about 30 years as the Strauses were able to acquire the properties of their neighbors between Broadway and 7th Avenue. Does your area have a museum with microfilm of 1920s era newspapers that may have been advertising these businesses as they were built? Might give you some clues about what you’re working on. Bravo to you for having a dream and following it!

Congratulations on getting your rescue of this beautiful building underway. It’s a lot of work but its completion will be so rewarding to you, to your community, and to the tourists you attract!

What a DUMP...

What town is this in?

where is this? Appalachia, VA 👍 found it

WHERE????? Where is this????? What State???

It's a common mistake. The camera man focuses on the voice instead of the subject.

Radiator heat is the best. I will be following your progress!❤

Those small wooden doors are for delivering milk

Your a beautiful woman 😍

Please show us any cool treasures you find. I love that stuff! Thank you for sharing!!

Little doors in the hallway with latches are milk bottle delivery doors. My old apartment in Hyde Park in Tampa had one. You would put your empties in there and the milkman would replace with fresh full bottles on delivery day. That's what it looks like to me. That's what the ones in my 1920s apartment building were for. I also had a little alcove on the wall where the old phone was.

Where is it located?

Love it, good luck!

is that building in west virginia or virginia? really neat building i can’t wait to see y’all restore it.

Some of that paneling looks to be late seventies or early eighties. So it was in use fairly late. I think the metal cabinets were from the fifties, whereas the cabinets with the yellow counter top on the floor below are probably early to mid seventies. I wonder if those little doors might have been for milk delivery? I believe your air and light area was called an "air shaft."

Looks very expensive to repair.

Certainly a unique building. Best wishes on your big project.