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building was the 1950s-era home of J.J. Newberry’s department store when President Eisenhower came to town. Today, it provides the storefronts for a specialty cookware shop, and a knitting & quilting shop, where the original wooden floors, tin ceilings, and an an- tique staircase are still visible.
In 1886, just days after the Great Fire, plans for construction began on the Savings Bank Block. With interior stylings reminiscent of the Old West, the bank also housed two store fronts, the post office, a great hall, and apartments above. According to Frank- lin Savings Bank’s 150-year celebration publication: The bank survived the financial panic of 1873, 1893, and 1907, but twenty-four years later, in the midst
of the great depression, the bank was robbed. One afternoon, in the winter of 1931, just as the bank was closing, a stranger armed with a revolver entered the bank and demanded of the bank’s treasurer, “I want all the money you’ve got.” The robber made off with $2,250.00, fleeing up Broadway. As he was running away, the bank teller sounded the alarm and ran into the street, shouting, “Robber! Robber!” A local man passing through the ally by what is now the State The- ater was able to seize the bag of money, but the robber escaped, only to be captured the next day and eventu- ally sentenced to 5-10 years in prison.
With a little sleuthing, the curious traveler can still view the original Music Hall box office seating chart. Inside Renys.
The historic district offers sightseers a chance to glimpse a sample of many early architectural styles from the federalist period through the Colonial Revival period.
Christine Baptista
Christine Baptista
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