The year 2018 is closing out. Downtown retailers and eateries are going to be swamped through the holidays, and Marietta has done a fantastic job of making the downtown area look jolly and festive, just in time! While there is a lot going on (there always is), we want to talk about a project that we would like to work on with you.
One of the wonderful things about Marietta is that you can see traces everywhere of businesses that used to exist. Hidden Marietta often posts about “ghost ads” to their Facebook page, for example. When we work on customizing spaces for new tenants, it does not take long to find layers of older plaster from businesses that once existed in the same spot.
Even though these reminders of the past are not hard to find, we suspect that most Marietta residents, and probably most downtown merchants, do not know exactly what was in the spot where current businesses are located now. We would like to change that!
Over the next several blog posts, we are going to tell you about the history of some of the properties we lease downtown. We don’t want to be the only ones talking, however. If you are a downtown merchant, we would love to have your help in exploring the history of your building. Our hope is that as a community we can put together a very detailed “then and now” picture of our increasingly vibrant downtown. If you would like help, we of course will be happy to oblige.
Why work on the history of Marietta now? It seems like a perfect time to reflect back on the history of our historic river town while also looking forward towards growth and change. Marietta celebrated its 230th anniversary in 2018. The People’s Bank Theatre will be celebrating its 100th Anniversary in 2019, and the building that houses The Galley, The Adelphia, and The Hackett will be turning 120 years old. Baker & Baker celebrated its 100th anniversary in business this year, and Schafer Leather Store marked 150 years in business a couple of years ago. With all of that history, we know there will be rich diggings into our history. We are looking forward to working on this with you!
