Thursday, April 7, 2011

Still in downtown Springville

  Suprisingly, downtown Springville is one of the easiest places to rephotograph.  The Bank Building is noticeable in most pictures with its dome.  There is one other building that is very unique and noticeable in most photographs.  Here is one from 1925:

Courtesy of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University

     The building that I am talking about is on the left side.  I can't find an official name for it, but it was know as the Caffery and Davis Furniture Company Building or the Senior Hotel (I'll refer to it as the Caffery Davis Building).  On the building is a wonderful plaque that talks about about its history.  It says:
     "This building was constructed in 1890 as the retail furniture store of James Caffrey and Samuel Davis, partners in the firm Caffrey and Davis ('Furniture, Carpets, and Wallpaper'), operating here until 1907, when it was purchased by Walter and Herbert Robinson.  They together with their brothers, formed the Robinson Brothers Music Co., which sold furniture and 'musical merchandise.' In 1921, the building was purchased by Laura Senior.  The Senior family added the rear addition with the second story and operated a confectionery, cafe, hotel, and a billiard hall (an add for the billiard hall can be seen on the building, just above the add for the spearmint gum).
     "Through most of the 1930s, the Senior Hotel was one of three hotels operating in Springville.  Following Laura's death, title passed in 1931 to her son, Oliver, who lived here with his second wife, Priscilla, and his children, Max and Jacqueline.  Max, Oliver's son by his first marriage, worked as hotel clerk and later as manager.  The hotel and associated tourist court (behind the building) continued to be a family owned and operated venture through the 1950s, closing in the 1980s, after which the building sat vacant.  In May 1995 Bradley and Elizabeth Petersen purchased the building and began an extensive restoration project to preserve and return it to use."
     Here is the location as it is found today:


     The Caffery Davis Building still looks quite magnificent and the renovation was done very well.  It is easy to distinguish due to its two unique beehive looking additions to the top corners of the building.
     A couple of notes about some other buildings that are noticeable in this picture.  There is a building about four to the right of the Caffery Davis Building which has a red top with little turrets on it.  This is the Brown House.  It is now a local place for art exhibits.  It is run by Marilyn Brown, who also runs the Springville Playhouse.  The building that I believe is two to the north of the Brown House is the Rivoli Theatre.  This is an old theatre that is currently unoccupied, although there is a large movement to restore the theatre and use it again.  The theatre opened in 1927 and closed in 2008 (for a incredibly detailed history of the theatre, click here).  There are plans to renovate the building, restoring it to how it looked when constructed, and to house the Springville Playhouse (their current building is scheduled to be demolished sometime in 2011).  I found a quote that says, "Springville’s downtown area is undergoing a period of wonderful transition with the restoration of the historic Reynolds Building, the completion of the new Civic Center and the construction of a new community library.  Your contribution will help to restore a theater that has provided cinematic and theatrical entertainment for citizens in and around Springville since 1927. State Historic Preservation representatives verify that the theater meets the criteria for preservation."  To donate, check out savetherivoli.org.
     I thought that conclude this post, I'd add a couple more photos of the Caffery Davis Building, the Brown Building, the Rivoli, and some cool art that I liked downtown.





No comments:

Post a Comment