What Does it Say?!

My interest in Manchester’s history piqued when I began training for the Manchester City Marathon. As my training runs get longer, there are only so many things I can do to pass the time. Options include: (1) hallucinate, (2) dream of devouring a Crescent Beach pizza from Portland Pie Co., or (3) stare at unique buildings.

Having executed the third option on a recent 13-mile run, I noticed this partial sign on 341 Elm, home to the Manchester Music Mill and Van Otis Chocolates:

To my surprise, it only took me a short time on nhdeeds.com to make a solid guess that the sign was for Goulet Supply Company, Inc., a plumbing, heating, and cooling supply business that operated in the building during (at least) the 1970s. 

Now, I wonder if I can figure out what happened to the other part of the sign....

To Be Continued.

P.S. Trust me on the pizza choice. You're welcome.

The Building without a Face

I've always been fascinated by the building at 941 Elm, mostly because it looks nothing like the other buildings on Elm. In fact, it looks nothing like any other building I've ever seen. The front of the building, save for the first floor, has been entirely covered over with (what I think is) cement and painted the color maize. I'm not sure why, but I call it "the building without a face." Maybe I think of windows as features of a building, much like features of a face. If eyes are windows into the soul of a person, then windows are eyes into the soul of a building.

Fueled by fascination and armed with the internet, I set about researching the history of 941 Elm. Several hours later, I was able to piece together a few tidbits. Back in the 1800's, the building was known as Weeks' Block, named after an owner, George W. Weeks. Throughout its history, the building has been home to many businesses, including a fancy goods store, a millinery, an insurance agency, a cosmetics store, a lingerie store, a photography center, a store for Apple accessories, and most recently, the bar Spite.
 
But best of all, thanks to the photographic records of the Manchester Historic Association, I was able to see the building's face!

Photo on the left used with permission of the Manchester Historic Association.

The long and the short of it? 941 Elm has lots of soul. You just can't use the windows to see it.