The INDsider -> Walter Pierce MON, APR 20 4:45AM by Walter Pierce

Update: historic sign will be saved

hardware_store_new.jpgThe removal of a brick wall that once supported the old LBA Savings Bank drive-thru on West Vermilion Street downtown on Monday revealed a relic from Lafayette’s commercial past: a sign for Lafayette Hardware Store. Now, the building’s owner says that historic gem will be saved for posterity.

Yvette Voorhies, whose family has owned the building since the early 20th century, dropped by the site after word spread. Almost immediately talk began of what to do with the sign. There was a never a question of not saving it, and historic preservationists have since been consulted.

The drive-thru wall was built literally inches from the clapboard side of the wood-frame building currently occupied by architectural/interior design firm MBSB Group. The sign advertises the store’s supply of paints, oils, glass, brushes, cutlery, buggies and wagons and appears to date to the early 20th century. The drive-thru is being demolished to make way for an expansion of the Acadiana Center for the Arts.

The concensus among staff members at MBSB groups seems to be to remove the sign and relocate it inside the building. Voorhies says her preference is to leave the sign where it is. There will be a five-foot gap between the building and the theatre expansion for the AcA.

The side of the building exposed by the demolition will need a great deal of restoration. According to Voorhies, the cypress is in good shape. But planks will need to be replaced and a round of termite mitigation will also be in order. It’s also unclear as the demolition crew works its way toward the rear of the building just how sound the overall structure is.

The building, according to Voorhies, is the oldest commercial building standing in Lafayette. It was occupied by several businesses early on, and a telephone company even occupied the second floor. Voorhies’ grandparents operated the hardware store. “We don’t even know how old the building is,” says Voorhies, “the first time is shows up in the clerk of court’s office is 1890.”


Walter Pierce
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written by JP , April 20, 2009 - 06:37 pm
I hope that painted sign is somehow preserved, if possible. We need these reminders of times past when (almost) everything wasn't owned by multinational conglomerates.
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written by Walter Pierce, Managing Editor , April 20, 2009 - 07:42 pm
I left a message with the building's owner, JP, and hope to have an answer soon on plans for the sign. In the meantime, see the update above with a more recent photo.
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written by frank , April 20, 2009 - 08:58 pm
WOW! That is truly a blast from the past. It would be awesome if that could be preserved!
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written by Tanya J. Allen, Shreveport , April 20, 2009 - 09:30 pm
Love the sign, and what better group to assist in the preservation than the Arcadiana Center for Arts. In Shreveport, there is a fabulous old sign painted on a building for Uneeda Biscuit from the National Biscuit Company. That was the original Premium Saltine from Nabisco. The building it is on is now called the UNEEDA building.
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written by Gwyn and Kent Hutslar , April 21, 2009 - 02:40 am
The Artist's Alliance, through the very generous assistance of the building owners, was housed in the hardware store from 1986 until 1998. We remember a lot of work being done over the years to protect that side of the building due to water leaks and termite issues because it sat so close to the side wall of the drive thru. As a long time board members, we're thrilled to see our efforts were not in vain...and we didn't even know the sign was there!
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written by Walter Pierce , April 21, 2009 - 03:36 am
Gwyn & Kent, I remember with nostalgia the Artists' Alliance space in the old Lafayette Hardware Store. I was an AA member back then. Get close to the building and check it out, if you haven't already; you'll fully realize why your work shoring it up from leaks and termites was such a thankless chore: That side of the building is compromised by rot and decay due to its (now former) proximity to the brick wall. Universal truth: wood versus brick, brick wins. You can see into the attic space through at least one gaping hole! Ironically, I now work in the space on Jefferson Street that was home to the AA after it vacated the LHS building and moved around the corner. What, truly, is up with that?
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written by Gwyn and Kent Hutslar , April 21, 2009 - 01:39 pm
Hey Walter! We both remember you well! Wasn't it great to be a part of something that would forever change our town? The fact that you now work in the 2nd home of the Alliance, with a group that was always a prime supporter of the AA is fabulous! Did you know that your current "home" was also the birthplace of ArtWalk? In 1998, as part of the AA "Re-Grand Opening" we planned what we thought was a one time event along with four other galleries making their home on Jefferson St. We laughed at the time about making it a regular event, but we were all so sure it would never fly. Didn't think for a minute that people here would attend on a regular basis. The success of ArtWalk generated true hope that Lafayette was ready to embrace its artists as real, contributing members of the community.
Your info about the poor condition of the LHS wall is a sad fact. Wish we could have done more.
An aside here...as readers we were saddened to see our great friend Reese leaving his post at The Ind. Then you name popped up! We always wondered what happened to you and missed your wonderful pieces in that "other publication". Welcome to The Ind from some regulars!
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written by Walter Pierce , April 21, 2009 - 03:03 pm
You're right: The AA was a great thing for a downtown that was struggling through some tough times in the late 80s and early 90s. But I didn't know the genesis of ArtWalk began with the AA. Pat yourselves on the back, Gwyn and Kent (and Kathy and Steve and everyone else). I'll be updating the story associated with this running commentary. It looks like the old hardware sign WILL be saved!
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written by Gerd Wuestemann, Exec. Director, Acadiana Center for the Arts , April 21, 2009 - 03:33 pm
I think all of us at the AcA and the Hardware store were holding our breath as that brick wall was tackled by a giant excavator. Thanks to the quality work of a great demo crew, everything has been going super smoothly.
I was standing with a group of people outside the building when the sign began to reveal itself - to the surprise even of members of the Voorhies family who owns the building. Perhaps my favorite portion: if you look closely at the bottom line of text it reads "cutlery, wagons and buggies!"
I remember about 10 years ago playing in a collaborative project at the Artists Alliance with poetry and paintings by my good friends Darrell Borque and Elemore Morgan. At some point we noticed holes growing in some of the artwork, as termites were chewing their way in!
We at the AcA are dedicated to preserve this signage! As part of our contract in building the new theater, we committed to refurbishing the now exposed wall of the hardware store with concrete board. Now that we found this wonderful time capsule we will also find a way to cut it out, preserve it and make space somewhere around the new building.
Lafayette has few enough public mementos of its history and I believe that it is part of our mission at the AcA to preserve what we can - even as we make room for the new. The drive-through sculpture and this sign are both important cultural-historical artifacts for this community and I am glad that we are able to assist in making them accessible to our citizens once again.
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written by Gwyn and Kent Hutslar , April 21, 2009 - 06:00 pm
I remember that night...the horror of those little creatures setting up house in Elemore's mat! Oh the trials the organization and building went through together!
Here's some nostalgia for you Walter. I just pulled an article out of a grant app folder I have. It was written by none other than yourself. It's about the AA move into their new digs at 551 Jefferson. Publication would have been in late summer or early fall of 1998. Unfortunately all identifying info was trimmed off so I don't have an exact date. I also have a copy of the 1st ArtWalk invite. The date was Sept. 12, 1998.
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written by Walter Pierce , April 21, 2009 - 08:02 pm
That's great stuff, Gwyn/Kent! The AA really was a revitalizing engine for downtown. When I moved back to Lafayette in '87 after being away for four years, downtown Lafayette was shriveling on the vine; Jefferson Street was a one-way! My, how things have changed.
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written by Brett Mellington , April 21, 2009 - 11:13 pm
Wow, what a great find. As all of you know we will forget our past if we don't find ways to preserve those things that remind us of it. Kudos to Gerd and the MBSB Group for doing that. Downtown is the cradle of our great city and region we must preserve all of it that we can.
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written by R. Reese Fuller , April 24, 2009 - 01:54 pm
Gwyn and Kent ... don't be sad; I'm not dead.

And as you have no doubt figured out by now, you're in great hands with Mr. Pierce.
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