Second Avenue Buildings

Thanks to John and Verna Olenick for this picture from the collection of Bert Pierce. 

Last week's research about the Al-Res-Tone Drop In got me thinking about what was there before it. I'd love to see the scene down the north side of Second Avenue from the County Court building to the corner but this is the best I've got right now. Use your imagination with me. You can see the backs of them from this picture taken from on top of Munro’s Store around 1940. Demolition of all three buildings took place the same day in September of 1968 and would have left a large gaping hole to the old timers.  

First, right beside the County Court building was Mr. Archer’s Tailor Shop.  This wood building began as a photographer shop for Les Eaton and then used as a carpenter shop for Frank Clark.  Alfred Archer was the final owner from 1924 and along with custom clothing and alterations, he had a dry cleaning plant which was added in 1926.  He had 5 or 6 people working in his shop in its heyday but business gradually declined with the popularity of ready made garments and he retired in 1951 to spend his time at his true calling, the Reston Memorial Park. 

Next was the Reston Recorder Office.  It was a brick structure built in 1907.  For two years previously, they had been creating and printing the paper out of a building where Hairline Beauty Salon is today but needed more space.  The Recorder building on Second Avenue was built with surplus bricks from the round house.  The carpentry work was done by Arthur Bushby and George Corbin did the brickwork.  It had a solid wall of windows on the street side which led to plenty of light but also drafts. The frost on the windows stayed for the month of January, said former employee Tom Wilkins.   The paper was printed on a hand operated press and the type was all hand set.  Frank Manning was the man behind the news with assistance from his brother AJ his daughter Helen Ready and finally his son Russell. In 1916, the first Linotype was installed and power for the presses went from human to gas to electric.  Several who learned the trade at Reston went on to be printers like Raymond Evans at the Queens Printers, Tom Wilkins at Killarney and Robert McKay at the Western Producer and his brother Bert McKay at Moosomin.  With the purchase of larger and more modern machinery, the Recorder office was moved to Fourth/Main Street in 1966 in a building moved in from Bardal as the former Church of God in Christ.  That building had also been used in Cromer as an office and parts department for Ab Isaac.  

Lastly,  the yellow brick fire hall which had been built in 1910. Standing beside it was the town bell in a tower visible in the picture. The bell was wrung for curfew each night at 9:00 as well as for fires.  Apparently the more rapid the ringing, the worse the fire was.  It was used to ring in the New Year as well as having some unauthorized use for Halloween tricks. The bell was replaced with an automated one on top of the Municipal Office. Reston remains famous for its siren still ringing twice a day, noon and six pm. Firefighters are paged through their phones now but it still rings when more members are needed.  The doors to the old fire hall faced north onto Second Avenue but it was later remodeled to have the doors looking west onto Third Street.  A prison cell was also in the building.  As with the Recorder, the vehicles grew more modernized and larger, new space was needed and the firetrucks were stored where the municipal shops are now.  A new firehall was later built with several bays and training and meeting room. 

I hope you enjoyed your stroll down pre-1968 Second Avenue with me today.