Atypically, the New Albany Historic Preservation Commission has little to say about 110 E. Market Street, identifying the former Ace Loan & Sporting Goods as an Italianate commercial building of 1880s-era construction.
During the past year, Steve Resch’s crew has been busy rehabilitating this structure.
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| Late 2014 (Google street view). |
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| Late summer 2015 (NAHPC). |
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| June 2, 2016. |
And, a glance into the ground floor interior.
Strange but true: Ace Loan & Sporting Goods operated for 52 years, until the spring of 2015, and the owner never once went upstairs or down. In fact, the stairs going up either removed completely or enclosed.
Steve Resch’s vision for 110 E. Market is to entice Indiana University Southeast to establish a fine arts center downtown, with gallery space on the ground floor and classrooms on the second and third floors. He has spoken with officials at IU Southeast as well as local arts groups, and there is qualified optimism.
It’s an idea worth pursuing, and we wish him luck in achieving it.
