Three families have taken on responsibility for the Old News Tribune Building and, based on the struggles they have faced, some might call them crazy for sticking with this endeavor. They themselves admit that the prospect hasn’t always been easy to embrace.
Hank described his initial response as night and day reactions. “I saw the outside and thought ‘oh, this is so cool!’ Then I saw the inside and thought ‘oh, this is a nightmare.’”
Sue acknowledged from the beginning that the location was great, but she felt that it would take “a lot of faith” to move forward with such a project.
“Daunting” was repeated by both Brad and Wendy. Yet Brad was so committed to the idea that “you can’t restore the city by tearing all the buildings down,” that he mostly felt excited for the opportunity.
Chad was the last member to join the group, two years later. “I’d seen the architectural renderings already and could envision all the parts. The structural bones were way nicer than I thought.”
With such a mixture of emotions, hopes, and expectations, where did the courage to tackle such a task come from? The members described two different inspirations from their visit to Opelika, Alabama.
On one level, Opelika was a town that had been more economically distressed than Beaver Falls and is now visibly thriving. “You could see what could be achieved,” Sue said. “The difference between the way it had been and what was possible.” While the entrepreneurship of Opelika couldn’t simply be coded into tips and tricks and transplanted to Beaver Falls, seeing change happen stimulated energy.
“The buildings in Opelika were like the Trib becoming a really fancy restaurant,” Wendy said. “It made me impatient to get started.”
But more than the inspiration of seeing possibility become reality in another town, the camaraderie of the team took root during the visit. For the whole group, the time spent together was one of both affirming and growing friendship and, with that friendship, a willingness to take risks together. The whole team shares a deep love of their home and so decided to jump in on this project together, borrowing from each other’s hope, vision, and energy. “It gave us a common mindset,” Chad said. “What came out of the trip was a willingness of the group to move.”
View from roof, looking down 13th St
And move they did. Replacing the roof quickly became a new source of energy and encouragement for the team. “That made me feel like what seemed like an endless process had some points along the way where we were gonna be able to step back and say ‘that’s a significant step.’” Hank observed that it wasn’t “just putting the roof on but going up there, seeing the town from the roof, down towards the river. That was a resurrection sort of experience. Suddenly I had this picture of ‘we could bring people up here and they could see what we’re seeing.’”
Then came the partnerships with RiverWise and Neighborhood North: Museum of Play. RiverWise took notice of the project and came alongside as a guide and connection to resources. Neighborhood North partnered to become the future tenet of the building. “Christine jumping on board early to give a purpose for the building gave me [Hank] an emotional energy for it, to see what it could be used for.”
“I’ve done a little study of early brain development in children,” Brad said. “The idea of what Neighborhood North could mean for the children of the region and especially the town is remarkable.”
Momentum continues with new architectural drawings from evolveEA, multiple volunteer workdays, and professional gutting. The process still feels slow sometimes, but the hope for the future of the building keeps moving this crazy team forward.
“We’ll have this beautiful historic building to pass on to the next generation, that won’t just crumble and be replaced by something no one will remember. Not only are we saving a building, we’re helping to save a kind of urban landscape that’s been proven to work and be good for people.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever thought about [the Trib] being renovated apart from the Park and Innovation Hub and the Portobello building. This is just one of the things. It would feel like we were a part of something bigger, not just something in and of ourselves.”
“With the building in the center of town, it’s a clear sign of this new day. I wanna show that Beaver Falls is worth the investment and worth nice buildings.”
“I think it’ll create a huge change and hope for the community.”
“It shows that you don’t have to tear down history in order to have good things.”