Lively Building set for facelift
A Main Street building, locally known as the Lively Building, has been an eyesore for years.
The appearance of the building, particularly the plywood on the front of the building, has been mentioned quite often to Historic Zoning Commission members as an area of contention for downtown businesses.
Despite how area business owners feel, the commission has no power to step in and force the building’s current owner to make changes. The city’s historic guidelines regulate what changes can be made to downtown buildings. However, if an owner wants to do nothing and let a building slip into ruins, the commission is helpless.
According to Historic Zoning Commission chairman Jimmy Haley, the commission may not be able to force the building’s owner to fix up the eyesore but individuals can lend a helping hand to make the building look better.
‘We want to try and take care of it the best we can,’ said Haley referring to the plywood’s appearance on the front of the building. ‘This is something we are doing just to be doing. It is not the responsibility of the Historic Zoning Commission.’
After receiving permission from the building’s owner to paint the plywood on the front of the building, Haley and Scott Wilson, also on the commission, began the first layers of primer and paint last Wednesday.
That stage of the renovation took one day and is only the beginning. The next stage will take three to four weeks as a mural is painted on the plywood by the private art students of Warren County teacher and freelance artist Carol Neal.
‘I plan to use this as a teaching opportunity for my students,’ said Neal. ‘The project will be public art as well as community service work. Working on something large like that will also be a learning opportunity for them. It’s one thing to work on a piece of paper but it’s something else to work big.’
Although the team of art students is yet to pick what they want the front to look like, the end result is certain.
‘I’ve not told them yet because I want it to be a surprise,’ said Neal who will be supervising while the students choose their own art design. ‘I’m not sure at this point what will go on there until I get their input. Despite what my students paint, I think everyone will enjoy it more than the plywood.’
The team will begin painting the front of the building this week. Despite the large scale of the project, Neal plans to have it done before the week of the Warren County A&L Fair.