Rejuvenation of commercial buildings in the 300 block of Latrobe’s Main Street is set to continue as the nonprofit Latrobe Community Revitalization Program prepares to assist with a facade makeover of the two-story brick building that houses Hewitt Real Estate.
According to LCRP Executive Director Jarod Trunzo, plans are to restore the Victorian appearance of the building at 342 Main, which includes some decorative trim crafted from tin and formed aluminum. He said the restoration likely will involve freshening up peeling paint on the brick facade.
“We learned that it was an historic solution at the time to paint over the entire front of the building because it kept the mortar from needing re-pointed every decade or so,” Trunzo told city council this week .
Mary Lou Townsend, president of the Latrobe Area Historical Society, described an intriguing figure from the past who was first associated with the building.
It was built in 1874 by Charles Hoffman, who operated a jewelry store on the first floor, Townsend said. “During the Civil War, he had enlisted and he was assigned (Union) scouting and spy duties.”
On one mission, Hoffman narrowly evaded capture by Confederate forces — and likely execution, if papers hidden in his boot that proved his identity had been discovered.
“I think if people know the history of a building, they appreciate it a whole lot more,” Townsend said.
Previous facade improvements in the same block of Main Street included Jocelyn’s Beauty Salon, Colonial Cleaners, ComputeRx, Aunt Doli’s Emporium and, next door to Hewitt Real Estate, the imposing, onion-domed Mozart Hall — home to the Faith Forward Ministries human services organization and its used merchandise boutique. Another facade project is under way at the building housing Paper Heart Affairs and Terri’s Gourmet Chocolate, at 337-339 Main.
“I love what’s happening on that Main Street corridor because I think those buildings will be charming now,” Townsend said. During a previous urban renewal project that ran short of funding, she explained, “in the late ’60s and early ’70s, they were all slated for demolition, and I am so glad they are still here. That’s a lot of the history of Latrobe.”
So far, with the help of state funding, LCRP helped complete facade improvements on more than 25 downtown buildings.
Trunzo said bids have yet to be received for the Hewitt building project, which likely will draw upon facade funding from the state Department of Community and Economic Development. That program provides a match of up to $5,000 per street-facing facade of an eligible building, with the owner financing the rest.
Another pot of money, available through a community development block grant, covers 85% of a project’s cost. Trunzo noted those costs tend to be higher than with other funding because federal prevailing wages would apply.
A related LCRP program, with assistance from the historical society, placed plaques at selected locations in town to inform visitors about the importance of key landmarks.
A plaque briefly outlining the history of the 1850s Pennsylvania Railroad (now Norfolk Southern) main line that provided the impetus for Latrobe’s founding was placed on a replica of a cut stone wall in the railroad underpass on Ligonier Street. Trunzo noted that underpass is the result of a 1901 project that raised the railroad tracks, providing unobstructed ground-level traffic among factories, shops and homes on either side of the rail line.
“Had they not done that, we’d have no brewery, no hospital. Half the downtown probably wouldn’t be there,” he said.
Another “wayfinding” plaque was installed at the large building housing the former Danceland live music venue, at Depot and Jefferson streets. The next such sign will grace Hotel Loyal, a popular pizzeria and tavern on Ligonier Street, next to the railroad underpass.
The revitalization program also has been busy planting new trees and shrubs in town, including replacements for crab apple trees along the Lincoln Avenue Trail and Greenway, Trunzo said.
Wreath decorations to cost $15K
Looking ahead to the end of the year, he said, a new holiday decoration committee is overseeing a plan to buy 30 large LED-illuminated wreaths, each including a trio of “candles,” to display on the town’s decorative lamp posts — interspersed with banners that were introduced this past Christmas season.
He said the wreaths cost $500 each. LCRP and partner organizations will kick in $7,500, Trunzo said, with the hope that the remainder can be raised with contributions from the town’s business community.
Based on a recent trial installation of one of the wreaths, Latrobe public works director Scott Wajdic estimated it could take two street crew members 45 minutes or more to fix each decoration in place. “It weighs 50 some pounds,” he said.
Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff at 724-836-6622, jhimler@tribweb.com or via Twitter .
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