Mysterious Surveyor Type Outside Piper Building
When I was growing up my mom used to take us to the St. Vincent DePaul store in this building, next to our church, Sacred Heart, which was still a place of worship in those days.
At the time my brother and I thought it was just an odd play site, but fun. We’d look at old army uniforms, play with cufflinks and the occasional toy or puzzle. Totally unbeknowst to us, most of our clothes came from there. There were a couple of old, old devout Catholic ladies who worked for the society and they would give my mom breaks on stuff. We were poor, but that’s how it was. They treated everyone with respect as far as I can remember. Those are good memories for me.
The building has changed since then, as many know, of course. St. Vincent De Paul Society moved out sometime in the 90s, when I was in college, maybe. Now I live a couple of blocks away, and I just love this neighborhood, but this so-called “piper building” is seen as a bit of a problem area in the neighborhood. And I don’t dispute that.
Just wanted to remind folks, it wasn’t always that way, and maybe things will get better again. Some nice, small, independent vibrant businesses, plus the laundry and proximity to Sacred Heart, etc, make it an ideal location if we can just put our heels on the backs of the slugs dealing drugs, etc in our neighborhood and … well, you know.
I saw a mysterious, official looking man outside with some kind of surveying tool one day last week. Wondering to myself, is it finally for sale? Owner did a lot of work last summer after all the press. So maybe it is … maybe it is …
