Twelve Years Gone

Now the work which covered the four block area (with our shop smack dab in the center) is finished.

The object of the Broad Street project was to expand the pumping capacity of Pumping Station Number 1, providing flood relief for the Uptown area. (Like the May 3, 1995 flood which saw almost 3 feet of water in our store - - wiping out the bottom three shelves of merchandise) Below is a look back at what went on:

The street was dug to a depth that allowed the construction crews to build two concrete "box canals" wide and high enough to run a Greyhound bus through. Forty foot high sheet pilings were driven into the ground to prevent landslides. (At one point, these pilings were driven parallel to our storefront - - six feet in front of us).

Photos by Jerry Kelly

Page design by Phil Novak