Goodyear Block

The Goodyear Block was built in 1867 by Chauncey Walbridge^[2] for Henry Goodyear.^[3] The two first-floor retail spaces were let out a hardware store operated by Miller & Webb, and a dry goods store operated by the Wastell Brothers.^[4] The offices on the second floor were let out to numerous businesses, including the Manchester Enterprise newspaper.^[4] The third-floor auditorium of the building was used for dances, plays, commencements, and concerts, all of which contributed to making downtown Manchester the social center of the area.^[3] Goodyear, however, fell on hard times, lost control of his building, and moved to Nebraska.^[5] In 1894, Goodyear's creditors sold the building to the Arbeiter Society (or "Arbeiter Verein"), a German club.^[5] They ran it for 50 years;^[6] the hall was used as a classroom in the 1930s.^[7] The building was later used by the American Legion,^[4] and eventually abandoned.^[7] In 1977, it became the home of the Black Sheep Repertory Theater.^[7] The building was rehabilitated in 1990, and the top floors turned into apartments.^[5]

The Goodyear Block is a rectangular three-story Italianate commercial building constructed of red brick^[3] on a fieldstone foundation.^[2] The building is seven bays wide, with the central bay enclosing a staircase to the upper floors and the surrounding two sets of three bays each containing a storefront.^[2] The first-floor facade has large display windows flanked by cast-iron columns; the appearance the first floor is the result of the 1990 restoration, but is similar to the original building construction. The front facade also features round headed windows capped with a keystone,^[2] and is surmounted by a wooden cornice. Inside, the first floor is commercial space, the second floor is office space, and the third floor is given over to the auditorium.^[3]