Anticipation is building as the four-week closure of Warford Street in downtown Perry has extended to nearly four months, and citizens grow eager for food and drink in the landmark Perry building.
The Perry City Hall announced June 8 that Warford Street between First Avenue and Second Street would be closed for four weeks while reconstruction proceeded on the Gamble Block at 1203 Second St., owned by Tin Pig proprietor J. R. Sheffer of Indianola.
The building suffered extensive damage to the roof and the southwest upper corner of the structure in the devastating Aug. 10, 2020, derecho wind storm, which caused a large section of brick wall to collapse onto a parked car along Warford Street.
The restoration was directed by Indianola-based Downing Construction Inc., and the Belden Brick Co. of Canton, Ohio, supplied the bricks that match the building’s distinctive blonde color. C&D Masonry of Rippey has thoroughly restored the building’s exterior.
The Gamble Block, erected in 1899 and now on the National Register of Historic Buildings, for many years housed 15 one-bedroom apartments and two large offices on the second and third floors and commercial concerns on the street level.
