Local 19th century building restored

Following a construction cycle which hired local contractors and materials, a new venue is now available in uptown Creston.

Liberty Hall at 111-113 West Montgomery Street is available for reservations following their ribbon cutting last Tuesday. A description says the building is a “historic venue for private meetings and conferences.”

Additionally, the upper level of the building contains the Eagle Block Museum, which features exhibits tied to the building’s history. The name references the historical name for the block the building was placed. Exhibits feature an optometrist’s office, a nurse’s station and a children’s waiting room.

The building has already seen a few public events, including a public coffee meeting with Mayor Waylon Clayton and was the location for a quilt show during this year’s Market on Maple.

“I want to thank Loretta [Harvey] for her dedication to this community and all the funds and effort and time she directed toward this building to bring it back so we can have this historical landmark in uptown Creston,” Creston Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ellen Gerharz said during the ribbon cutting.

The concept of Liberty Hall originated when Harvey and Aaron Finch purchased the building in 2022. When it was originally constructed more than a century ago in 1882, the building had a much different look. A dry goods store appeared on the street level, with the upper story occupied by business professionals and their offices.

Liberty Hall wasn’t the only name considered for the building; in one of the exhibit descriptions, the building could have been named Trump Tower as dedication to one of Harvey and Finch’s favorite presidents.

In the renovated version, a new staircase rounds the west side of the building, carrying visitors to the upstairs museum. As some parts of the building were restored, such as the wood floors and tin ceiling, preserving the history of the building became a major concern.

These renovations were done through Kawa Construction. A point of pride for Harvey in the building is the fact the renovations were all done locally with no taxpayer-funded grants.

“Something I’m very proud of with this place was, it was all local contractors, all local materials that were used on this place,” Harvey said. “We did it all locally. We did it with our own funds. We didn’t have to get grant money or taxpayer dollars. We’re pretty proud of that; we were able to offer this to the community.”

As they worked in the building and removed items from storage, some items from across the building’s history were able to be saved and are on display at the venue. Add in a few additional items obtained from Harvey and Finch’s travels and a building seeping with history emerges.

The exhibits, extensive with trinket-sized artifacts to heavy furniture, offer a different world to experience. It’s possible to look out the window and see Montgomery Street, imagining what it was like a century ago.

One exhibit is special to Harvey: an office dedicated to her father Edward T. Harvey Jr. An Air Force veteran who would go on to practice law, Ed would practice in Creston from 1966 to 2020.

While his office was never in the building which would become Liberty Hall, the family connection and Ed’s support of SWCC, St. Malachy and the Holy Spirit Church made him a prominent community member.

Other exhibits include a medical office featuring the remnants of optometrist Dr. Wes Fisher’s practice, a military room with political items and other memorabilia including a flag with 48 stars and a nurse’s station with authentic uniforms.