Nagy Brothers Shoe Repair
The building was listed by Columbus Landmarks as one of the city's most endangered properties in 2020. It was added to the Columbus Register of Historic Properties in 2022. In that year, Columbus Landmarks awarded the Nagy family with the James L. Keyes President's Award for the family's work to save the structure.
Attributes
The site is occupied by one single-story building. The original portion was constructed in 1937, rectangular in shape, with 184 square feet (17.1 m). It is made of brick with an asphalt-shingled gable roof. A cinder block addition is situated to the north, made of painted concrete with a flat roof. The addition has 387 square feet. The exterior is painted to resemble the Hungarian flag, in stripes of red, white, and green, honoring the Nagy family's Hungarian heritage.
The building has poured concrete floors with vinyl floor tile over most of the space. The walls have exposed concrete block that has been painted. The interior spaces have heavy shoe repair equipment and shelves, left from when the business closed.
History
Development of the existing structures began in 1932, when a single brick building was constructed, used as a gas station and tire repair shop. Russell and Mary Smith were the first owners; their family continues to own the lot, even though the filling station changed hands numerous times, beginning in 1934. In 1947, Joseph and Steve Nagy purchased the building and began a shoe repair business, Nagy Brothers Shoe Repair. In the following year, the brothers constructed an extension to the building, east of the original. In the 1950s, a smaller structure was constructed on the building's west side, for newspaper boys to fold and wrap newspapers before deliveries. The building closed in 2009 when Joseph Nagy retired. In 2020, the Columbus Landmarks Foundation listed the building as one of the most endangered historic sites in Columbus. In 2022, the foundation purchased the building in an effort to save it. Columbus Landmarks paid $35,000, purchased through its new fund created to save historic structures.
References
- ^ "Columbus Register of Historic Properties: Nomination Form". City of Columbus. 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
- ^ Wiley, Chelsea (May 14, 2020). "These Are The 9 Most Endangered Historic Buildings In Columbus". Columbus Navigator. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
- ^ Harden, Mike (November 14, 2001). "Sole Man - At his Parsons Avenue shoe shop, cobbler sticks to his old-time ways". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ Behrens, Cole (June 2, 2022). "Columbus Landmarks names new CEO and 2022 Preservation Award winners". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
- ^ "Columbus Landmarks buys former shoe shop - Organization buying building in order to save it". The Columbus Dispatch. April 9, 2022. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ Betti, Tom; Uhas Sauer, Doreen (2021). Forgotten Landmarks of Columbus. The History Press. pp. 241–245. ISBN 9781467143677.