Walking through the town of Weston, Missouri today, I was excited to find the building known as the Belcher Building. I love to walk through small towns and I always wonder what was life like when these buildings were first built. It is an important question to ask because no building was built to sit empty or, for the most part, built to be a storefront antique store.
The town of Weston, MO was originally established as a port town along the Missouri River and by “1842, Weston had 37 businesses and for the next 20 years continued to grow by exporting large quantities of tobacco and hemp.” Two years later, in 1845, the Bechler Building was built. At first glanse it is a normal storefront building of the era, but a closer look will reveal the unique porcelain covering on the bricks.
What caught my eye in the National Register of Historic Places Description was the outlining of what each floor was used for. I often wonder what happened in the upstairs floors of the storefront buildings I see. Could that upper floor be a living area” Or, was it an office? Maybe it was another shop floor or a completely different business! In this case, it was build as a separate living space. The downstairs had many different purposes through the years being a saloon, a barber shop, and even a doctor and dentist office. The building now houses the “Sundance Photo Gallery and Mort’s Classic Cameras”.
It is always a joy to see an old building taken care of so well and the Belcher Building is one that is very well kept.