Plaintalker does not know when the lions were first installed. The Frost Building, as we now know it, was built in 1909 and was the home of Courier-News Publishing. Later it became the Thomas Furniture building and before it was purchased by developer Frank Cretella, it was the home of Jeff Satkin's company, Atkol.
Cretella uncovered the original 1909 marquee during renovations. It would be nice if the lions could be restored as well. If not, chalk the loss up to changes downtown that include covering up stonework at the former Eiseman's Lighting building on Park Avenue and demolition of an historic 1886 building on North Avenue, along with the partial demolition of an 1885 building that was the original home of the Plainfield Music Store.
Thank heavens we have the postcard and photo archives at the Plainfield Public Library to remind us of remarkable structures of the past. Next time you are there, take a few minutes to watch the slide show on the monitor near the entrance. Through its annual exhibits, the library encourages present-day photographers to document Plainfield landmarks for future generations of scholars and historians.
--Bernice
It is a shame that so many of the things that make Plainfield buildings unique and interesting fall pray to vandalism. I wish we had cameras to catch these mindless hoodlums. There is beauty in Plainfield, but some of our people seem to want to destroy it with ugly new buildings or destroying the old. We need to keep the wonderful architectural flavor that makes Plainfield unique and worth visiting and living in.
ReplyDeleteReal lions are less ferocious than the 2 legged animals who continuously choose to destroy Plainfield in all sorts of ways, when will civility amongst our neighbors ensue?
ReplyDeleteCall the ASPCA Get PITA on the line
ReplyDeleteCall SWAT
Call the FBI, CIA, SECRET SERVICE,ATF ,DEA ,BBB
Oh i forgot Call the Police
ReplyDeleteYes lets put Helwig and Wooley ON it.
ReplyDeleteYou don't get out much, do you? As the demographics change, so does the quality of life. I see people urinating on Front Street in plain view, (women as well as men)!
ReplyDeleteI think it was the work of vandals
ReplyDeleteThe lions were purchased by Thomas Furniture. The original ones were damaged by vandals so the replacement lions were bolted into the solid concrete mold and then bolted through the sidewalk vault below.
ReplyDeleteWhen the lion on the right was broken by a woman who hit it with her car - there were several officers on the scene for hours. I was informed she had police connections so the report mitigated the damages by calling it a figurine. Her insurer, GEICO, refused to pay for restoration or any damages from her negligence. The majority of the broken statue I stored in front and the other lion I had cleaned up several times. Even though the building was listed in historic preservation the city did not care about it. I was turned down when I applied for preservation funds and SID also skipped the building when I owned it.