Wonderland

SethG on October 2, 2024 at 4:34 pm

This address is not a jewelry store, but an old department store (maybe something like a W.T. Grant?) used by the Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce. It does appear to be the remodeled remains of a large three-story building dating to before 1886. It looks like it was remodeled sometime after 1930, and the upper story removed from the front.

The original building was a brick veneered wood frame structure known as Wagner’s Opera House. The rear portion originally had a sloped truss roof. The 1899 map shows the structure as condemned, but by 1905 the old auditorium in the rear had been extensively rebuilt and was divided into stores and offices. The central entrance lobby was still used to access this portion.

I’m not sure where the theater would have been. The 1905 and 1911 maps show a jewelry store in 62, and 64 was a dry goods store in 1905 and a furniture store in 1911. The 1925 map shows most of the building used by a 5 and 10, with the Warner Business College on the third floor of the front portion.