May is National Preservation Month—a time for communities across America to celebrate and preserve their diverse heritage. There are several restoration and rehabilitation projects going on in downtown Crete this summer, including the final phase of the Isis Theatre project. When restoring a historic building, every effort should be made to repair and preserve the features that make it unique, and in the Isis’s case, this meant saving its beautiful wooden eaves, as well as repurposing some white exterior brick that was uncovered during renovations.
There are several resources available for Crete building owners who are curious about the history of their property, including its construction date, original appearance, and prior uses. This information can help inform any updates made to the building, such as new windows (matching the original size and glass type is ideal!), painting (unpainted exterior brick should be left unpainted), outdoor lighting, and more.
Crete Heritage Society Digital Archives
Search through issues of the Crete News, Crete Vidette, Crete Democrat, State Vidette, and Crete Globe going back to the early 1880s. This site is best browsed using a desktop computer, and it helps to put your search term(s) in quotation marks to get an exact match. Searching for the names, addresses, and owners of downtown buildings/businesses can yield great results.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
These maps describe what kinds of structures were standing in Crete in various years (going back to 1884), including the types of businesses in them.
Crete (Images of America)
Written by local historian Janet Jeffries, this book is a treasure trove of historic photographs, facts, and anecdotes about early Crete.
History Nebraska Archives
History Nebraska’s archives contain a number of black and white negatives of various locations in Crete.
Crete Heritage Society
The Crete Heritage Society has a collection of historic photos on their Facebook page and at the Benne Memorial Museum (800 W 13th St, Crete, NE 68333).
Nebraska Main Street
The Nebraska Main Street program has a great list of resources under “Design & Historic Preservation.”
Although these resources are specific to Crete, Nebraska, there are similar organizations dedicated to preserving the history of communities across the United States. If you’re unsure of where to find them, start by visiting your local library or historical society.
Example: 1209/1211 Main Ave
Current Crete residents may know this building as the “former New Beginnings” building, as it used to house New Beginnings Thrift Store. A search through the Crete Heritage newspaper archives reveals that the present two-story building was built by Joseph Kuncl in 1902 and became the home of Kuncl Furniture Company. In 1946, Joseph’s son Robert was preparing to close the furniture store and Brown-McDonald Co. (later J.M. McDonald), a department store chain, was getting ready to begin renovations on the space. Brown McDonald Co. was responsible for constructing the mezzanine level in the back of the store, as well as hanging 42 fluorescent lights from its high ceilings.
If this building were to undergo a historical renovation today, it would be appropriate to restore its appearance to what it was in 1948, after Brown-McDonald’s modifications. Opening the partition between the two store bays, refinishing the wood floors, maintaining the presence of hanging lights, and having a “wide stairway” leading to the balcony and second floor would all be great steps to take to restore this building to its former glory.
