Briggs Hardware Building - Building Description

Building Description

Thanks to the Briggs family and preservation efforts the building looks today much as it did when it was first built.

The front facade of the building displays an example of the lively architectural taste of the mid-to-late 19th century. The contrast of red brick with light accents was a favorite of the high Victorian Gothic style. The hoods and drip molds over the windows are medieval in style, while the tall, bracketed cornice shows the influence of the Italianate.

The building is four stories tall with a basement running below wooden floors. The original wood floors remain in the building.

The building runs the entire length of one city block (between Fayetteville & Salisbury Streets) and is surrounded on either side by two similarly long buildings. The result is a long narrow interior with no side windows. In the center of the building is an opening going up to windows on the roof-top that serves as a skylight for all four above-ground floors. The absence of windows along the side of the building made this skylight opening a necessity in 1874 when there was no electricity.