{"id":985,"date":"2024-07-02T18:14:35","date_gmt":"2024-07-02T18:14:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/columbuswiareahistory.com\/?page_id=985"},"modified":"2024-10-25T20:39:21","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T20:39:21","slug":"capital-campaign","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/columbuswiareahistory.com\/?page_id=985","title":{"rendered":"Capital Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Columbus Wi Area Historical Society ... Capital Campaign<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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152 W. James St. was the longtime home to Bellack\u2019s Clothing Store. <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What can be done to find a home for both?<\/em><\/h2>

The Columbus Area Historical Society has been looking for a new home for the past two-plus years. Several locations were ruled out because they were in a flood plain, too small or for other reasons. This past year the members of Columbus Popcorn Wagon approached the society about joining forces to find a home that would accommodate both the museum and the popcorn wagon. That made sense to all involved.<\/p>

Step one in our search has been completed. We found a location!<\/strong><\/h4>

Step two has been completed. We purchased the building!<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>

Step three … see below.<\/strong><\/h4>

A perfect location has been found that will work well for both. It’s the historic building at 152 W. James St., which was the longtime home to Bellack\u2019s Clothing Store. —\u00a0 Albert M. \u201cDick\u201d Bellack and his brother, Bernhard \u201cBonny\u201d Bellack, started the business in 1883. They moved the business to this building in 1895 when it was built. An addition known as the \u201ctailor building\u201d was built in 1900 at what is now Bombshell Hair Designs at 116 N. Dickason Blvd. The Bellacks operated the business until 1935. New owners continued the business under the same name until the 1980s. The Knights of Pythias met in the second-floor meeting room, which is what the \u201cK of P\u201d denotes at the top of the building fa\u00e7ade. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

The building has been listed since 1992 on both the National and State Registers of Historic Places; it\u2019s located in the Columbus Downtown Historic District. <\/strong><\/p>

The building at 152 W. James St. is one door away from a historic intersection \u2013 the intersection that\u2019s home to Columbus City Hall, the Columbus Public Library and Farmers & Merchants Union Bank. The building has access in the rear for the popcorn wagon, which will be displayed inside the front of the museum. The first floor is 2,700 square feet; it already has men\u2019s and women\u2019s bathrooms. There\u2019s a nice apartment on the second floor where the building owners recently lived. It\u2019s 2.093 square feet. Being owner-occupied, the apartment was well-maintained.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The decades-old sign for Bellack\u2019s is still on the side of the building near the rear.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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There\u2019s a nice apartment on the second floor where the building owners recently lived. It\u2019s 2.093 square feet. Being owner-occupied, the apartment was well-maintained. <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The interior of Bellack\u2019s is shown; the exact date is unknown but could pre-date the turn of the 20th century. It\u2019s a historic site that would be ideal for a historic museum. \t\t <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Columbus Loves Its History<\/h2>

There are so many wonderful, historic buildings and artifacts in Columbus, and there is a greater number of residents who care about it than most people realize. There have been a number of fundraisers by different groups for historic causes in Columbus in the past few years. We would ask those same individuals to be our supporters as well. With their help we can re-open our museum and provide a permanent home for the historic popcorn wagon.<\/p>

Our Current Status<\/em><\/h3>

Columbus Area Historical Society artifacts have been in two storage units for the past two-plus years. We\u2019re paying to have them stored, from money raised by our fundraisers; that\u2019s money that could be better spent on other needs. Our fundraisers have included our annual Soup and Chili Luncheon, various brat fries, our Shadows From the Hillside presentation at Hillside Cemetery, Christmas-ornament sales and other functions. We also have several presentations on historical topics each spring and fall that we call \u201cTap Into History.\u201d While these efforts by the members of the society have raised funds for routine operations, they were by no means enough to purchase a building.<\/p>

The popcorn wagon has been stored in various buildings through the years. It\u2019s currently in a garage under a tarp. The building owner has been gracious to allow it to be stored there on a temporary basis, but it can\u2019t stay there forever.<\/p>

Now that we have a suitable site for both the popcorn wagon and museum, what comes next?<\/strong><\/h4>

It’s updating and making repairs to the building to make it museum-ready. For that, we’re continuing our fundrainsing.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Step three is the final step<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>

The list shows our original needs. Some show as “completed;” raising funds for those has been accomplished.\u00a0<\/p>

We are still looking for funds for the remaining items.<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>