The Salvage

I don't know if it was a common term, but most everyone I knew called the large building near the corner of Main Street and Sugar Land Street (now Kempner Street) 'The Salvage.'  It was an old building that served various purposes over the years.

I checked a 1940 Sanborn map, and it says the building contained a storage warehouse, printing plant, and a meeting hall among other things.  It doesn't show the large upstairs room I knew as the KC Hall.  That must have come later.

I have two aerial photos that show that area of town.  One was taken in 1956; the other in 1970.  I'm a little puzzled by the latter picture.  It doesn't show the stairs to the KC Hall on the east side of the building.  Maybe they had taken it down by that time?

The 1956 photo is a black & white version of the color picture used on large postcards many people have in their scrapbooks.  A large version of the color photo (maybe 5' x 3') hangs in the Sugar Land Museum.  You can see it any Saturday morning if you drop by for a visit.