Across the street from an "antique coffee shop" in the ruins of what was a gas station lies an unassuming building. Two stories tall, it's thin only 40 feet wide, and a the full length of the block. Built in the late 1800s it was a lumber mill owners mansion. The town was used heavily for the lumber trade in the 1800s, there was a canal that ran through the town to the river. There was an entrance to the canal right in the building. The office was a horses stable that was originally the starting point for the lumber to get placed into the canal boats. The downstairs houses a parlor, an office, and an embalming room. The original design for the horses stall (now the office) was to remain uninsulated. Aesthetically it has the feeling of being an addition to the building.
After the lumber industry moved out of the area, the building became repurposed as a funeral home. The building then housed 5 generations of funeral directors until its current iteration: the Frederick B Welker Funeral Home. Together with his daughter they run it as a team. Typically the idea of a funeral home seems the place for a horror film, or the start of jump scares. This is not the case at all. The building is welcoming and warm. Full of comfortable furniture and boisterous people its easy to find oneself spending the evening here without a second glance at the clock.
The idea of this place being repurposed with love has been something on my mind. I could see a family show orbit this location. Often places that are associated with death are painted in such a negative light. This family has created a business centered on caring about passed loved ones. It would be a pleasure to turn the stereotype of a scary funeral home being a place full of laughter and love.
