Scary Moments in Heart of a City

By Max Jones
Tribune-Star
1/17/97

Many people in Terre Haute may not have realized just what they had at 7th and Wabash until fire threatened to take it away.

Slowly but surely, the southwest corner of the Crossroads of America has undergone a transformation in recent years from a struggling string of retail buildings to a promising strip of popular commercial establishments.

The renaissance was led by entrepreneur Boo Lloyd, who expanded on her successful deli on Sixth Street by opening a restaurant, the Crossroads Cafe, at 7th and Wabash.

Others have followed. Todd Nation moved his bookstore, BookNation, from the Swope building to larger quarters near Lloyd's cafe. Patrick Titzer and his wife, Karen, live and work in an apartment above the restaurant where they hope to one day open an art gallery. The Grapevine Contemporary Art Gallery also opened.

Meanwhile, Kadel's card shop and Herm Rassel's clothing store provided stability, and Lloyd showed her confidence in the location by recently expanding her restaurant into a second building.

Other businesses have since opened nearby, including a specialty food store and the Market Bella Rosa deli. The Paper Chase also moved into a vacant building near the intersection.

Owners of the new businesses have provided the thrust behind a revitalized downtown merchants group.

All their hard work was seriously threatened Sunday night when fire broke out in the basement of the Grapevine Contemporary Art Gallery. The Gallery was destroyed by the fire, and several adjacent businesses, including Crossroads Cafe, were damaged by smoke and water.

As bad as it was, it could have been worse. Early detection of the fire has been attributed to the fact that the Titzers lived in one of the buildings and alerted firefighters after smelling smoke.

Firefighters are also credited with fast and efficient work containing and extinguishing the blaze under difficult circumstances.

It shouldn't take a near catastrophe to make the community better appreciate what it's got in an important location. But that may well be the case. Terre Haute owes entrepreneurs at and around 7th and Wabash a debt of gratitude for their efforts to breathe life back into the heart of the downtown business district. We join the community in commending those businesses for the work they have done, and for the work they will do in the future. We hope those affected are back in business soon.

The city needs more than just their businesses. It needs their vision and their spirit.