A Bourbon in the Rubble - State and Main Southeast Corner

The complex on the opposite side of East State Street is called City Center and it’s easy to tell it’s the newest of all the downtown buildings. The previous, late-19th century building on that corner had businesses ranging from dry goods to furniture and upholstery, undertaking services and a beloved clothing shop called The Children’s Store that old-timers still mourn the loss of. In the winter of 1980 that building, which now also housed an outlet of the state liquor store, was entirely gutted by fire in the middle of the night. I still remember that night myself.
I also remember my history-loving father venturing into the rubble to retrieve a cultural artifact for posterity. That bottle of Ten High bourbon is still lurking somewhere inside my family home. And still unopened!