J.J. Hamilton spreads gravel across the lot that had been occupied by the Dr. Matz building prior to its destruction in fire in February.
J.J. Hamilton spreads gravel across the lot that had been occupied by the Dr. Matz building prior to its destruction in fire in February.
JJ Hamilton works on the open lot where the Dr. Matz building stood before it was destroyed by fire earlier this year.
Firefighters in a crane work to quell a fire in the Dr. Matz building on Tower Avenue in downtown Centralia early Tuesday morning, Feb. 14.
Firefighters work to quell a fire in the Dr. Matz building on Tower Avenue in downtown Centralia early Tuesday morning, Feb. 14.
Fire fighters spray the Dr. Matz Building down with a hose as its engulfed in flames early Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012.
Standing on the Tower Avenue sidewalk Wednesday afternoon where her home and business burned down more four months ago, Linda Hamilton began to envision the future for the empty lot.
Hamilton, the owner and resident of the burned and demolished Dr. Matz Building, pictured a brick entryway to a new building, a second floor of high-ceiling apartments and the possibility of serving coffee to the future residents.
“I’m excited to use a lot of the old pieces (from the Dr. Matz Building),” Hamilton, 51, said.
Hamilton said she plans to build a two-story building with commercial businesses on the first floor and studio apartments on the second floor, similar to the former downtown Centralia building.
Before she can complete that long-term goal, Hamilton said she needs to line up a commercial loan and come up with a down payment.
In the meantime, her son J.J. Hamilton, 32, spent Wednesday afternoon on a rented bulldozer smoothing out the ground for a brick courtyard.
Hamilton stored 6,000 bricks from the Dr. Matz Building at Lincoln Creek Lumber.
With the help from her oldest son J.J. and his co-workers at In the Works landscaping, Hamilton plans to have the bricks down by the weekend.
“It will be ready for Billetproof,” Hamilton said of the annual car show.
Hamilton said the Billetproof car show was always a big event for the Dr. Matz Building, and this year Hamilton will host a barbecue, see her family and talk with locals on the new brick courtyard. Grass and flowers will also soon be planted, Hamilton said.
The historic Dr. Matz building, which stood at the corner of South Tower Avenue and East Main Street for 123 years, was gutted by fire early Tuesday Feb. 14 morning. The building was then demolished on Thursday, Feb. 16.
“Once the demolition was complete,” Hamilton said. “It became a tough situation.”
Hamilton is still without a permanent residence and tells her friends her address is a post office box. Since the fire, she keeps herself busy to avoid memories of losing her children’s baby pictures in the fire.
“It’s not a happy time yet,” Hamilton said. “But I’m up.”
This weekend, when classic cars roll through downtown Centralia, Hamilton said opening up the brick-covered lot will be the first step in bringing life back to the street corner.
“Being here Saturday with all of our stuff will be fun,” Hamilton said.
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Kyle Spurr: (360) 807-8239
