Ace Hardware

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This former automobile dealership from 1926 and a Nash Automotive dealership in the 1940s is a well-known landmark in downtown Greensburg, PA. The new owners intend to expand their retail store business by adding another store location to their business model; this city was the prime location. Participating in a major hardware store chain, they purchased an unoccupied building that had most recently served as an equipment rental store.

The architect’s quiet voice was to celebrate the hardware store aspect of its new function while paying respect to the original structure. The contractor removed layers of earlier renovation work, which revealed the original plaster beams and ornate ceiling. Even the original wood storefront was mostly intact. Modern insertions played on the hardware theme of aluminum components and exposed connectors and fasteners. A new storefront is inserted neatly into the original framework along with a new banner, monument sign, and canopy over the new entrance door. The use of an abandoned existing building with this much character is always the first step in thinking green and a revitalization tool to the local downtown area.

Client: Thrift Supply, Ace Hardware
Contractor: Owner
Structural Engineering Consultant: Morris Knowles and Associates
MEP Engineering Consultant: AJC Professional Services
Photographer: Skysight Photography