Peake Building - Insider Tour 

Pure nostalgia 🥲 My Mamaw and Papaw raised me in the middle apartment (the one with the direct entrance from the street). I lived there with them from ages 2-10 between ‘95-‘03 before we moved to a house on West Ridge Ave. This video brought back a ton of my childhood memories. My height marks were recorded on the bathroom’s door framing. My Mamaw gave me baths in that kitchen sink. Ah! I could go on and on. Except for the store on the first level, I covered every square of that building as a kid. I’ve been in every apartment, and even snuck into the boiler room a few times (I still have nightmares about that place). I’m elated and grateful you all are taking efforts to preserve it. I’m sorry about the damage to the steps. I used to hit them with a hammer as a kid and drive the broken pieces around in my toy dump trucks. Anyways, I’d love to be involved in this project somehow, so I’ll DM your FB page.

Very interesting building, wish the camera person would show more of the building and less of the person talking.

Those little doors were for milk deliveries. We had them in some old buildings here in Scotland. 🤗 I’m looking forward to seeing you bring this beautiful building back to life 💕🤗

You should do videos of the renovation. I would definitely watch.

Beautiful old building. Glad to see it saved instead of demolished. Love the architecture. Gonna be amazing when its finished. 😊

wonderful building! If walls could talk. So sad to see our world shift this way. I'm grateful I got to live in the 70s and on. Seeing these small towns back in the 70s was amazing because of slower technology and no internet they were still full of what was in the 50s. I drive around our town and recall all the diners and gas stations, streets full of mom and pop shops, churches and community buildings etc. All is gone now. A different world... can't wait to see the buildings process.

This is really cool! I will bet opening in front window and a window to the shaft will create one heck of a cross breeze with that pressure difference from the height of the shaft. I wish we still used passive heating and cooling techniques like that today

I love looking at how those wonderfully skilled masons build things….that Peak building is beautiful…and really cool!

Wow! That’s going to be a huge renovation job. Looking forward to follow on your renovation adventure. 👍💪🏼

Always loved that building. My grandparents and an Uncle & Aunt lived at the top of the street. Can't wait to see the renovation.

I had family that lived in that building for a long time.

Buildings back then were BUILT by craftsman who had passion/pride for their work!!

When I was 4, my parents had a salesman come in and do a layout of kitchen cabinets for a remodel they were doing to their home. He sold them 'Youngstown Cabinets". This was around 1954. The cabinets were white with the logo on the face of the sink cabinet. The white paint yellowed so badly that my parent put wood grained contact paper over all the facing surfaces. Now this eventually shrank over time and it was at that point my parents had the cabinets replaced with custom wood cabinets in the late 70's. The old cabinets were working just fine but they just became unsightly. The cabinets were manufactured in Youngstown Ohio. Hope that helps with your quiry into your's.

I have driven by that building possibly hundreds of times, and I was always intrigued by its appearance, even as a child. Long ago, the only way to get to Norton and Wise was to go through Appalachia. I have long thought that Appalachia deserved some restoration. It's a place worth saving.

That building has so much potential it is insane! You can not rebuild anything like this anymore. The wood structure that is in it. Is strong along with the bricks. Plus the original radiators is just awesome.

We can't wait for more videos.

NO idea how you came up as a recommendation but I am here for it. What a fabulous venture. My house is a puzzle form 1900.

I bet the 3rd floor "boxes" were milk delivery since they go to the kitchen.

You’ve definitely got your work cut out for you but I can see how awesome that building will be restored. I appreciate your doing the video walkthrough

Thank you for sharing your journey with us!! Looking forward to watching you all bringing the building back to its original state 👍

Congratulations on getting your rescue of this beautiful building underway. It’s a lot of work but its completion will be so rewarding to you, to your community, and to the tourists you attract!

I really do hope that they have enough money for this renovation! Way too many old saveable buildings are being torn down to be replaced with "new & improved" crap! They just don't make anything the way they used to & new stuff isn't built to last! This building, if renovated correctly, could last another hundred years or more❤if it's looked after & cared for!!!

I love love old buildings thank you for working on this cool place.

I remember this unique building. I lived in W.Va. and my grandparents. Lived in Roanoke,Va. And the other grandparents in Russell Co. Va. Oh, those winding roads I had to take medicine before every trip!

I have a feeling that the little alcoves with the doors that open into the apartments were for milk deliveries, you'd put the empty bottles out and get full ones back, and the milkman never had to enter the apartment. They look too small to be for ice deliveries, but I've seen that too in old apartments. Since they do have doors into the apartments, I'm sure they aren't for telephones, though they are about the right size for a phone niche. It looks like there's a lot of good bones to save, even though there is a lot of damage, because there's also a lot of good features left. Good luck with your restoration.

The square open to the sky in the building is called a lightwell. They actually built those in San Francisco as loadbearing exterior walls in the center of the building. It let light down and air circulation, but in San Francisco they were more of an anti-earthquake addition.

Im looking forward to following your restoration progress.😊

thanks for posting!!! I've daydreamed about this building for a long time!

This really takes me back to the early 70’s in SIoux City. My parents owned several buildings in downtown that looked like this one. I remember doing many renovations to the apartments during summers in college.

Wonderful that you are restoring the building.

Wow! What a challenge you purchased! The first challenge is where to locate A huge construction dumpster? That whole building needs to be gutted to the studs/walls. Maybe you could get a local trades school to help with gutting and rebuilding. You will need many hands to tackle that place!

The Boxes may be Milk Chutes back to when the milk man traveled in the early hours of the morning leaving bottles and wire trays at residences throughout towns and cities.

Later, in 1993, we bought a house built in 1905. It is surrounded by houses built in the 1890s. Our house had been heated by coal, and employed a gravity furnace (meaning the heat rose from the basement, through passageways or chambers to the upper floors), though by time we bought it, it had been converted to natural gas & forced air with ductwork. We reclaimed the coal bin room, for more storage in our basement. There was an original canning room, for preserving home grown fruits and vegetables. All the houses on our street have brick built, underground cisterns, for collecting rain water, in the backyards. The timbers used in our house, predate modern sizing, and the nails are older style. We updated two lavatories removing the massive pedestal sinks, and single spigot fixtures, & 5 gallon toilet tanks.

Really cool building.👌

I totally agree with the person from Scotland about the third floor apartment hallway boxes being for milk delivery. Which were accessible from in the kitchens. Good luck your refurbishing project. I bet it will be great!

Ive been surrounded by Canadians for far too long. Its refreshing to hear someone pronouce the word "tour" any way other than "two-urrr".

Radiator heat is the best. I will be following your progress!❤

Being nosy, but for the outside steps, I recommend a hand hold. I am now disabled and notice when there is nothing to hold onto. You could put it just on the building side, if you want to keep the outside edge open like it is now.

I can't imagine how expensive its going to be to reclaim that huge building. Gotta be millions. I hope your plan is successful, good luck!

That's an amazing building that's been build over and built over. Going to take a lot of work and money to get it back to how it was.

Beautiful building. I’ve been around the Appalachian area for awhile, my wife is from Richlands, Va.

Water issues need to be addressed foremost before it deteriorates your building. Re-tar or address the roof. A tiny crack can take down a huge building. Y'all have a great adventure ahead of you. You seem like great folks, - Ken in Rome, GA.

In my teens, I helped renovate an old apartment building, and this building brought back many of those memories. I found an old sheriff’s badge with the name scratched off inside one of the walls. It was like a time capsule. The first floor had plaster and trim from the 20’s at the latest, and the daylight basement apartment had cheap paneling from the 70’s. It was in Star City, WV.

Certainly a unique building. Best wishes on your big project.

That would be an awesome Cigar/Restaurant store. Great buy!

Beautiful building with a lot of potential. Hope you folks post an update some time in the future.

that will be quite an undertaking. Glad the building will be restored/renovated.

I enjoyed this, especially the explanation from the commentators

What a cool building! Looking forward to seeing what you do with it!

Very cool building and project. Just fyi, all of the sheet paneling is a much later addition. All of it. I’d guess late 1960s or later. Also, by 1920 there were closets designed and built in at times. I subscribed to your channel so I can see the progress!

I remember it well. Lived in Appalachia from 1950-1968.

I moved to Columbus, Ohio from Athens, Ohio, about 100 miles, North East away. My girlfriend and I rented an apartment in an old city block, the main buildings were built in 1896,...and additional ones were added in 1900. Our suite had 14 foot ceilings covered in stamped tin. The rooms had at one time been illuminated by natural gas lamps, as there were capped gas lines in the ceilings and on the walls in the living room. The windows were 8 foot tall. Instead of steam radiators, the rooms were heated by basic (passive) gas heaters, vented to chimneys. So they were not aided by electric fans, the heat just radiated out and natural convection moved the heat about. We also used portable electric baseboard heaters. There was an oversized claw foot tub, large enough for two occupants. We rigged up a shower & an enclosure. A simple copper pipe frame, with shower curtains. We restored the original 1905 kitchen, stripping & repainting the many well built cabinets. We stripped the paint off of sturdy chrome over brass, cabinet latches and hinges. We purchased from a salvager, a 1905 era kitchen exit door, with a built in window, which we restored, that lead to a large open sided outside porch. We lived there for 10 years, beginning in 1982. The rent was ridiculously low, because we rented it in "as is" condition. It was up to us to pay for any improvements, & repairs. Rent: $75.00, with gas, water, electricity all included. It was on the second floor, above an "old timers tavern".

Great video. Awesome to see you both take an interest in reviving the area you grew up in. Loved the down to earth presentation. And the camera work was good. The camera was held steady and not moved to qucikly form view to view in a vertigo inducing manner that can sometimes happen. It must be tricky to film when you are having to be considerate of not falling through the floor. I will be following your progress with much interest.

This is like the icing on the cake for me as i have seen this building from the outside only in another youtubers video of the town ! Its so cool !

I attended Ohio University which is in southern Ohio, in Athens Ohio. I rented suites in many buildings that were built in the late 1890s and early 1900s. In fact your building resembles many of the old buildings that are standing to this day. Athens Ohio is in the foothills of Appalachia. The town is very hilly. Ohio University is the only reason the town is still vibrant, and reasonably well taken care of. The streets are all exposed pavers.

IDK if I missed it but are planing to keep the building as apartments with a store in front or is there going to be another purpose?

My cousin is restoring a beautiful old building in North Central Iowa . My family used to fix buildings too. You have many adventures ahead of you. Wishing you the best on this amazing project.

What a great project and huge undertaking! Good luck.

Please show us any cool treasures you find. I love that stuff! Thank you for sharing!!

More building shots, please

Great video. Thanks for the tour. I’m looking forward to watching the progress.

That lowest decorative section of brick work is called a "soldier course" If you can imagine soldiers all standing shoulder to shoulder upright all in a line. Have a look again.

Nice building. I would wonder if one of those phone stations was a dumb waiter. To move produce upstairs? I also love those old steps, as short of rise you can. Much better for walking.

Interesting! God bless everyone who is involved in the restoration of this historic building!

Little doors in the hallway with latches are milk bottle delivery doors. My old apartment in Hyde Park in Tampa had one. You would put your empties in there and the milkman would replace with fresh full bottles on delivery day. That's what it looks like to me. That's what the ones in my 1920s apartment building were for. I also had a little alcove on the wall where the old phone was.

That furniture store across the street from this down hill , wow , trusting nothing will bring a vehicle into your store.

That's such a cool building. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Awesome, thank you for sharing this is excellent!!

Good luck, look forward to seeing the progress.

Just stumbled across your videos and love the idea of restoring them! Can wait to see what's next!

That's a pretty fierce looking hill. Similar to some here in Bristol UK.

Boxes may have been for ice delivery with an ice box on the inside.

Best of luck… I admire your effort and wish you the best in restoring that beautiful old building.

Very cool building glad to see you guys bringing it back to life again

That is a fascinating building, I am glad that you are going to restore it. As you know from others those niches are for milk bottle delivery. I am looking forward to follow the restoration project. I have subscribed, hope you will do video updates. Thank you for sharing this. ❤❤👍👍

Wow that could be an awesome building but that looks like a huge investment. Good luck, Id love to see the final product.

Thats going to be quite the project! Good luck👍

Good for you guys renovating these pieces of history.

Wow... I applaud your bravery in taking on this task!. We renovated (have not finished) a HOME near Cincinnati. We gutted a few rooms... had a new beam put in, concrete floor installed.. it was a hot mess. We think the entire building had been moved from across the street .. and at that time a lower level build in.. It is a lot of scary hard work to rebuild old hoimes and you have a mASSIVE project on your hands. I wish you the best of luck and can't wait to see the progress!!

It's awesome to see somebody preserving this kind of stuff. I sure hope we get future updates on this building I really want to see what it looks like as they go along.

Love the building!

Consider checking 1930 to 1990 census to identify former residents. Perhaps some information could give additional clues to its past. Good luck.

Wow, what a challenging project you've taken on. Unless you are prepared to spend well into 7 figures on this building, you will have to completely gut the structure and start over. You may be able to rescue some of the wood work and such, but there's just not much left to rescue. I subscribed and look forward to following your progress.

Thanks for the video. Mixed-use housing has always been interesting to me. Here's wishing you the best of luck in your restoration.

Love it, good luck!

Subscribed. This is going to be a serious project. For future videos slow that camera down. Steady the handheld light in the areas you are showcasing. I realize for most of the gut you won't have running electric to much of the building. Appreciate you chose to save this building! Best to you in renovations. Look forward to following the progress. I sure hope you can have a shoot from the top to a rollback dumpster on the main street.

The house we bought was built in 1900. Still mostly original except for upgraded HVAC, electric and plumbing. Upgrades are a challenge due to construction with lath and plaster but rewarding. Hope your renovation goes smoothly.

Watched the whole video very cool thanks

Love it, she will learn what she looking at to describe...enjoy the project!

So cool. Have fun on that one.

That wooden panel board wasn't used in homes until the nineteenth fifties

Cameraman can film the bldg. All three carry a go pro and there will be lots for editing. Cool bldg.

Good luck! Hope you have a ton of money! Looking forward to seeing your progress!

Kudos, to you guys for saving this building. Please post more videos on your progress. I have no doubt that your channel will grow.

WOW! That is a lot of work for you! It is wild-looking! I would estimate 250 million+ in repairs! Wow!

Great building to save!

Looks like a great project for This Old House...Better call Bob Vila!

Definitely worth saving

hope u can help bring life back to ur urban oasis and get more going no reason these towns should rot away

I would love to see it when you're done renovating