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Call Me PMc

Cooking. Creating. Sharing

The Office Renovation – From Weigh Station to Northwestern Mutual Office

Jun.posted by Paula 11 Comments

The Office Renovation:

My husband is a financial advisor with Northwestern Mutual. He purchased an old industrial building in 2010 and renovated it as his office.  It was built circa 1900 and served as the office/weigh station for The Tupelo Oil Mill Company, Inc.,  a cotton seed crushing mill that produced cotton seed oil.  So, are you asking yourself what is a “weigh station”? In the ground under the awnings of each side of the building are large truck scales. These scales would weigh the trucks as they delivered loads of cotton seed, which came from the local agricultural community.  The building was used as a weigh station as well as for the sale of coal until the 1980’s.  It sat vacant for a decade or so until it was purchased in the early 1990’s and converted to offices. The scales remain under the concrete directly under the large awnings on each side. 

The building is located in downtown Tupelo, two blocks from Main Street and half a block from the railroad. A title search of the property reveals ownership of the building stayed in one family for 71 years from September 1, 1898 until November 18, 1969. To date, there has been only eight owners of the property.

Because Wesley worked in the office every day for four months during renovation, he’ll walk you through the before and after pictures explaining the sometimes surprising and always interesting renovation process.

2-2-2012 10-24-48_025-1This is the office at the corner of S. Broadway St. and Clark St. in Tupelo MS.
It’s a well-known building in the heart of downtown.  Notice the 1954 Buick and the line of other 50’s cars.
This is the oldest photograph we have of the building, it was taken in the 1950’s.

img013
This photograph was taken in 1995 after it was purchased and turned into an office building.
This is the front Southern, or left, side of the office.
Notice the lack of landscaping.
The awning over the front door is basic, undecorated metal.

 

img019In 1995, the awning had been replaced by a somewhat decorative one and planters added.

img020Front shot of the building in 1995, notice the lack of a curb and the patchwork of concrete that had been added over the years.

IMG_0382Rear shot of the building in 2010, done in black and white.

IMG_5632Front of the office in 2010, the doors had been painted green and a new awning had been added to the front.
This was after we purchased the building but before any renovation began.

IMG_0377Close up of office door 2010 before renovation.

IMG_0376Front of office – 2010

IMG_0375Street or North side of office before renovation.

IMG_0471

IMG_0470

IMG_0444-2The drive up window was a larger window and was changed to a sliding window at some point
leaving a wooden area between the new window and brick.

IMG_0441 - Copy (2)Decking wood was added to the under side of awning.

IMG_0440 - CopyAwnings on rear windows.

IMG_0439 - CopyThe back office was an addition as indicated by the seam in the bricks.

IMG_0437 - CopyStreet or North side looking from back.
Air conditioning was added at some point, probably when it was turned into office space.

IMG_0435

IMG_0433

IMG_0429 - Copy

IMG_0420Looking out (North) from the back office.

IMG_0398

IMG_0397

IMG_0396

South side of building

IMG_0393South side of building. The small window was the boarded up bathroom window.
It was opened up during the renovation.
The large back window is the back addition. The window was left closed during renovation.

IMG_0389This is the back, or West, of the office in 2010.

IMG_0379North side.

06-03-2010 002Conference room pre-renovation. One of the front doors had been boarded up at some point.

06-03-2010 003 (2)Wesley’s office – pre-renovation.  It had this sliding window in the wall for some reason.
Also had 70’s paneling and hollow core doors.

IMG_0401Wesley’s office

IMG_0461 - CopyWesley’s office

IMG_0453Wesley’s office

06-03-2010 005Work room pre-renovation, the angled wall space in the corner is the reminisces of an old wood stove vent that heated the building.

IMG_5828

Work room

IMG_5887

Work room – see the brick chimney

IMG_5884

Work room – see the brick chimney

IMG_5885

Looking straight up at the old bead board ceiling at the area around the chimney.

06-03-2010 004 a

The front lobby pre-renovation, notice the counter that was removed and the vault door at the back of the room.

IMG_0422The front lobby and assistant area

IMG_0465
Assistant space

IMG_5825 - Copy
Assistant space

Removing the counter revealed the original masonry walls and 12″ trim around the windows.

06-03-2010 006Restroom pre-renovation, it was divided by a sliding door making two very small spaces.

06-03-2010 007Rear office pre-renovation, notice the long hanging light bar from many years ago and the old built-in book shelves.

IMG_5939_2

Rear office mid construction, we removed the 70’s paneling, carpet and hanging lights.

IMG_5819 - CopyThe front lobby

Lobby under construction, we removed the counter and the old drop ceiling tiles.
This is looking from the front door, we found the original ceiling height had been dropped multiple times over the years.  The original ceiling was bead board, in the 50’s 12×12 ceiling tiles were added and the dropped metal mesh ceiling grids were added. It was an  architectural archeology study.  We also go a lesson in the evolution of technology during the removal of the ceiling, from orignal phone lines that were as big as electrical power lines to old grey phone lines to modern cat 5 cables.

 

IMG_5859_2 - Copy

Restroom mid construction, we uncovered the window and opened the room up as only one room and raised the ceiling.

IMG_0405Wesley’s office – all cleaned out, we replaced the doors with period correct ones and replaced the paneling with sheet rock.

IMG_0417Work room – Carpet, bookshelves, paneling and mini blinds all had to go!

IMG_0451-2The building had a vault, I assume because they paid for cotton seed in cash.

IMG_0414Inside of vault.

IMG_0410Inside of vault.

IMG_0411Inside of vault.
Many interesting ‘artifacts’ were found.

IMG_0412

 

IMG_5930_2Back office (an addition)

After renovation:

IMG_6013Front lobby/Assistant space
Lobby all done and ready for business.

IMG_0001_1Conference room

IMG_0003_1Conference room

IMG_0049Assistant area

IMG_0005_1 (1)Vault

IMG_0008Assistant Area

IMG_0010Restroom

IMG_0021Lobby

IMG_0023Work room/second office

IMG_0027Lobby/ assistant area

IMG_0040Wesley’s office

IMG_0086Restroom

IMG_0184Back office (an addition)

IMG_0053Back office

IMG_0178Back office

IMG_0181Back office

I wanted to show you the full picture of all of these. However, it’s hard to tell the difference if you do not know the building and rooms. Below, I did a side by side of each room’s before and after picture.

Before and after:

Asst areaLobby/ assistant area before, during and…

IMG_6013after

asst area 2Assistant area before and after.

vaultVault door before…
vault 2and after!

Conference roomConference room before and after

IMG_0003_1and after

Wesley officeWesley’s office before, during and

IMG_0040after!

Work roomWork room/back office before, during and…

IMG_0023after

restroomRestroom before, during and …

IMG_0010after!

back officeBack office during and after

back office 2Back office during and after

SAMSUNGThe Office AFTER!!
After renovation is complete inside and out.
Missed matched concrete has been torn up and landscape added.
On the front left door, Northwestern Mutual was added to match the original writing on the left door.

Through the years dated

Paula
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Comments

  1. Jamie @ Love Bakes Good Cakes says

    07.02.13 at 4:19 pm

    I have a thing for old buildings! I’m so glad that some of the original charm was kept! It looks great!

    Reply
    • Paula says

      07.02.13 at 6:12 pm

      Thank you, Jamie. It was work and stressful at times, but fun as well. We’re very proud of it. Thanks for stopping by.

      Reply
  2. Christine says

    06.17.13 at 9:58 am

    The update is UNBELIEVABLE!! WOW!!! Totally LOVE the new look! Lots of work… but very worth it!

    Thanks so much for sharing this at The DIY Dreamer! See you tomorrow evening! 🙂

    Reply
    • Paula says

      06.17.13 at 8:21 pm

      I knew a DIYer like yourself would appreciate the reno. Thanks for you great parties!

      Reply
  3. Joan - My Cookie Clinic says

    06.11.13 at 11:28 am

    Amazing transformation to this historical building….beautiful job….enjoyed viewing all the photos.

    Reply
    • Paula says

      06.11.13 at 12:23 pm

      Thank you, Joan. It was a lengthy process, but very interesting. It was probably more fun for me than my husband since he tried to work there while all that was going on.

      Reply
  4. Renea (cupcake-n-bake) says

    06.11.13 at 8:57 am

    That’s an awesome redo! I wasn’t aware you were from Tupelo. I’m from right across the Alabama state line, so we frequent Tupelo every now and then. Now, I can say that I know what that building used to look like!

    Reply
    • Paula says

      06.11.13 at 11:31 am

      Awesome! Good to know, Renea! Funny, I remember the building when I was little, very unique with those awnings.

      Reply
  5. Danni@SiloHillFarm says

    06.11.13 at 8:49 am

    Oh my gosh! That is one awesome reno Paula! You didn’t really say, but I’m guessing you had a pretty heavy hand in the design of it all! Such a huge difference and what a great history behind the building!

    Reply
    • Paula says

      06.11.13 at 11:34 am

      Really, I didn’t do much. Wesley and the contractor did most of it, they did go through a couple different paint colors before he got one he liked.

      Reply

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