I write too much about the death of historic buildings. But there are good stories out there, stories about historic buildings given new life, even stories where chocolate plays a big role (for me at least!). The day before Thanksgiving, my family and I sampled the tasty delights of the Hopewell Bake Exchange, housed in a historic building on Main Street in Paris, Kentucky. Built in the 1880s, the two-story brick commercial building has a four bay wide facade with segmentally arched windows with “dripping” hood molds inspired by the Italianate style. The storefront level has a door/window/door/window fenestration pattern, with centrally placed double doors leading into the first floor bakery.
Façade of the late 19th century building at 719 Main Street, Paris, Kentucky. Sadly, I could not move the mini-van to obtain a better picture.
In its earliest days, this brick building was home to a dry goods store; on the 1907 and 1912 Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, it is labeled as a general store. In the mid-20th century, the Women’s Exchange operated out of the building.
Section of the 1907 Sanborn Fire Insurance map showing the home of Hopewell Bake Exchange.
An unfortunate “update” of the façade occurred in the second half of the 20th century (see below photo), but that has thankfully been removed.
Circa 1989 photograph of the building that is now home to the Hopewell Bake Exchange (marked by blue arrow). Photo by Margo Warminski, from the NRHP files.
The Hopewell Bake Exchange was founded as a home-based bakery in 2018. In 2023 the storefront at 719 Main Street opened.
The interior, November 2023.
And oh! The baked goods for sale inside this lovely historic building are nothing short of phenomenal. I am now addicted to chocolate babka (an Eastern European braided bread that is an enticing mix between a cake and a bread – and yes, I know of its role in a Seinfeld episode). I want to eat it all of the time. Now, this isn’t a food blog, but I will say that everything we bought and greedily consumed was excellent. Even my youngest, who eschews my homemade quiches, had only words of praise for the quiches from Hopewell Bake Exchange.
A local business, delectable treats, and a historic building – this trifecta is something I am thankful for and that I celebrate.
Sometimes the good guys win one.
Janie-Rice, this is a fun entry with a locally owned, distinctive commercial building that contains a bakery that sells chocolate goodies. What else could you want? The hood molds over the segmentally arched windows are so well delineated. The building just looks inviting! Thank you for sharing your discoveries in your posts. I admit, sometimes preservations mourn our losses for quite awhile. This is a good reminder to celebrate successes! Thank you for highlighting Kentucky architecture.
Thank you Eileen!