SALAMANCA – Most recently, the building located at 32 Broad St. was an eyesore. With the sidewalk in front closed due to the building’s failing structure, 32 Broad St. was an inconvenience.

And after its demolition at the beginning of this month, 32 Broad St. is now history.

But along with the scraps of metal, the piles of bricks, the pieces of faded red-painted wood and an aged sign advertising “brake and muffler specialists,” the demolition of the vacant city property generated memories and nostalgia for several area residents.

For some, 32 Broad St. won’t be remembered for what is was the past several years but the purpose it served for the decades prior – a home, an auto service garage and a car dealership, for starters.

“I used to deliver The Salamanca Press to a couple of apartments upstairs,” said Larry Owens, a former Salamanca resident now living in California. Like others, he vocally commented about his memories of the building on Facebook after seeing photos of the building’s demolition.

He said he vividly remembers one story in which he learned a life lesson after a lady had promised to pay for her papers eventually – ”the lady had an excuse every week, for weeks,” Owens said – but moved away before paying. Owens remembers losing about $5 because of it.

“(That) was quite a sum when the paper was 42 cents a week and profit was maybe a penny or two a day,” he said. “I, of course, never forgot and my folks said ‘welcome to life!’”

Although sometimes trivial, it’s these kind of stories that are tied to a property that had seen better days prior to its demolition.

* This is a partial story. The full story can be found in the Jan. 10, 2013 edition of The Salamanca Press and online in the e-edition. *