For a recent Caledonian Games weekend, Athena resident Cathy Roscoe wrote up a mile-long historic buildings walking tour. Over time, the material has been shrunk and then added to ... so the walk of one mile might take you a bit longer now!
The information is based largely on materials in the 2-volume Athena Historical Buildings Inventory compiled 1987-88 by Athena residents Mildred Searcy and Helen Woodroofe (copies available at City Hall and the library) and on research conducted by the Athena Friends of the Library [ALFA].
Turn right from city park on Third Street to pass several homes built between 1914 and 1928, several with unusual porches or dormers. The north end gabled porte-cochere at 246 S. Third is worth noting.
At the corner of Third and Main is the St. Nichols Hotel, built in 1880. Now converted into rental apartments, this typical wood frame walk-up hotel originally boasted a full-width second-story balcony, extending out over the sidewalk. In 1904, the brick annex was constructed; sometime between 1900 and 1910, the balcony was removed.
Across the street from the hotel are the old theater building with "JBetz" molded onto the pediment and the Pendleton Grain Growers
store. Both were built near the turn-of-the-century when the previous wooden buildings which stood along the street were
destroyed by fire. Both are Romanesque/Art Deco and have similar decorative elements. The pilasters, rosettes, and ball finials on PGG building are of note. The old theater was recently donated to the City,
and a team is hard at work to clean it and raise funds to restore it.
A stroll westward along Main Street brings us to the 1881 blacksmith shop, now in poor condition, but important as
part of the very early townsite. It is considered a "gem" as it is the only brick smithy in the region. Next door is an 1891 wood frame building,
also neglected, but an example of original western false front (photo, below right).
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Going back to the corner of PGG store and continuing east for a couple blocks, is a 1904 Romanesque building which was the OddFellows Hall, with the "all seeing eye of God" emblem remaining on the building front. Currently this building houses the U.S. Post Office. Across the street is the Richardson Romanesque former First National Bank building (photo, above left), built 1904, which has been renovated and houses Somewhere in Time, an antiques and collectibles store.
On the SE corner of this intersection at 402 Main, is BB Richards law office (now Irene's Tax Service) dating from 1897. Homer Watts law office at 408 E Main, dating from 1921, is now Ezell's construction. Worth noting are the architectural features of the NAPA store across the way. On the Main Street facade is an iron column and around the corner on 4th, over former windows, are metal pediments ... all dating from the original 1888 Zerba Garage building.
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North on Fourth Street from Main, at 247 N. Fourth, is the Watts House, built in 1926 and the only building in Athena on the National Historic Register (photo from rear of house, below left). This unusual English Cottage Style home is known locally as "the gingerbread house" due to its coloration, multi-paned windows, and unusual roof style. A private residence, it is usually opened annually for tours during Caledonian Games weekend.
A turn right at the next corner onto Van Buren leads to the T.J. Kirk house at 528 E. Van Buren. Built in 1900, this Queen Anne style building boasts a wrap-around porch, circular gazebo, and multiple gables. It is a private residence. It remains relatively unaltered from its original exterior.
Nearby at 434 Van Buren is the Queen Anne style parsonage of the Athena Christian Church; the latter is situated at 458 Van Buren. Both date from 1902-1903.
Our walk now runs south along Fifth back to Main, where an additional half-mile walk east leads to the Dudley Farmstead at Wildhorse Road (photo, below right). Built in 1900, the Queen Anne has recently been restored and is a private residence. The most striking feature is the 3-storey tower with high conical roof and nine windows.
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