Historic bank becomes home; project

BRAZIL, Ind. (WTHI) - A Clay county couple creates their dream home while renovating a piece of the town's history. It’s the story of a new life for the building and the couple in the heart of Brazil's downtown.

The chop saw cutting into a piece of crown molding is one of the many sounds of progress in the Lewis family's new apartment.

Lee Lewis works on the door frame of their front room, while her husband Tony cuts wood for the hallway.

It’s how they spend their free time, working on their dream home. But it's no ordinary townhouse; their home is the historic Davis building in downtown Brazil.

"When I walked in the door, and thats the one you walked in right there, everything I have ever loved architecturally was there,” Lee said of the first time she saw the building.

Built in 1909 the Davis building was a vibrant part of 20th century Brazil.

"The downstairs was Ehlers; it originally had been a Woolworth and then upstairs there were dentists and doctors offices I mean everything. It was like a hub of a community,” she explained.

Lewis purchased the 20,000 square foot structure last year. Since the fall, she and her husband have begun remodeling every inch of the structure. But it's not just a home they'll create, it’s a business too.

"In the old bank downstairs which is the old Davis Trust Company, it’s not a real large space it’s very quaint, its on the curve on the west side of the building, the southwest side. We're going to be putting in a deli, bakery, and coffee shop called Cool Beans,” she said.

The second floor, which once was doctors’ offices, will be their apartment.

“Our goal was to get a living space by winter. Which basically, we're warm and it’s nice, but we're not finished,” she said of their apartment area.

So they spend every free minute renovating this building they now call home.

"You have to have a camping mentality to do this you have to be able to say your going to rough it and we kind of have that, the ability to say we're survivors. It's like being on Survivor almost," she ended saying.