Time Has Wrought Marked Changes in Olneyville Square -- part 4 1918 in the Sunday Journal "In place of the shed with its upper room, Armory Hall was erected in 1861, deriving that name from the fact that during the early part of the Civil War drill meetings were held there on stormy days by the Home Guard. "The first floor was divided, in the corner being "Ted" Luther's drug store. The other part was occupied by Baton as a periodical shop. The entrance to the hall was on the east side, and it was approached through a high board fence built between the adjoining buildings. "While the hall was used for dances and lectures, it was here that a small number of Baptists, members of downtown churches, but living in and near Olneyville square, began holding meetings out of which came the organization of Zion, later the Broadway Baptist Sunday school. The latter was founded in October, 1864, and the church in May, 1865. Meetings were held in the little hall until the vestry of the present edifice at the corner of Broadway and Valley street was made ready for occupancy in 1869. "Adjoining the hall was a variety store, with a tailor's shop in the rear, kept by Ira Holloway, William A. Phillips being his clerk. The space at the side, between Armory Hall and this store was covered by a shed for the storage of oil and grain, and later it was used as a tobacco store by John Gaddes. "Through Holloway's store ran the Johnston and city of Providence boundary line. In this store one could stand before the counter and be in Providence while buying gunpowder from a clerk who stood behind it in Johnston. "Walter Proctor was in the next building. He kept a liquor store, and about the same conditions obtained there -- the line running diagonally -- Proctor could stand in an addition he built to the rear part of his store and sell liquor which was..... I am sorry to say, this is where the rest of the clipping has been torn and lost. Copied by Priscilla Fanning, January, 2005. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com