Point 6: Van Valkenburgh-Matthews Building

Beneath the metal siding of the Downtown Storage Building is a Brandon building. In the 1950s, property owners ‘modernized’ the original brick building with stucco. When the stucco began to fail, raining down chunks of concrete to the sidewalk below–owners covered the exterior surface with siding for safety reasons.  The original brick walls are still visible in the basement. 

Photo: Van V and Matthews

Caption: The original Van Valkenburgh Building before “modern” updates

Photo: Sterchi’s Furniture

Owners applied a stucco finish to the Van Valkenburg and Matthews building in the 1950s to modernize the façade.

Photo: Sterchi Facelift

Caption: Old building given modern “Face Lifting” in 1952.

Photo: Van V Basement

Caption: One of the few places where the original Brandon bricks are still visible is in the building’s basement, now home to an upscale bar and speakeasy.