WESTFIELD, Ind. - On Wednesday, a major move took place for the city of Westfield and INDOT with their partnership on the State Road 32 project.
The green building that sits at 102 S. Union Street began its journey after nearly six years of planning.
It has sat in the same spot for over 180 years, but in order to preserve its rich history it’s heading up the road.
“It's been a long process to get to this point,” said Linda Naas with the Westfield Preservation Alliance. “Now that we see it up on the wheels getting ready to move, it’s like oh yeah, it's actually gonna happen."
People lined the streets to watch Westfield's oldest commercial building move just a few feet.
“For 60 years, it was called The Old Corner Drugstore and everybody in the area knew, everyone came from all around because it was like a huge drugstore with a great business,” said Naas. “60 years beyond that, it became Funderburgh’s grocery."
Historians have debunked the rumored connections to the Underground Railroad, but the building still has significance to many born and raised here.
The last owner was Dance Innovations before INDOT bought it for the expansion with Westfield.
“This was an important step as part of the 32 project, to preserve the building, restore it to its historic significance, and make it a really nice and beautiful asset for the city in the future,” said Jonhathon Nail with the City of Westfield.
The project will add lanes to hopefully prevent future car crashes, as well as extend sidewalks to make downtown more walkable.
“We've had to overcome quite a few obstacles with the history of the downtown district, as well as utility complications,” said Jennifer Beck with INDOT. “But we've been getting through them all, and again, excited to be here today and see some progress happen."
It's still uncertain as to what the building will be used for in the future.
“We would hope it would be something where the public can come in and out so that they can actually see it, and touch it, and know what the history of this is because it has been continually a business and we'd hate to see that stop,” said Naas.
Overhead wires only allowed the building to move out of the way for those utilities to be placed underground.
Once that is taken care of, it will head to its final destination by the Westfield Playhouse on Union Street.
INDOT predicts construction of the lanes will begin in 2025.