626 Second Street:
The Center (Thrift Shop / Karaman Custom Furniture)
1972: Thrift shop
The structure was originally constructed by volunteers from the nearby St. Hubert's Catholic Church in 1971 to house a Saint Vincent DePaul thrift shop. At that time the property was part of the Langley Building Supply owned and operated by Phil and Jean Bjorn. The Church donated the labor, the Bjorns donated the construction material.
1980: Zaven Karamanyan buys the building.
Zaven Karamanyan, purchased the building from Jean Bjorn in 1999 and opened a furniture upholstery business. According to Mr. Karamanyan, one of the few vestiges of the building's original purpose are the hookups in the back room for a washer and dryer, which were apparently used to launder donated clothing.
2017. Karaman Upholstery (Courtesy Robert Waterman).
2020: Karaman Furniture closed and the building sold to Signe Sterner.
2021. Vacant (Courtesy Robert Waterman).
2024: The façade was upgraded, and Tim Batiste opened his "Five-Element Acupuncture" business in The Center.
2024. The Center (Courtesy Robert Waterman).