Main Street , Bramwell, WV 24715(Mercer County)

LOCATION

Google Coordinates: 37.3251517091041, -81.31214467463694

Address: 135, 137, 143, 147, 151 Main Street, Bramwell, West Virginia

Elevation: approximately 2,180 feet above sea level

OVERVIEW

The Collins Building is an anchor property in Bramwell and fronts Main Street, the most trafficked thoroughfare in its historic district. Many visitors exploring the district walk past the building between the visitor center and the residential section, which includes many of its most elaborate structures. An estimated 50,000 visitors tour the district annually. Many are off-road adventurers traveling the adjacent trail systems, while others are attracted chiefly by Bramwells remarkable history and architecture. More than 400 vehicles travel past the building daily.

The property includes five street-level storefronts and four upstairs apartments. Approximately 3,900 square feet of private parking adjoins the building at the rear on River Road, while public parking is also available along Main Street and in a lot 130 feet away at the west end of the block.

The subject property is the long-time home of the United State Post Office of Bramwell, WV

Four of the five storefronts are occupiedby Blue Moon Antiques, Honeycomb Cafe, and the U.S. Post Office. A fourth storefront and a smaller fifth are partly occupied. Four store sections are approximately 21 feet wide by 65 feet deep and enclose approximately 1,365 square feet, though dimensions vary slightly from one to another. The fifth is 10 feet wide by 30 feet deep. It encloses approximately 300 square feet and has traditionally been entered from the adjacent store rather than the street. Each of the store sections is heated and cooled with a heat pump.

Each of the four upstairs apartments includes a foyer, living room, dining area, an eat-in kitchen, two bedrooms, and a full bath. All feature two entrances leading off a central lobby. The second entrance to each may have been designed for servants attending to guests. Dimensions vary, though each apartment is approximately 1,300 square feet. They open into a skylit central lobby accessed by stairs that lead to the street levels at the front and rear of the building. Each of the apartments is heated with electric and propane units.

HISTORY OF THE BUILDING

The Collins Building was built in 1922 by Jairus Collins, one of the most influential developers in the surrounding Pocahontas Coalfield. Born in 1859 and raised in the lignite-mining fields of Alabama, he moved to Bramwell in 1896 when he became general manager of the Louisville Coal & Coke Co., and in 1902, opened mines of his own in Mercer and nearby McDowell counties. He was a founding member of the Pocahontas Operators Association and was the brother of Justus Collins, who helped develop the New River Coalfield some 50 miles to the north.

In about 1900, he built a fanciful home on Brick Street, now admired by visitors for its hallmark square tower, and in 1910, he built a larger residence on South River Street. Its been said that Mrs. Collins grew frustrated with the many visitors she was forced to entertain and insisted that Mr. Collins build the apartments to accommodate their guests.

Alex B. Mahood

He commissioned architect Alex B. Mahood to design the two-story building. Known for his civic and commercial projects, Mahood studied at the cole des Beaux-Arts in Paris before returning to the U.S. He designed many notable buildings in West Virginia. His drawings, plans, and other records are in the Eastern Regional Coal Archives in the Craft Memorial Library in Bluefield.

The building was built of deep red brick in the commercial mode of the period, strongly defined by first-floor storefronts of plate glass that allowed for the display of merchandise. Slender vertical piers divide the front facade into five bays or storefronts. For much of its history, the building included only four bays, though a fifth of only one story was later added. Retractable awnings on the south-facing front helped cool interiors in summer and warm them in winter.

The upstairs apartments were designed for coal industry executives and affluent guests. Each apartment included two bedrooms, a living room, an eat-in kitchen, a full bathroom, and an entrance foyer. Each also included a secondary entrance, ostensibly for deliveries. With their exception, all rooms in the apartment enjoy plentiful sunlight cast through tall, double-hung windows.

The apartment entrances open into a nearly square central lobby, from which wide stairs descend to the street-level front and rear. A square central skylight enhances the rooms functionality and dimensions, nearly 16-by-19 feet.

The Collins building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 when the U.S. Department of the Interior established the district.