Town Square Dental To Host Open House
Signatures found inside of Town Square Dental during renovation.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Town Square Dental on the square in Oskaloosa, Iowa will be holding an open house on September 21st beginning at 5pm and going until 7pm.
For those attending the homecoming parade, arrive early and take the opportunity to tour the remodeled buildings, that feature historic tin ceilings and an amazing wall covered in signatures of area residents from over 100 years ago.
Cary Van Kampen, Office Manager for Town Square Dental located at 107 High Avenue East, invites their current clients and the public to come and see all of the work that has be done to the location, which includes the former Alan Adams building.
Food will be served, and the staff will give tours.
Besides buying out the former Adams Photography location, Dr. Eric De Boef also bought out Dr. Bowie’s dental business and invited him to practice with him until Bowie decides to retire. “There’s been a Bowie here, whether it was him or his father or his grandfather for 104 plus years. It’s pretty neat actually,” said Van Kampen.
When the extra space was needed to combine the two practices under one roof, De Boef bought the Adams Photography location right next door and the plans for renovation began.
One thing is for certain in life, there is often uncertainty, and when the demolition of the interior of the Adams Photography location began, history began to unveil itself.
“As we started to tear into this, it was gorgeous,” said Van Kampen. Tin ceilings, tin walls and a leather covered wallboard that dated back to when the building was a pool hall. “We’ve refurbished it so it won’t deteriorate any more hopefully.”
One of the biggest treasures was a wall filled with signatures of Oskaloosan’s of the past, dating back to 1880. A graffiti sealant was used to preserve the signatures.
Hand painted wallpaper was discovered in portions of the structure, and in the basement, old cigar signs were discovered from the days the building was a cigar factory.
All of these discoveries changed the plans for the renovation, as the emphasis became preserving the past as much as possible. “We just had a ton of changes due to the history part,” said Van Kampen. “It’s been quite the journey.”
Van Kampen encourages everyone to come and visit, say hello and take in some history of downtown Oskaloosa.
The open house is on September 21st from 5 to 7pm at Town Square Dental located at 107 High Avenue East in Oskaloosa.
