Life above the shop

So it's not much of a secret that I live above a shop along the main thoroughfare of my town. I have always been a big, big fan of mixed use development and see it as a great and sustainable form of architecture. My building's seriously old--it was built in the 1930s, and a somewhat nondescript entryway leads up into some pretty vintage apartments. The apartment was love at first sight, and I really like living there. My sister once said, "Some girls live to shop, but you live over the shop!" and she's right. I don't mind that it doesn't have a dishwasher or that I have to use a window unit for my air conditioning. Living in the downtown historical district more than makes up for any disadvantages my complex has.

Along the lines of my life in the historic district, I really got to wondering about what things were like before. My town's got a long history, and this building's quite old. They've worked hard to keep the downtown viable but with the older features of the buildings preserved (unlike my once and always hometown, which really fell into decline). My own unit's kind of unusual, as it had originally been 2 studios (and before that, just rooms for rent) that were joined together. Most of the units here were originally rooms for rent. So....it makes me wonder at times when I'm overlooking the main street or in my room hearing the cars go by (I've come to like that sound). What kind of people were here before? Did they work in the shops below me, and which shops were those? (I doubt my downstairs neighbors have been here 100+ years.) Did they have spouses? And what brought them here? Since I have the equivalent of 2 studios, what were each of their residents like? I'm really curious. I love local history, so I'll be checking out some of the town's archives when I get the chance, but I'm wondering what they might say about my building.

There's just this really cool sense that something and someone has been here before. I like that.