Even though Broadway Market has been vacant for a couple of decades, we still hold it dear, as we do the road it’s on, Route 66. Imagine the travelers and locals on a hot night getting refreshed by watermelons iced down out front in a horse tank.

Now comes Kyler Baker, who has received a special use permit to convert the building into a climate-controlled storage facility. He told the Planning and Zoning Commission that he’ll be renting 6-foot-by-9-foot units with roll-up doors. There will be security features, including cameras.

When the sidewalk covering in front of the building started coming down last week, many likely thought the end had come for Broadway Market. 

Baker said he had planned to remove the upstairs office and the roof. As of Wednesday, almost everything besides the walls has been demolished. Baker said he’s going to keep the double-entry doors. There’s additional parking in the back.