Haverty Furniture Company moved into this 5-story building in 1939 after completely remodeling and adding air conditioning and an elevator. A large neon sign hung on the corner, illuminating the night sky.  The structure was built in 1912 as the Tribune building and fashioned with Roman bond bricks, trimmed in Georgia marble, and had three 16-foot show windows on the first floor. Tarr-Martin Furniture company occupied it when it opened. Tarr Furniture moved to its new location at Lafayette (now Kennedy Blvd.) and Hyde Park Blvd. in 1927.

In the interim between Tarr and Haverty, the Great Depression took its toll on commercial real estate. W.F. Stovall, former editor of the Tribune, owned the building and leased it to tenants who opened Pastime Bingo Hall in 1937. Officials shut it down immediately. McDonalds Corporation opened a franchise here in the 1970s. They exercised their option on the building in 1971, even then called an eyesore, with plans to renovate it. That didn’t happen. They stayed until 1993.  First Watch restaurant opened in 1999. Sadly, the top four floor windows of the building are painted over and boarded up, but the external beauty with the arched windows, marble, and brickwork still shines. In December 2021, it was announced by developer Kotler Group that they had purchased this building and adjoining Moxie's Cafe, Bamboozle, and the Dohring building in early 2023, and demolished the block that same year.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved