It’s been four months since the last time we took a look at Jack’s Bar. The remodeling of this bar, soon to be renamed the Bank Saloon, has been going on all winter, gradually, and there’s some visible progress to take a look at.

One obvious change is that the scaffolding holding up the south wall to prevent collapse has been removed. They got the stone wall anchored to the new framing inside, so there is a no longer a risk of collapse. That south wall is actually structurally sound for the first time in a couple of decades. Even though it still has a visible lean, it’s now been reinforced so that it won’t lean any more than it does now.

Another change is the addition of windows to the front wall. These were just gaping holes the last time we looked, now the window frames are in place and ready for glass panes.

One big change from the concept art, though, is in these front windows. The design artwork for the building shows that these windows were supposed to raise and lower like a garage door, presumably to allow fresh air in on warm summer evenings. This is a feature found on the Union restaurant down the street. The windows as built, on the other hand, are fixed in place. They don’t look like they’re going to be opening ever. Compare to the concept drawing, below.

Taking a peek inside, we can see that the roof is on the building, and that interior framing has started. The area to the right will be the bar.

In the back to the left you can see the conference room doorway, and the space behind that will be office space for the building’s owners.

The front door looks like it has been rebuilt with all new lumber, but with a similar look to the old door.

The exterior bricks have been left pretty much untouched.

The scaffolding is gone, but the sidewalk is not open yet. They seem to have dug up a part of the sidewalk for new utility hookups.

The side profile of the building has been left pretty much as is. The owners were dedicated to preserving the outside of the building, and they have done so. Most of the work has gone into the interior.

But they have done some work to preserve the stone, including what looks like new mortar in some areas.

Where the stone was crumbling at ground level, they have placed new stone, while trying to preserve as much of the original as possible.

New windows are going in on the side as well. I’m thinking that the green wood frames here were able to be preserved. It does seem to be the same wood, even though the glass panes are new.

And the view from the back shows the reconstructed roof, as well as more restored stones and mortar.

So far this remodeling job does seem to be keeping the promises that the owners made. It’s essentially the same building on the outside, just cleaned up and strengthened. The inside is all new, so it will interesting to see that come together. I don’t think they’ve announced an opening date yet, but the way things are going I wouldn’t be surprised if they said it would open some time in 2020. They seem to be making good progress, and with the days getting warmer and longer they’ll be able to do even more work. We will keep an eye on this as Jack’s Bar becomes the Bank Saloon throughout the year.