At the time Danton Realty Trust was building One Elm Square, Andover's center had several rough spots. To best understand these columns about the trust, the appearance of the town's center at that time should be part of the context. Much of the center was average with a few nice looking buildings mixed in. However, the Town Hall, which should have been a centerpiece, was neglected because the town government for years had assumed it would be replaced. The fire station behind it was in the same condition, and it would be torn down in 1972. Other parts of downtown were rundown. Post Office Avenue was a mess; the Musgrove Building, whose roof would collapse in 1970, and parts of Park and Essex streets were shoddy. Some of the old houses that served as stores on Main Street needed upgrading, and the once attractive railroad station was seedy. There was new construction at Olde Andover Village, but the columned front of the building was a tad overpowering, and it had subsumed two stately homes within the structure.
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Some folks let me know I didn't include Rosemary as one of John Davidson's siblings. She is the youngest and owns a range in Brenham, Texas with her husband, Chester Flynn, who is a retired doctor.
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Charles Liponis put in a large sign that said "Andover Institute of Business" over the main door of 90 Main St. Mr. Liponis installed an IBM main frame computer in the large front windows, and it could be seen with its tapes whirling throughout the day. Dantos and Davidson called the building the "AIB Building."
John Davidson still owns the AIB Building. Some older Townies call 90 Main St. the "A&P Building" because there was an A&P store there in the 1940s. Before the A&P, Shorten's Garage was there. Prior to Shortens it was an automobile dealership. The building was set back from the road to accommodate gas pumps.
After Bob Shorten left 90 Main St., he moved his automobile repair shop to the corner of Park and Bartlet streets. For many years, he kept a 1930s Cord automobile in the shop. When I saw it, it was the most beautiful car I ever looked at. He also kept a spotless 1954 Corvette there. The building Shorten occupied was razed at the same time as the fire station to make room for the parking lot that is there today.
Bob's wife, Addie, worked for my father in Dalton's Pharmacy from before 1946 until he retired in the early 1970s. She managed the non-pharmacy, retail portion of the store and the soda fountain.
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The fire station behind the town hall was built in 1882 and razed in 1972. It was a substantial building that mimicked the architecture of the town hall. I've often wondered what a clever developer and architect could have done with the building if it hadn't been destroyed.
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Northeast Airlines, with a strong presence in the Northeast Corridor and Florida, merged with Delta Airlines in 1972.
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The land the parking lot sits on next to Olde Andover Village was acquired by the town about 1957 from the Shaw family. For many years after it was acquired, it was called the "Shaw Property."
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On the proposed exchange between Danton and the town: Although the plan was well-intentioned, some townspeople were left with ill feelings about Danton Realty Trust and the two men who owned it. It has been suggested there was a belief among many townspeople that Danton had wantonly interfered with the town's business through its poorly conceived plan. In hindsight, the plan was an attempt by two young men to rescue their company. If there was blame, it should have been directed at the selectmen who could have ignored Danton's last minute attempt at a deal and proceeded with the Town Meeting vote. Davidson and Dantos were young men and made the kind of mistakes young men make, especially when under pressure.
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It's possible that some of the animus townspeople felt about the One Elm Street building was linked to a feeling that Danton Realty Trust had, just a few months earlier, precipitously interfered with a Town Meeting with their last minute scheme.
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Olde Andover Village had subsumed two stately homes, and the front of the building looked like a cross between an antebellum southern mansion and a
19th Century New England building.
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One Elm Square was designed in a period when there were few buildings constructed that were deemed attractive by the public. Only those that mimicked the past seemed to be considered in good taste, but it was both difficult to design and expensive to build a three-story, 27,000 square foot office building with required modern infrastructure that mimicked the past.
The 1960s and '70s saw few attractive buildings constructed. I think the Bancroft School is an exception.
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Karl Killorin was in the real estate business and had done a small subdivision on what is now Killorin Drive. John Davidson lived on Killorin Drive at one time. Geneva Killorin was a hard working, long-time member of the board of directors of the Andover Historical Society.
During the time Danton Realty Trust had the Killorin property under agreement and was attempting its exchange with the town, Mr. Killorin had the Sacred Heart School (now Balmoral Condominiums) under option, and offered it to sell it to the town for a town municipal building. This offer competed with Danton's offer but both were rejected.
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Mr. Aznoian, who passed away in August last year, was an old friend of Dantos and Davidson and shared John Davidson's Armenian heritage. Mr. Aznoian's two sisters worked in the House of Clean and were fine people.
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With respect to the name "Felucca Realty Trust," Phid says, "A Felucca was a lean, fast boat common to the Mediterranean in ancient times. We were fast, lean, and Mediterraneans so we thought the name was appropriate."
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Phid Dantos had an upstairs apartment in the Killorin's house after it had been moved to face the parking lot. He knew the fellow who did the drycleaning in the House of Clean. Several mornings a week he'd slip down the backstairs of the house in his underwear before he got ready for work, and knock on the back door of the cleaners. The dry cleaner would take Phid's laundry, and when Phid got home that night, the clean clothes were back in his apartment. Phid says he doesn't think Nick (the owner of House of Clean) ever knew of the arrangement.
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Besides the House of Clean, Ken Thompson's Stationery business occupied the rest of the front of the new building, and Andover Liquors had their retail business on the side of the building facing the parking lot. Mr. Killorin reserved space on the second floor for his real estate business, and Fred Flather, who did some legal work for Danton Realty Trust, had his law office there as well.
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When One Elm Square was being designed, Davidson and Dantos had a warrant article that asked the Town Meeting to allow them to add a fourth floor to
the building. Prior to Town Meeting they felt that they would lose and withdrew the article.
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An aerial photo of Elm Square showing One Elm Square under construction was taken from Phid Dantos' plane with Phid as pilot.
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According to Phid Dantos, after Standard International moved into what is now One Elm Square, John Bolten, who was the company's founder and chairman of the board had an "extra special" office on the third floor on the High Street side. Dan Hogan, the CEO, was on the same floor on the Elm Street side.
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The Sweeney house on Central Street was called that because the Sweeney sisters had lived there. One of them was Miriam Sweeney McCardle, who started the All Girl Band at Punchard.
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As part of the Roger's Place project, Danton Realty Trust tried and failed to purchase the Doyle house on Chestnut Street behind what was then the Andover Savings Bank.
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Sam Resnick, who sold the Andover Playhouse to Danton, had owned the it since 1918. He also owned the Musgrove building.
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Danton Realty Trust purchased the two houses behind the Andover Playhouse from Arthur Heifitz, who owned Andover Loans in the Musgrove Building.
