Serving the Loup Valley for 142 Years
Historic Buildings Slated For Renovation In Ord
On Oct. 30, the Chamber After Hours event was held at Scratchtown Brewing Company and also included tours of the two historic downtown buildings being renovated for both commercial and residential use.
By Kate Wolf
There’s just something about old historic buildings that cries out for restoration or renovation. Where some people see crumbling plaster, uneven floors and countless hours of manual labor, others see character, promise and potential. Fiddle Leaf Development of Kearney, along with On Point Construction & Design, represent a team of talented, experienced individuals who fall into the second category. Thanks to them and Valley County Economic Development (VCED), a vital piece of Ord’s downtown history will soon be reclaimed.
The property being developed is the old city hall and Masonic Lodge structures on 16th Street downtown. On Thursday evening, Oct. 30, Chamber After Hours hosted a reception at Scratchtown Brewing Company featuring a colorful and creative spread of delicious appetizers catered by Jubilee Events & Catering with beverage tokens being generously distributed by the guys at Scratchtown. The well attended gathering was comprised of area citizens and business owners curious about the upcoming changes and eager to tour the site. Work will begin on a large-scale renovation this fall with completion of the first phase in the summer of 2026.
Fiddle Leaf Development, led by President Keven Kreger, has worked closely with VCED in an effort to provide additional residential and commercial units so desperately needed in our community. VCED Executive Director Caleb Pollard noted that there are no available commercial spaces of adequate size in Ord currently.
“In fact, we’ve had to turn away several opportunities because of that,” Pollard added. “They ended up going to Burwell.”
Once completed, the now vacant building will contain 10 new units with four retail spaces, three offices and three upper level apartments. Some of the apartments may even be furnished and available for short-term rentals. The second phase of the renovation will be completed at a later date which will include three more apartments on the upper level of the old Masonic Lodge. Both buildings will be completely renovated including mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems to modernize the buildings and give them another century of life.
The old fire hall will be converted to retail units with the former overhead doors being replaced with modern storefront glass visually setting it apart from the original city hall building. The existing exterior of both the historic Masonic Lodge and city hall will receive a little “magic” to restore it to a more original state.
Many readers may not be aware that this corner of downtown Ord is not only historic, but it is also culturally significant. They’re constructed of bricks made over a century ago right here in Ord.
Way back in 1899, when the railroad first came to town, E. W. Gruber purchased Ream’s original brickyard located in the northeast part of Ord. Gruber tore everything down and built his own brick manufacturing company on the same location. The early bricks were made by hand. Gruber invented a unique method for curing the bricks by stacking them in a specific way so air could circulate around them, enclosed the stack in a surrounding wall, and burned the bricks to achieve his own distinctive color and hardness.
In 1902 the first brick making machine came to Ord which used soft mud and in 1905 a stiff mud machine was added. A two story, fully accredited school building housing 12 grades and 10 teachers was built in 1914 using Gruber bricks. It was not until 1925 that an electric brick machine came into common use.
During the period 1920-1929, Ord underwent a huge boom of intense growth and construction. The business district downtown and several residential streets were paved, the sale barn was erected and Dr. Miller’s hospital was built. At that time, it became the practice to house multiple city services under one roof such as city hall, police and fire departments. Ord was no exception.
In 1921 the old city hall was built using Gruber bricks, followed by the Masonic Lodge in 1928. The Masonic Lodge building had a plain facing of limestone on the facade giving it a unique lighter appearance. Gruber brick was also used to build Bohemian Hall, the old Ord hotel, and the stretch of buildings which housed the Northside Café. It is estimated that over 10 million bricks were manufactured in Ord during this period.
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