Q. What is that odd little building on Miller that abuts the eastern side of the train tracks, right before Knight’s Market? I remember walking past it twenty years ago, and it still looks the same, though a little worse for wear.
A. A century ago, 410 Miller was Cornwell’s coal yard. It went vacant in the 1960s, reopened as Calvert’s Landscaping, was vacated again in the early 1980s, and then briefly revived as Highers Pottery.
In 1986, a recordkeeping snafu enabled Pete Shefman to capture a substantial block of railroad property between Miller and Felch streets for back taxes. After three years of negotiations with Peter Allen, then owner of the adjacent office building on Miller, Shefman emerged with a deed to the again-dilapidated shack.
It has become more dilapidated each year since. The property is on the city’s monitoring list, which means it’s checked about four times a year. Shefman was sent a correction notice after the most recent inspection, in May, when it was found to be unsecured against entry.
