A Treasure Trove in the Walls of Walla Walla

At the corner of Main and Palouse streets in Walla Walla is a rather odd-shaped building. Bledsoe Family Winery lies at one corner, and Sears is at the other. Trove Home & Vintage Goods is in the middle.

When Julie Batson, proprietress of Trove, remodeled her store, she found a treasure – layers of paper car advertisements plastered to the walls. One of the largest measured nearly 12 feet across and depicted a shiny, red Buick.

Julie did a little digging in the Walla Walla Public Library's microfiche. She found that the building had been home to a Buick dealership. Bledsoe Family Winery used to be the showroom. The top level of Sears was a garage. Trove used to be an entrance and ramp that led up to the garage.

Julie preserved the ad during her remodel and hired an artist to retouch the torn areas. The result is stunning tribute to Walla Walla's past and the perfect centerpiece for Julie's shop.

The building where Bledsoe Family Winery, Sears, and Trove reside had been a Buick dealer.

The dealer's showroom is where Bledsoe Family Winery is now.

A garage was located on the second floor of the building where Sears resides now.