Brunenkant Bakery Building, Florence

Constructed in 1890, the Brunenkant Bakery Building is the oldest two story brick building in Florence. It was a bakery until the 1930s and then a grocery store until the 1960s. After standing vacant for many years the building was rehabilitated in 1973 by the Town of Florence and adaptively reused as the town library. This was one of the first historic properties in the state to be rehabilitated. Once the library outgrew the building, it again remained vacant. The second rehabilitation has recently been completed. The Town of Florence was awarded a Community Development Block Grant of nearly $300,000 and an additional Arizona State Parks Heritage Fund grant. As a result, the Brunenkant Bakery has been reborn as a fully functioning and attractive Visitor’s Center. Work included reinstalling most of the second floor framing that had been removed in 1973 and removing the unoriginal front porch. [Photo source: Jennifer Evans, Florence Main Street Program.]