The Week in Odessa History

There is hope that Odessa’s Old Town Hall might again be refurbished and restored, possibly bringing the upper floor up to code so the space could be again utilized. The art-deco style building, first known as the Community Hall and later the Odessa City Hall, was threatened with condemnation in the early 1970s. But civic effort saved it. More than $430,000 was raised through donations and the building was remodeled as the Old Town Hall.

The amount for remodeling it then was more than the original cost to build it, which was $20,000, raised by subscription in 1919 and 1920. That figure seemed...