APPLETON - There's a little bit of history peeking out for the first time in nearly 50 years near the corner of College Avenue and Morrison Street in downtown Appleton.

The project of converting the former longtime home of Gabriel Furniture into the Gabriel Lofts is underway. One of the first moves appears to be the removal of the metal facade that has covered the upper floors of the buildings since the late 1960s.

As of Thursday morning, some of the facade had been taken off, revealing the original brick exterior.

Gabriel Furniture had been a downtown Appleton fixture for 91 years. It closed in late April.

The main building is 131 years old. Before the furniture store, the main building was the Konemic Lodge of the Independent Order of the Odd Fellows. The fraternal order built it in 1888 and used it for meetings, offices, pool hall and a ballroom.

In the Dec. 27, 1888 edition of The Post-Crescent, it was reported that the original building cost $27,000 to build and took about three years to complete. It was called "the most imposing as well as the largest structure on the Avenue" and, in its amusement hall, featured "the finest floor for dancing in the city."

Joseph Gabriel opened his furniture store in the building in 1928.

Joe Wells joined the store in 1974 and soon after met wife Ruby at the Gimbels' lunch counter. The couple bought Gabriel's inventory and first two buildings in 1988. They ran the business until its end last month. The building was sold to FORE Development + Investment Group.

The construction project, which includes the demolition of the buildings at 207-209 E. College Ave. and the renovation of the former Gabriel building at 201. E. College Ave., is planned to be completed in 2022.

When finished, there will be 21 new apartments and business and retail space. It'll be known as Gabriel Lofts. FORE Development + Investment Group partner Tom Klister told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin the hope is the original brick is in OK shape — they'll find out once the facade is removed — and the plan is to retain as much of the character as possible.

Here's a look at some of the historic details inside the building from just before Gabriel Furniture ended its run:

Maureen Wallenfang contributed to this report.

Contact Shane Nyman at 920-996-7223 or snyman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @shanenyman.