The Castle History

If you ask almost anyone in West Park, they will tell you that the old stone building at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Seventh Street is a funeral home.  Sitting just inside of West Park, in Stowe Township and after exiting the Stowe Tunnel, this is the place that families have gathered, for generations, to remember their loved ones by recounting their lives and where a peaceful transition to those dearly departed was possible. 

 

Many residents wouldn’t be able to tell you that when the building was built in the 1920s, it’s history began as a doctor’s office.  Originally about only half of its current size, the doctor practiced medicine and healed the sick downstairs, and he and his family maintained the upper floor as their private residence. 

 

The building wasn’t adapted into a funeral home until much later and was then expanded in the 1960’s to the current structure that sits just beyond the tunnel, today. 

 

When the most recent, and final, the funeral director opened another establishment in the area, in 2020, the charming, long-standing stone structure on Woodward and Seventh was listed for sale. 

 

Enlightened Property Administration came across the listing and fell in love with the building, complete with all its quirks and unique qualities, both inside and out. 

 

This building, having become ours, provided a chance for us to create a unique environment, and share this beautiful space with our community. 

 

The main floor of the building has now been transformed into various meeting and event spaces, available for rent by community and business organizations, in addition to the various events hosted by us within the space. 

 

The numerous walls and shelving varying from room to room, also offers a great way to showcase local artists, from ceramicists to painters, by adorning the walls during the live entertainment events, that span performance genres from one month to the next. 

 

It has also become a place for community, ours and otherwise. Future plans include incorporating additional community-based events in the months, and years, to come. 

 

The building is also home to new, and thriving, life in the form of plants.  An extensive collection of them can now be found year-round throughout the grounds here, most are even cultivated on-site. 

 

Since the building has undergone a change in ownership, it has also received a new purpose and function, and in so doing has changed.  In recognition of that change, we are giving it a new name and are affectionately calling it The Castle.  This building, nestled in the heart of our community, had first sprouted as a place to heal and save a life, and then grew into a place to celebrate and say goodbye to life well-lived, and is now a place where life is growing and will bloom, anew.