Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Now home to Franklin’s Restaurant, Brewery and General Store, the Hyattsville Hardware Co. building is one of the oldest downtown.
According to state historical records, the main block was built and used as a carriage factory in 1894 and by 1910 was used temporarily as a firehouse. Between 1910 and 1913, it was converted to a hardware store which remained in operation for 80 years. In 1992, the store closed and later that year the building converted into a restaurant now known as Franklin’s .
Much of the exterior of the building remains intact and renovations done to the interior were done to preserve the wooden floor and metal ceiling.
I remember when it was still a hardware store. The loose candy bin really did use to have different size nails in it. The back part of the store had used lawnmowers. It was pretty dingy and dirty.