A reader checked in recently, wondering about 2619-21 Poplar St., an apparently vacant building with a cool-looking sign. Located just half a block from the excellent North Star Bar, this location was clearly once home to a bar itself, with a similar double-wide footprint. We don’t believe, however, that this business had the same live music aspect that makes North Star the institution that it is.

The building

Nearby North Star

Looking at public record, the owner of this property is John Graveley, who purchased (or received) it from the Graveley Family Partnership. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the same family that owns the large vacant lot next door that we told you about a couple of months ago. While the lot is over $28K delinquent in property taxes, the former pub only has a small delinquency from 2005 which we think may have been recorded in error. So it’s swell that the owner is apparently paying their taxes, but it doesn’t excuse the condition of the building one bit.

Looking east, overgrown vacant lot is next door

Surprisingly, we weren’t able to find any violations on this property, this despite lacking windows and almost certainly requiring but lacking a vacancy permit. Could the block fall beneath the occupancy threshold required to receive a Doors & Windows violation? Is it possible that this property has simply fallen through the cracks in the years it’s been shuttered? Does anyone in the neighborhood have a little more info?

The rusty old sign

Wouldn’t it be cool to see this property brought back to life? Perhaps as a bar that exclusively sells 40’s?