How designers retrofit the High Bank building

The design team for High Bank Distillery, located at 28 S. State St., is giving a glimpse into what it took to transform Uptown’s old post office-turned-investigations-bureau into a destination where visitors can toast with craft spirits, dine in a full-service restaurant and even find their way into a speakeasy.

The August 2024 opening in Uptown was a multilayered homecoming of sorts for co-founder and master distiller Adam Hines. He's lived in Westerville with his wife and daughters for over 10 years. He says the City’s storied past with prohibition is inextricably blended into High Bank’s history.

“Our brand is built off of the Whiskey Wars that started in 1875 here in Westerville. It's the name of our flagship product, Whiskey War,” said Hines.

In simplest terms, the Westerville Whiskey Wars were a series of events that led to the 1875 and 1877 bombings of saloons owned by Henry Corbin who opposed local prohibition laws.

The task of carefully crafting an ambiance marrying the post office’s history with High Bank’s brand identity fell to WSA's design team for the project, Project Principal Natalia Lebedin, Senior Interior Designer Jess Edington and Architect John Baldwin. Their first step was to hit the books.

"We were pretty serious about the research process,” said Lebedin. “The team studied historical photos of both the interior and exterior, original plans and drawings for the building, as well as the community history. This deep dive allowed us to truly understand the essence of the space and inform our design decisions.”

So it did. The team worked thoughtfully to include existing elements of the building’s Art Deco architectural style. They relocated the original grilles that once divided the lobby from the mail room to separate the dining and reception areas. Elsewhere they recreated elements that could not be preserved, such as wainscoting in one of the restrooms inspired by a similar feature in the original mailroom.

"We were very intentional about the finish palette, selecting materials that underscored the historic character, and worked together to honor the building's past while celebrating High Bank’s established brand,” said Edington.

Built in 1935, the building functioned as a post office for 50 years before another was constructed just south of Uptown. The City purchased the building in 1985 and used it for a myriad of local government functions, including the Westerville Division of Police Investigations Bureau until the Justice Center’s opening on Huber Village Boulevard in November 2022.

The WSA team agreed that retrofitting the historic building into a fresh gathering space posed creative opportunities and challenges.

"With a new building, you can locate walls and floors where they need to be. But when working with an existing structure, many functions and conditions are fixed, which requires creativity to meet the new use,” said Baldwin.

The care with which High Bank and the WSA team worked to protect the building’s charm while bringing it up to modern standards recalls the stories of other Uptown establishments walking the line between antiquity and modernity, striking a balanced and gilded authenticity that simply cannot be faked.

"It was a great opportunity to help transform this insular 20th-century civic building into a modern, welcoming restaurant, giving it a new purpose for the 21st century," said Baldwin.

As for the speakeasy, the team was decidedly, albeit appropriately, mum on the details.

“The speakeasy design occurred simultaneously with the first floor and pays homage to the post office – with a fun twist,” said Edington. “To avoid spoilers and in true speakeasy fashion, you will have to experience what is truly unique about it."

Visit www.highbankco.com/westerville to learn more.