The mayor of the town and village of East Rochester says Despatch Junction, a model train store destroyed by fire on Monday, was a point of pride for local residents.
Mayor Fred Ricci says it was a perfect use for that building, capitalizing on the train rich history of East Rochester.
He adds Despatch Junction was an entity everybody knew about, and the owner was very dedicated to the business.
The owner, Stanely Slade was meeting with building inspectors and insurance people in the village this morning.
Ricci says this is obviously a devastating loss for him.
Ricci says this may be the most devastating fire in the history of the village since 1965 when the Lawless Brothers Paper Mill burned to the ground. Ricci says his father worked there but lost his job because Lawless went out of business after the fire.
Ricci says you can't replace Despatch Junction, "and I don't even know if you do replace it, that's the question at this point," he says.