The Grimes Building and the Ghost of Nathan Rambo
by Monica Ballard
Although not as old as Moonshines, which was built in the mid 1850’s, this building is still quite historic. You can see the original white-washed rubble stone dating back to 1874, but this section has a newer brick face – and oh, my God – The WINDOWS ARE BRICKED UP! It’s okay – when we get to that part of the story, you’ll learn it was quite the practical measure and not sinister at all.
The building was built by Italian immigrant, Michael Paggi (PAJ-ee) who was either a Renaissance Man or he had A-D-D.
As soon as he got a business established for himself, something else would grab his attention and he’d be off and running, doing something else.
He became fascinated by all things mechanical, so he taught himself to be a blacksmith, build this building and turned it into a carriage-building company. Then he opened up a carriage dealership right around the corner on 6th St. where the Dueling Piano Bar stands today.
Well, when Michael passed and the next generations of Paggi’s inherited the buildings, by now it was the early 1900’s. Carriages were replaced by HORSELESS carriages, and descendants weren’t interested in carrying on the family business, so the building went empty – until it was bought around 1912 by a very eccentric gent by the name of Nathan Rhambo.
