Corner Coffee’s Plants: Older Than Some Of Your Parents
While some of us have problems keeping a house plant alive for more than a few weeks, there are plants thriving at Corner Coffee that are several decades old.
For example, two potted trees, one in the front sitting area and another by a fireplace in the back, have been living in the North Loop 60 years or more, according to owner Scott Woller. And six small palm trees along the windows have been in the neighborhood for about 30 years.
Woller has “rescued” the plants from long-time business owners who’ve moved out of the North Loop and had no use for them anymore. “They’ve been in the neighborhood longer than any person probably,” he said.
The larger trees came from Norton Stillman, who co-founded The Bookmen, a major book distributor, in the early 60s. When he moved out of the North Loop at the age of 85, he gave the plants to Corner Coffee. And the palm trees came from Anna Margl when her business, Falk Paper, recently relocated.
Woller said he wanted to save the plants from the dumpster, but also “these are fixtures; they’re some of the senior members of our neighborhood.”
By Mike Binkley, North Loop Neighborhood Association
