By LEAH WEATHERSBY

After months of being hidden behind scaffolding, the Oddfellows Building, located on the corner of N. 35th St. and Fremont Place N., has finally emerged.

In many ways, the newly renovated structure, which was completed in February, is a different building from the one it was last year.

Last May, the facade on the Oddfellows Building (originally constructed in 1927) crumbled because metal ties that held the bricks to the inner wall had decayed. The inner walls themselves had also deteriorated. Though the first floor of the building, which houses several businesses including the Longshoreman's Daughter restaurant and Bliss clothing store, didn't require much work, the two upper stories of the 3-story structure had to be almost completely replaced.

Mike Peck, owner of the Oddfellows Building, said since September, construction crews have been rebuilding both the inner and outer walls. Now, the concrete floors and old posts and beams are virtually all that remain of the original top two stories, though Peck did say while the materials are new, he has tried to duplicate the appearance of the old building.

"It'll be hard to tell it's new work," Peck said.

There has been at least one casualty to the prolonged renovation: Armadillo & Company, a card and gift shop which had been in the Oddfellows Building for about 15 years, recently closed its doors.

"(Armadillo) just wasn't able to get customers to come into that space," said Peck, adding that the store's closure was largely due to impacts from the construction.

Another Oddfellows tenant, the Empty Space Theatre, was also forced to temporarily move out the building. However, they will be back in March, performing the third play of their season, "The Waverly Gallery."