by Robert Stewart

    The building that formerly housed the Shanghai restaurant is undergoing extensive renovations in order to prepare for its new life as the Blue Heron.
     The Blue Heron will consist of an antique store downstairs, focusing primarily on natural history prints and Asian artifacts, while the upstairs is being converted into a nightclub/bar/performance space for live music.
     "It's all one business that has two parts to it," Garland resident Jim Rosowski said.
     Rosowski owns the building and, in cooperation with his son Scott Rosowski, is overseeing and undertaking the renovations necessary to create a space that Rosowski said will "bring a new and unusual ambiance and night life to the city."
     Rosowski said the idea for the business came to him after spending a day in downtown Seward in early 2005.
     "After seeing how neat and clean the city was. I looked at buildings in a 70-mile radius and didn't find any town that had the potential for developing a major center for the arts," he said. "It seemed there was a lot of effort being made in the community to make things happen."
     Rosowski set about making things happen for the business he had in mind, obtaining the property, applying for permits and beginning renovations. All of the building's interior walls have been removed to prepare for the new floor plan downstairs which will include an office, kitchen, bathroom and gallery area. Apart from two bathrooms, the upstairs will remain open and without walls to accommodate a bar area, dance floor and stage.
     Also housed upstairs will be the Charles Willson Peale museum, named for the American painter and naturalist who opened one of the first museums in the United States. The museum will house "quality artifacts of antiquity, from earth (as fossils) and the universe (as meteorites)," according to Rosowski.
     The upstairs will function primarily as a nightclub and venue for private parties and business meetings in the off-hours. A state-of-the-art sound system, plasma screen televisions and a retractable projection screen will all be installed, increasing the functionality of establishment. An entrance from the alley will be made available via a deck that will extend from the back of the building.
     The upstairs will be managed by Scott who has 20 years experience working in the field, managing bars in Lincoln and elsewhere. Scott will be in charge of booking musical acts for the club as well, another area he has experience in. The musical acts playing at the club will be primarily local and regional bands, but the types of music will run the gamut from blues and jazz to country and rock.
     "It will be a mix of music," Jim Rosowski said.
     "They will be smaller acoustic acts, not full-scale bands, obviously there's not enough space up there for it," Scott said.
     Downstairs, the antiques and artifacts that make up the store's merchandise will be primarily framed art and works on paper Rosowski has collected over the years and his recently begun collection of Asian artifacts.
     The artwork on paper will include original prints, vintage postcards, trade cards and cigar box and fruit crate labels, while the Asian artifacts will range from furniture pieces such as benches and bureaus to hand-carved wood wall hangings and small pieces of sculpture. Rosowski said everything in the store reflects his tastes and interests and will all be available for purchase.
     "Really what I'm doing is selling my collection," he said. "A lot of times the thing you covet most will say 'Not for sale,' but that won't be the case here. Everything will be for sale, including the art on the walls in the bathroom."
     Rosowski is aiming to create a comfortable environment that will encourage browsing and spending time in the store. Plans are in place to provide chairs and couches, self-serve refreshments and a natural history and specialized antique collector's library about the articles for sale on the first floor. Rosowski said the establishment would require three to four employees, including himself.
     Renovations are set to begin in earnest now that Rosowski has received approval for placing the shut-off valve on the side of the building for the sprinkler system the fire marshal required be installed.
     "That was the last obstacle," Rosowski said.
     Although a specific date has not been set for an opening, some construction and renovation is dependent on the weather, Rosowski said the Blue Heron should be open this year.
     Due to the time involved in cataloguing and preparing the art and artifacts on the first floor for presentation, the night club will probably open before the antique store. Scott estimated the business would be open in "late March or April sometime."
     "We're pretty confident we'll open this year," Jim Rosowski said. "Just getting the presentation will probably mean that the openings will not happen at the same time."