Jun 18, 2007

Women and the downtown dreamBy Mai HoangYakima-Herald.com

A hundred years of tenants at the historic Opera House left uneven spots on the floor, ugly blue carpet and claustrophobic makeshift walls in their wake. The smell of mold and mildew seemed to filter in along with sunshine through its dirty windows.

But those were not the things that Michelle Wyles and Carol Perry noticed about the small storefront across from the old Union Pacific Depot. Instead, their eyes were drawn to an exposed brick wall that gave historic charm to an otherwise old and musty place.

“I wanted to move downtown. I’ve been enamored with these old buildings,” Wyles said.

Perry, at first, wanted to return to the west side of town, where she successfully ran the Sunshine and Wisteria bookstore for several years at the Westpark Shopping Center at 40th and Summitview avenues.

But then she remembered loving the energy of people walking downtown during Yakima Live! last year when she ran the festival’s art gallery.

“It’s the ambiance; it’s the feeling I get when I’m here,” Perry said.

Now Perry and Wyles run ‘p