For Immediate Release
October 30, 2019
OPELOUSAS, LA- Bodemuller the Printer in downtown Opelousas has been selected as one of the recipients of the Redevelopment Incentive Grant through the Louisiana Main Street Program. The $10,000 matching grant award will help in repair and restoration work for the building’s canopy as well as with exposing the original second story windows.
Bodemuller the Printer is one of the oldest family businesses in Opelousas. The printing and office supply company, which is located at 123 South Main Street, is owned by Ronald, Steven and Murphy Junior Carriere. The building that the printing business is housed in dates back to 1935, when it was built for Heymann’s Department Store.
After Herman Bodemuller died in 1937, his daughter, Lily Belle, and her husband, Herschall McLeod, took over the business, which was then located on Bellevue Street. In 1946 the McLeod’s hired Murphy Carriere as a printer, and when the couple retired in 1966, Murphy and his brother Lawrence took over the business. After Lawrence retired, Murphy took over with his family. In 1988, the Murphy Carriere family purchased the old Heymann building on Main Street. The printing company opened in September of that year in the Main Street location, where it remains today. Upon moving to their current location in 1989, the Carrier family spent over $300- thousand dollars to renovate their current building.
The Carriere Family has been a supporter of Opelousas Main Street for many years and has actively worked to promote community and economic growth. Some examples of this include participating and sponsoring numerous downtown events, providing in-kind printing services to local non-profits and schools and serving on committees associated with community planning.
Over the years, Opelousas Main Street properties have received some $145-thousand dollars in redevelopment grant funds. The former Bodemuller the Printer building, located on Bellevue Street and owned by Opelousas business woman Vera Nagy, was the most recent recipient of the Redevelopment Incentive Grant. That building received a $10,000 matching grant which helped in restoring the canopy on the building’s façade and the interior ceilings. Other grant projects include the Brass Rail and Palace Café’ Restaurant, both located on Landry Street, and the former Fakouri Men’s Wear building located on Main Street.
This year nine grants were awarded. Louisiana Main Street offers Redevelopment Incentive Grants as part of the revitalization efforts to offset project costs and are matching grants. Funded by the state, the program operates under the umbrella of the National Main Street Center.
To be eligible for grant funds, a building must be located within the boundaries of the Main Street district, be used for commercial purposes and be at least 50 years old. The project work must also meet the Secretary of the Interior Standards for Rehabilitation and be approved by the local Historic District Commission. Louisiana Main Street is part of Lt. Governor’s Office of Cultural and the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, Office of Cultural Development, Division of Historic Preservation.
Last modified: October 30, 2019