WORCESTER, Mass. — Although he was very young, Christopher Sawyer remembers his trips to the Denholm Building.

"I'd go to work with my grandmother," he said. "I was only five when it closed, but I remember her walking me around and I loved it. But, I was so young."

The department store closed in 1973, and later transformed into office space. After getting a peek inside, something clicked for Sawyer.

"I really got a look at what happened in Worcester's history at one point," Sawyer said. "I got to see that final look before it was all torn out on the interior."

Fast forward to today, Sawyer is now a historian for the iconic Worcester property. 

What makes it special for him are the "firsts" which happened there. Like a building in Worcester with air conditioning, as well as the historic escalators.

But it's also the sense of community which came with the building.

"This is when retail, it was like the days of Hollywood, you know? It was like theater," said Sawyer. "It was a community meeting spot. People would spend the day at the building getting their hair done, going shopping, going to the restaurant on the lower level."

Sawyer wrote the book “Denholms: The Story of Worcester's Premier Department Store.” The book looks back at the building's long history of being the state's largest department store outside of Boston. 

When he heard the property was going to be torn down, it struck a chord. 

"I'm still shocked at how many people have admiration for Denholms," said Sawyer. "So yeah, a little bit's going to be like losing a limb."

The Worcester Redevelopment Authority selected the Menkiti Group for the redevelopment of the site, which will become a high rise building with more than 200 apartments, parking and 10,000 square feet of retail space on Main Street.

"I really am a fan of the Menkiti Group," Sawyer said. "I love some of the work they've done. As much as this pains me to come down, I'm sure they're going to do something to fill its place in its honor."

Sawyer is now working on an exhibit in conjunction with the Worcester Historical Museum to tell the story of Denholms, before its former home faces the wrecking ball.

"It's going to be nice for the public to kind of give the history of the building a final salute and to be able to walk down memory lane," Sawyer said.

The exhibit is currently scheduled for this November at the museum. Sawyer says it will include an in-depth collection of items to tell the building and store's history, including the first-ever receipt at the store. They also hope they're able to get a panel from one of the escalators.