A longtime fixture of the Canton downtown district has reopened after a December fire had it shut down for some time.

Billy Moss, owner of the Canton Shoe Shop, has relocated to 101 West Main St. His old location, 140 East Main St., in the basement of the Art 101 Gallery and Boutique building, was taken down during the cleanup from a fire that destroyed or damaged several buildings in downtown Canton.

The Canton Fire Department was dispatched at about 1:40 a.m. on Dec. 26 to the fire at the corner of East Main and Church streets across from the square.

The building at 101 East Main St. that housed Art 101 Gallery and Boutique on the first floor and the paralegal office of Wes Frye on the top floor was destroyed. Also destroyed was the adjacent Taylor's Jewelry at 111 E. Main St. and Cannon's accounting office.

Buildings that were damaged in the fire include Jones and Cloud Insurance at 121 E. Main St., which also houses David Lloyd Homes on the top floor; the Canton Shoe Shop at 140 E. Main St., in the basement of the Art 101 building; and the Mason Law Firm at 160 S. Church St. The fire was caused by a failure inside a circuit breaker panel in the building at 150 South Church St.

Moss had operated his shoe store at the previous location for more than 50 years. He was out of business for about two months while he was cleaning and repairing his machines.

"It gets to you to see your business go down," he said, though he says he believes his new store will be better.

"I love it. It is on Main Street and has a lot of good foot traffic," he said. "This will be better for me and my customers."

When the "Great Canton Fire" of 1955 destroyed the Cantex building on West Main Street in the downtown district where he worked, Moss went into the shoe repair business with his brother-in-law and later took over the shop.

"It is coming along. It will take a little while for people to know that I am here," he said. Last week was the first week the store was reopened for business.

John Fincher, owner of the Art 101 building, said he had "no definite plans" for rebuilding on the location. Cannon said a decision on what he would do was still months away.

Daniel Mason of the Mason Law Firm said he still intends on moving back into his building and expects to make a final decision in the next week after he hears from his insurance company. He estimates starting repair work on the building within three to four weeks.

Sam Cloud of Jones and Cloud Insurance is working with the city of Canton for approval to begin repair work. He expects to be back in the building before the end of the year. He said the building will have a new west wall, a new roof, new interior walls and new electrical system.

"It is basically going to be a new building," he said.