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The
Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation
Announces its 2008 List of State’s 10 ‘Places in
Peril’
ATLANTA,
Nov. 14, 2007 — The Georgia Trust for Historic
Preservation released today its 2008 list of 10
Places in Peril in the state.
Sites on the list
include: the Meriwether County Jail in Greenville;
the A.L. Miller Senior High School for Girls in
Macon; the Old Clinton Historic District in Gray;
the Spencer House in Columbus; the UGA Marine
Institute Greenhouse and Administration Building on Sapelo
Island; the Trinity C.M.E. Church in Augusta; the
Adam-Strain Building in Darien; the Sunbury
Historic Colonial Town Site; the Cockspur Island
Lighthouse in Tybee Island; and, The Castle in
Atlanta.
“This is the Trust’s
third annual Places in Peril list,” said Greg
Paxton, president and CEO of the Trust. “The
locations chosen are not only in peril themselves,
but represent a group of similar threatened
historic places and represent the broad range of
historic resources throughout Georgia. We must
never forget that once a historic place is gone,
it’s gone forever,” Paxton said.
Places in Peril is
designed to raise awareness about Georgia’s
significant historic, archaeological and cultural
resources, including buildings, structures,
districts, archaeological sites and cultural
landscapes that are threatened by demolition,
neglect, lack of maintenance, inappropriate
development or insensitive public policy.
Through Places in
Peril, the Trust will encourage owners and
individuals, organizations and communities to
employ proven preservation tools, financial
resources and partnerships in order to reclaim,
restore and revitalize historic properties that
are in peril.
Sites on the Trust’s
2007 list, which was announced in November 2006,
included: Cherokee structures in North Georgia;
the City Auditorium in Waycross; the Gilmer County
Courthouse; the Wren's Nest and Herndon Home, both
in Atlanta; the Eleanor Roosevelt School in Warm
Springs; raised Tybee Island cottages; the
Aluminum Mill Hill workers' houses in Eatonton;
the Virginia-Highland neighborhood in Atlanta;
and, the Hand Trading Company Building in Pelham.
The Georgia Trust for
Historic Preservation is the country’s largest
statewide, nonprofit preservation organization
with more than 8,000 members.
Committed to
preserving and enhancing Georgia’s communities and
their diverse historic resources for the education
and enjoyment of all, The Georgia Trust generates
community revitalization by finding buyers for
endangered properties acquired by its Revolving
Fund; provides design assistance to 102 Georgia
Main Street cities and encourages neighborhood
revitalization; trains teachers in 63 Georgia
school systems to engage students to discover
state and national history through their local
historic resources; and, advocates for funding,
tax incentives and other laws aiding preservation
efforts.
The Georgia Trust is
a recipient of the Trustees Award for
Organizational Excellence from the National Trust
for Historic Preservation.
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Editor’s Note: Summary information on each
2008 Places in Peril follows. For additional
background material and more information on each
site including downloadable high-resolution
images, please go to
http://www.georgiatrust.org/preservation_resources/pip2008.htm.
President and CEO Greg Paxton is available for
in-person and telephone interviews. Call
404-885-7802.
Summary
Information on each Places in Peril Site
Meriwether County
Jail, Greenville
Located just off the
courthouse square, the Meriwether County Jail is
one of Greenville’s earliest structures. The 1896
modified Italianate villa style building features
a three-story hanging tower visible from the
ground and provides a reminder of an earlier form
of capital punishment.
Like many historic
county jails statewide, this jail is not capable
of serving its original purpose, suffers from
deterioration and needs structural attention.
Communities have
successfully used former jails for other purposes.
Meriwether County Jail could be used in a variety
of ways such as a visitor/welcome center, museum,
archives, office space, or a combination of these
to ensure its sustainability.
A.L. Miller Senior
High School for Girls, Macon
The 1930 A.L. Miller
Senior High School for Girls sits in the middle of
a historic neighborhood in Macon that is in much
need of revitalization. It once served as an
important educational center for Winship
Heights/Montpelier area, and is owned by the Bibb
County Board of Education.
Abandoned
neighborhood schools have become a statewide
problem. Neighborhoods are becoming threatened by
these former anchor institutions that now sit
vacant, making revitalization more difficult.
The structure’s large
size and good condition make it a strong candidate
for adaptive use. With support from the school
system and superintendent, there is a strong
likelihood that its rehabilitation would have a
significant catalytic effect on the surrounding
area.
Old Clinton
Historic District, Gray
Established in 1807,
the community of Clinton served as an economic and
cultural center for the Georgia frontier.
Buildings date from 1808-1835 and together provide
a rare example of a largely intact Georgia rural
frontier village that combines commercial and
residential structures.
The corridor of the
south side of US 129 has been lined with strip
commercial development within the last 10 years.
Recently the city approved a bypass that will come
within several hundred yards of the district.
Despite the
encroachment of the bypass, Old Clinton still has
potential to remain a livable community while
attracting compatible, high-quality growth.
Spencer House,
Columbus
The Spencer House is
the 1912 home of William H. Spencer, Columbus’
first Superintendent of Colored Schools, who
worked tirelessly to establish an accredited high
school for African American students in Columbus.
His goal was ultimately achieved when Spencer High
School was built in 1930, five years after his
death. The house is currently part of Columbus’
African American heritage tour and is owned by the
Owlettes, Spencer High’s alumnae association.
The Spencer House has
received state and federal grants in the past and
enjoys strong support from Historic Columbus
Foundation; however, the Owlettes are dwindling as
the group grows older.
A nationwide
challenge for historic house museums is finding
creative ways to make viable interpretive programs
for the community. At Spencer House, new
leadership is working to develop a plan for the
structure that will knit together the many local
groups interested in preserving this building.
University of
Georgia (UGA) Marine Institute Greenhouse and
Administration Building, Sapelo Island
The UGA Marine
Institute Greenhouse and Administration Building on Sapelo
Island were built by Howard
E. Coffin, automobile pioneer and principal
landowner of Sapelo Island from 1912-1934.
The greenhouse
complex has not been used since 1976 and is quickly
deteriorating. Overgrown trees grow through the
roof as much of the glass is broken or missing.
The administrative
building is now vacant and has not been secured
against the elements.
A rehabilitated
greenhouse complex would have many potential uses,
which would attract more visitors to the island
and increase the demand for accommodations.
Trinity C.M.E.
Church, Augusta
Constructed in
Augusta between 1889-1894, Trinity Church is the
mother church of the Christian Methodist Episcopal
(CME) denomination in the United States. Remodeled
in 1920-1923, it is the last remaining building in
a historic 19th-century African American
neighborhood.
The building is
vacant and deteriorating and is located near a
portion of the Augusta Canal that is marked to be
redeveloped. The area surrounding the church has
already been cleared for development. The roof is
in very poor condition, and there is a problem
with vagrants.
Preserving the church
will help ensure that plans for nearby development
will be sensitive and compatible with the historic
structure and nearby neighborhoods.
Adam-Strain
Building, Darien
A rare example of
historic tabby construction, the 1813 Adam-Strain
Building in Darien was built as a waterfront
warehouse, survived looting and fire in 1863, and
was refurbished in 1870.
Like many small
coastal communities, Darien has a low tax base and
faces strong development pressure. After being
denied a demolition permit in 2006, the owner put
the building up for sale at a speculative price.
Nearby dense residential development and the
recent demolition of the eighteenth-century
D’Antignac House have caused local concern to
reach a new high.
The first priorities
for saving this building are the purchase of this
rare survivor and the development of a vision for
its use as part of Darien’s heritage tourism
program.
Sunbury Historic
Colonial Town Site, Sunbury
Founded by the
Puritans, the 1758-1864 archaeological site of
Sunbury in Liberty County was once an important
colonial port, trading regionally with Savannah
and also with New England and the Caribbean
colonies. At one time, this bustling seaport
rivaled the port at nearby Savannah. Later
abandoned, Sunbury is one of the few large
colonial towns that have not been obliterated or
buried under later development.
Now high density residential development is taking
place on the site; ten years ago one of its two
known historic cemeteries was partially bulldozed.
The owner of a critical 40-acre tract agreed to
donate it but died before changing his will. There
are still important areas of the town remaining.
This is a high priority project for the Society for
Georgia Archaeology, which has identified a
six-point plan to encourage wider community
involvement in preservation initiatives directed
at Sunbury.
Cockspur Island
Lighthouse, Tybee Island
The northernmost of
only five remaining lighthouses along the Georgia
Coast, Cockspur Island Lighthouse is part of the
National Park Service-operated Fort Pulaski
National Monument. Decommissioned in 1909, it
remained in private use and was re-lit earlier
this year.
Reconciling the
changing nature of coastal land with the
permanence of structures such as lighthouses is
challenging and expensive. Erosion, caused by the
ongoing dredging of the Savannah River, has
significantly decreased the structure’s protective
land mass and accelerated structural
deterioration.
Fort Pulaski
Superintendent Charlie Fenwick has put together a
multi-pronged work plan for fundraising and the
structure’s preservation. The National Park
Service and Army Corps of Engineers have committed
to providing preliminary assessments and
engineering drawings; they may also be able to
provide additional funding. Chatham County will
match 20% of the entire project, and a local
“friends of the lighthouse” group is forming to
raise money to match public funding and to
establish a long-term maintenance fund.
The Castle,
Atlanta
Built 1909-1910 by
Ferdinand McMillan as his retirement home, The
Castle adjoins large Midtown office buildings and
the Woodruff Arts Center on Atlanta’s Peachtree
and 15th Streets.
Threatened with
demolition in the mid-1980s, the building was
called “a hunk of junk” by Atlanta Mayor Andrew
Young in June 1986, sparking the strengthening of
the local preservation ordinance.
There is little
activity at the property as it stands empty and
deteriorating. Purchased in 2002 for $1 million,
the property currently has a $4 million asking
price. Roof tiles are missing, and water is
starting to damage the interior.
The building is of
great concern for the local preservation community
and surrounding Midtown area. The Atlanta Midtown
Alliance is forming a task force to help stabilize
the structure and encourage its revitalization.
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