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Mayor's
Building in Bainbridge Receives Statewide
Preservation Award
Building's
Missing Marble Pieces Recovered in
Resident's Front Yard
ATLANTA,
April 2, 2005—The Mayor’s Building in
Bainbridge, Ga., received an award for
Excellence in Rehabilitation from The Georgia
Trust for Historic Preservation at its annual
meeting April 2 in Thomasville, Ga.
The
Mayor’s Building was built in 1900 in the
Bainbridge Commercial Historical District.
Located on North Broad Street, the building
consists of two one-story, flat-roofed brick
buildings.
Originally,
the building on the right, used as a First
State Bank, had stone block walls with cut
marble and marble columns. The building on the
left, known as the Vogue building, had a brick
façade and a recessed entrance. In the 1940s,
this façade was covered with plain stucco.
In
the 1970s, both buildings were renovated. The
recessed entrance of the Vogue building was
removed, and the former bank building was
covered with a false brick veneer front. The
interiors of both buildings were renovated to
make room for a pharmacy, and many of the
marble pieces from the original building were
removed.
In
2003, Mayor Bill Reynolds oversaw
rehabilitation of the building to restore the
two storefronts to their original states. The
stucco was removed from the Vogue building,
and the brick veneer was removed from the
former bank.
Reynolds
had hoped to restore the original marble to
the bank building, but some of the pieces were
missing from the 1970s renovation. When a
worker on that project heard the Mayor was
looking for the marble, he removed the marble
pieces from his front yard, where they were
used as a bench, and returned them to the
building.
Currently,
the old bank building is home to a
children’s store, Sweet Peas, and the Vogue
building is looking for a new tenant who can
fully appreciate the building’s historic
value.
“These
two rehabilitated structures help contribute
to Bainbridge’s Historic District as well as
bring new life into the downtown community,”
said Greg Paxton, president and CEO of The
Georgia Trust.
For
more than 25 years the Trust has recognized
preservation projects and individuals in the
state who have made significant contributions
to the field of historic preservation. Awards
are presented on the basis of the
contributions of the person or project to the
community and/or state and on compliance with
the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards
for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
Excellence
in Rehabilitation awards recognize projects
that make compatible use of a building through
repair, alterations or additions while
preserving features of the property that
convey its historic value. This year the Trust
presented 15 Excellence in Rehabilitation
awards.
With
more than 8,000 members, The Georgia Trust for
Historic Preservation is the country’s
largest statewide, nonprofit preservation
organization. Founded in 1973, the Trust is
committed to preserving and enhancing
Georgia’s communities and their diverse
historic resources for the education and
enjoyment of all.
The
Trust generates community revitalization by finding buyers for
endangered properties acquired by its
Revolving Fund; provides design assistance to
105 Georgia Main Street cities and encourages
neighborhood revitalization; trains
Georgia’s teachers in 56 Georgia school
systems to engage students in discovering
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.
For
more information about the award winner,
contact Amanda Glover at 229-248-2000 or aglover@bainbridgecity.com.
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