Editorial
Front Page - Friday, November 5, 2010
Cornerstones aims to preserve architectural heritage
David Laprad
Cornerstones works with property owners and other partners to preserve the architectural heritage of Chattanooga. One of the properties the organization is working to save is the Levin Brothers building on East Main Street. A three-story Victorian commercial structure, it was erected as a hotel and was later used as a retail business. ?Unstable due to deterioration, the building is awaiting restoration.
- David Laprad
When workers raise a building from the ground up, they create a unified structure. Over the years, as the owner changes elements of the original design – such as the doors, windows, or another component of the exterior – he changes the character of the building. It might look more modern, but it’s lost part of its personality.
The same thing can happen to a city. Raised up over many years, most cities are a blend of old and new architecture, with the balance between the two always tilting toward the latter. While progress is important, when someone tears down or modernizes an old structure – one full of history and character – the city loses a part of what made it unique.
Cornerstones exists to make sure this happens as rarely as possible in Chattanooga.
Since opening its doors in 1994, the historic preservation organization has worked with property owners and other
partners to preserve the architectural heritage of the Scenic City. For example, through a partnership with Lyndhurst, Cornerstones helped to save a number of old structures, including First Congregational Church, the Stong Building and St. John’s Hotel.
Ann Gray, executive direct-
or, says Cornerstones got in-volved with the renovation of the Stong Building, which began operation in 1909 as the Terminal Hotel and is now a three-story restaurant, bar and micro-brewery, to safeguard its windows.
“Windows and doors define an architectural space. When people play with windows, it changes everything about a building.
We wanted them to get the windows right and not do something that was inappropriate for the architectural style of the building,” she says.
While the Stong Building and the other structures Cornerstones and Lyndhurst worked together to save represent a specific use of money, more often than not, the organization guides property owners through a process that enables them to benefit financially from preserving the historical elements of their buildings.
For instance, Cornerstones will help a property owner apply to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places, which refunds property owners a percentage of the cost of renovations that preserve the original character of their building.
“We will connect property owners with someone who can research the history of their property, and then we’ll help them complete the (preliminary application) for inclusion on the National Register. There’s a trail of paperwork involved, but if you go through the process, you can earn tax credits.
Essentially, we let people know what’s out there, show them how to get it and then help them through the process,” Gray says.
As a result of the organization’s efforts, a dozen structures continue to grace the Chattanooga landscape, including: The Baggage Depot on West 13th Street, built in 1860; the Burchay Building on Market Street, built in 1890; Central Block, also on Market Street, built in 1883; Customs House on East 11th Street, built in 1893; the Dent House on Bonny Oaks Drive, built in 1854; the Dome Building on Georgia Avenue, built in 1892; Hair of the Dog Pub on Market Street, built in 1900; Park Place School on East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, built in 1924; the Walnut Street Bridge, built in 1891; and the three buildings mentioned earlier in this article.
For each success, however, another building has either been lost or is in danger of being lost. It is the endangered structures on which Cornerstones concentrates most of its attention. The organization is so concerned about these properties that its 25-member volunteer board has formed a committee specifically to monitor them, and assigned each member of the committee a single structure to watch over.
While the endangered buildings come in all shapes and sizes, they’re all in danger of losing their historical integrity. A tiny structure located on 10th and King Streets that once served as a corner market stands empty and continues to shed bricks; the Ross Hotel on Georgia Avenue houses a restaurant, but remains mostly vacant; an old fire hall on Forrest Avenue is in desperate need of repairs; the Davenport House continues to anchor the intersection of Central and McCallie Avenues, despite ongoing deterioration; and renovations continue to strip away the historical character of the building that houses the Chattanooga School for Arts and Sciences.
There is hope for some of the buildings on Cornerstones’ endangered list.
The Levin Brothers Building on East Main Street, which has lost its roof, awaits restoration. Likewise, St. George Hotel on Market Street has been purchased and is slated for redevelopment. A destructive fire caused the rear portion of the building to be dismantled in 2004. Finally, workers can be heard hammering away inside the Industrial YMCA on Mitchell Street, a four-story Spanish revival structure built near the turn of the century.
The hold up, Gray says, is time and money.
“The economy shifted on us and put things that were moving forward on hold. Plus, nothing happens quickly. I’ve been here nine years, and we’ve moved four buildings off the endangered list. Getting to that point involves a long process of everything aligning with respect to ownership, money and opportunity,” she says.
As Cornerstones keeps one eye on its endangered properties, it uses its other to look forward to a day when the trend toward sustainable development embraces the use of older structures. To this end, the organization is working closely with Green|Spaces to support adaptive reuse.
“Recycling an old building is the ultimate in green construction. We spent years talking with the owners of St. John Hotel, and every time we looked at it and thought about how it could be used, we kept coming back to hotel. But maybe it could be something else. We like to keep things the way they were, but we also realize a building needs to serve the surrounding community,” Gray says.
Residents of Chattanooga can support the organization by becoming members. For information on how to join Cornerstones, visit www.cornerstonesinc.org.
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