Historic preservationists aim to save 'places in peril'
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation has announced its 10 "places in peril" list, which includes historic structures across the state that could be at risk of being lost due to development and other reasons.
The list includes a house in Dublin where struggling teachers lived during the Great Depression; a log house in Emanuel County built on land awarded in the 1805 Georgia Land Lottery; and the Marble YMCA Building in Columbus that dates to 1903.
The list also includes the Charles T. Walker house in Augusta. Walker was born a slave in 1858 and went on to become a world-renowned minister. His Tabernacle Baptist Church has been visited by figures such as John D. Rockefeller and President William Howard Taft when Augusta was a popular winter tourism destination.
The list, released Wednesday, calls attention to significant historic, archaeological and cultural resources in danger of destruction due to demolition, neglect, insensitive public policy and other factors, according to Traci Clark of the Georgia Trust.
Shortly after the list was announced, Historic Augusta revealed that it has bought the Walker house and plans to preserve it, The Augusta Chronicle reported (http://bit.ly/2floxfB).
"The 1895 house is located within the historic African-American Laney-Walker neighborhood," Clark said. "One of the few residential buildings on the main boulevard, the property is threatened by vacancy, neglect and surrounding development pressure."
Historic Augusta had been working with heirs of a later owner for several years to obtain the property and as of Thursday, the purchase is complete, according to Kuleigh Baker, programs and marketing director.
"Historic Augusta intends to stabilize and secure the long-vacant house, and move forward with plans that will lead to its preservation and reuse in partnership with interested community organizations, including the Laney-Walker Development Corporation," Baker said in a statement to the Augusta newspaper.
The effort "could be a catalyst for further historic preservation activities in the historic Laney-Walker neighborhood," Baker said.
Other "places in peril" on the list released this week include:
The Atlanta Central Library; Calvary Episcopal Church and Lee Street Bridge in Americus; the Chivers House in Dublin; Marble YMCA Building in Columbus; Gaines Hall, Furber Cottage, Towns House and the Hamilton House in Atlanta; the John Rountree Log House in Emanuel County; the Lyon Farmhouse in DeKalb County; Mimosa Hall in Roswell; and Old Zebulon Elementary School in Zebulon.
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Information from: The Augusta Chronicle , http://www.augustachronicle.com