Gone is Gone: Lessons from a Downtown Demolition Dr. Carole Nash, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

▶
gone is gone lessons from a downtown demolition
SMART_READER_LITE
LIVE PREVIEW

Gone is Gone: Lessons from a Downtown Demolition Dr. Carole Nash, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

May 26, 2023 576 likes •1.06k views

Gone is Gone: Lessons from a Downtown Demolition Dr. Carole Nash, School of Integrated Sciences, James Madison University 1/21/2020 The construction of the Rockingham- Harrisonburg Judicial Complex in the early 1990s was tied to the

slide-1
SLIDE 1

Gone is Gone: Lessons from a Downtown Demolition

  • Dr. Carole Nash, School of Integrated Sciences, James Madison University 1/21/2020
slide-2
SLIDE 2

The construction of the Rockingham- Harrisonburg Judicial Complex in the early 1990s was tied to the demolition of 17 structures in the Downtown core.

slide-3
SLIDE 3

This occurred with limited community input and virtually no historic review.

slide-4
SLIDE 4

Multi-Block Demolition and Community Impact: Northeast Harrisonburg

slide-5
SLIDE 5
slide-6
SLIDE 6

August 1989: public sees first plan for Judicial Complex (block between Market and Elizabeth Streets)

slide-7
SLIDE 7

August 18, 1989

Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society Library

slide-8
SLIDE 8

November 1990: plan for the current structures in place. Courts building on south side of West Market Street, between Liberty Street and Court Square; 5-story Jail building/Sheriff’s Office along Liberty Street between West Market and West Water Streets.

slide-9
SLIDE 9

Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority was authorized to negotiate the purchase of 17 properties. At the time of the announcement, City and County had already purchased the former JC Penney property (Vibes Nightclub), located on the southwest corner

  • f Court Square, next

to Denton’s.

slide-10
SLIDE 10

Demolition permits were secured in August 1991. Work began on September 5 and concluded in December 1991.

slide-11
SLIDE 11

Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society Library Drawing of T. Harrison’s 1780 Plat for Harrisonburg

  • D. J. Lake’s Atlas of Rockingham County Virginia, 1885

Wayland (1949): There is less change on German Street than any

  • ther portion of town.
slide-12
SLIDE 12

Community organizations immediately voiced concerns: Citizens for Downtown Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society Archeological Society of Virginia Assumption: Funding sources and required permits would initiate environmental and cultural review under Federal laws. Standing structures, historic infrastructure, and archaeological sites would be evaluated and considered for significance. Wrong: No Federal funding; Army Corps of Engineers invoked Nationwide Permit

slide-13
SLIDE 13

August 1991: Rockingham County agreed to allow members of the Massanutten Chapter of the Archeological Society of Virginia two days to photograph the buildings.

During the fall, chapter members took turns photographing the demolition from outside the construction fences.

slide-14
SLIDE 14

Core area of historic settlement for Harrisonburg

*Court Square *Market Street *German or Back Street

“The working side of downtown along Blacks Run”

Gray’s Map of Harrisonburg, 1887

slide-15
SLIDE 15

1897: grocers, rooming house (Hotel Thurmond), milliner, carriage shop, cobbler shop, laundry, blacksmith, livery, dwellings

slide-16
SLIDE 16

W.Market Street toward Courthouse, turn of 20th Century (Suter and Lyon, 2003)

slide-17
SLIDE 17

W.Market Street toward Courthouse, 1915 (Suter and Lyon, 2003)

slide-18
SLIDE 18

By 1924, Denton’s had moved to Court Square and Market Street was one brick building after the

  • ther, filled with

businesses and apartments.

slide-19
SLIDE 19

Liberty Street was populated with small local businesses and dominated by the B and O Railroad.

slide-20
SLIDE 20

What was lost?

slide-21
SLIDE 21

West Market Street (South Side)

slide-22
SLIDE 22

Blacks Run: stone arches and Native American sites

slide-23
SLIDE 23

Wetsel Seed Company Parking Lot: B&O Depot (Union Station)

  • E. Bumbaugh Collection
slide-24
SLIDE 24
  • E. W. Sullivan Cigars (McAlister 2015)

Zirkles Paint Store (site of Sullivan Cigar Factory)

slide-25
SLIDE 25
slide-26
SLIDE 26

Jesse Bowlin House pre-1800 2-story log

Tan yard in back

slide-27
SLIDE 27
slide-28
SLIDE 28
slide-29
SLIDE 29

Corner of Liberty and West Market: Ole Virginia Ham Café and Lindsay Eco Water (Fridles Bakery)

slide-30
SLIDE 30

Jim Eaton’s Sinclair Station and Ole Virginia Ham Café, 1950s

slide-31
SLIDE 31

Pro Pool Building (Paul Building) – grocery store and apartments

slide-32
SLIDE 32
slide-33
SLIDE 33

Back to Liberty Street: Rearview Bikes and F&J Sandwich Shop: early site of livery and carriage shop; tin shop from 1890s-1930s

slide-34
SLIDE 34
slide-35
SLIDE 35

Layman’s Restaurant and Salt’s Barbershop (Location of stables and dwellings)

slide-36
SLIDE 36
slide-37
SLIDE 37

Mystic Den (music venue) Location of earlier dwellings

slide-38
SLIDE 38

Twin State Beauty Supply (19th/early 20th century dwellings)

slide-39
SLIDE 39

The Paper Box Factory (Campbell Shoe Co.; Tire Warehouse; Furniture Maker; Creamery). Portions rehabbed in 1980s to house arts-focused businesses. Entrance off Water Street

slide-40
SLIDE 40

Harrison Antiques (Myers House, 19th Century; Pawn Shop)

slide-41
SLIDE 41

Warehouse and Offices, B&O Railroad

slide-42
SLIDE 42
slide-43
SLIDE 43
slide-44
SLIDE 44

The intrinsic value of

  • lder buildings:

higher-quality materials, built by different standards. When the structure is removed, its possibility is lost.

slide-45
SLIDE 45

Removed from Vicinity Since Judicial Complex Completion Green Auto Parts Building Rhodes Candy Company Building Jail

slide-46
SLIDE 46

Don’t let this be next. Old buildings are reminders of a city’s culture and complexity; their

  • wners and occupants contribute to

the economic and social welfare of communities. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.

slide-47
SLIDE 47

Gratitude

Massanutten Chapter, Archeological Society of Virginia Eleanor F. Parslow Janice Biller Cindy Schroer John Eckman Citizens for Downtown Kathy Kraft Bob Bersson Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance Andrea Dono Andy Perrine Virginia Department of Historic Resources Randy Jones Samantha Henderson