Category Archives: Endangered

Update: Radford Grocery Co. fire site

This is the place for the latest info about the property in Abilene at 101 Oak Street. On February 20th the building suffered a disastrous fire. The remaining North wall was pushed over into the ruins by the city due to public safety concerns.

We (the Abilene Preservation League) are collecting inquiries and forwarding them on to the owners. If you came by on Saturday the 25th and spoke to us about your interest in a particular piece of salvage, your interest has already been forwarded to the owner. If you have a question currently, please email us and we will forward to the owner.

In the interim, please note the following:

  • The site is in the process of being secured. A fence is going up today.
  • Nothing may be removed from the site without the permission of the owner.
  • If you are interested in a quantity of brick, please do email us and state the quantity, whether you have the capability to clean and transport them, and other details.
  • Please do not cross the foundation wall or walk on top of any piles of brick and debris that may be at the site, whether on the sidewalk or not. Safety is paramount.
  • If you have an inquiry that is about something other than brick such as the iron grilles that protected the basement windows: Most were preserved and removed to a safe place. It may be some time before it is known whether they will be available or not for sale.

Any announcements will be posted here as soon as they are available. Thank you to all who came on Saturday Feb. 25th to help start the clean-up. We appreciate your help!

Bricks for Bucks… help start the cleanup of the Matera fire

Last Monday Abilene suffered a terrible loss… known as the Matera Paper Building, the majestic structure at 101 Oak Street burned and was declared a total loss.

On Saturday, February 25th, working with the  building owners, we will start the cleanup process by having the first Bricks for Bucks day. Starting around 9:00 a.m. and ending at 3:30 p.m., the Abilene Preservation League will be on site to let Abilenians pick up bricks and help the cleanup process by clearing the sidewalks.

This is a fundraiser for the Abilene Preservation League and Love and Care Ministries, so we will be asking for a donation if you would like a brick or several. A suggested amount is $2.00 per brick, but if you would like to give more, or less, that is OK. The older part of the building is made out of what we think is Thurber brick, made in the famous ghost town along I-20. The “addition” made in 1917 was made out of brand-new Abilene brick, known as “Abilene Common,” and is stamped with our city’s name.

We would like to enroll all people who donate as supporters of the APL so we will be asking for your email address and you will receive a complimentary one year membership in the APL.

If you have in mind a patio or a driveway, needing hundreds or even thousands of bricks, there are plenty. But we may not be able to fulfill your order in one day! Volunteers  will be on site to take your request down and we will be back in touch with you within the next week.

What is the intended purpose of the funds raised? Well, for one we need to provide better security lighting at some of our historic structures, which would help deter additional losses of buildings. As a donor, you will also be benefiting Love and Care Ministries, which has a 17 year history of great work helping Abilenians all economic circumstances.

Additional information will be posted here as it becomes available. We thank you for your interest in this project!

Historic Overlay – What it is and isn’t

Yesterday’s Landmarks Commission meeting (and this morning’s story in the ARN) revealed that some info is needed about what Historic Overlay really means. Here’s a plain-English version to try to address some misconceptions that may exist about what Historic Overlay might mean to the former Abilene High – Lincoln campus.

Historic Overlay… What it is:

  • Makes it more difficult to demolish a building, but demolition is still possible.
  • Provides an educational process for owners, with staff support and advice
  • Provides a way for a property to be contributing to the look and feel of its surrounding neighborhood
  • Requires a Certificate of Appropriateness before major changes are made to the exterior and provides a procedure for obtaining the Certificate of Appropriateness
  • For individuals and for-profit companies, provides ad valorem tax savings from the city portion of their tax bill
  • Eligibility for a plaque, “Abilene Historic Landmark”
  • Improves the case for state (Texas Recorded State Landmark) and national (National Register for Historic Places) designations
  • Is usually desired and requested by the owner
  • Need for a Certificate of Appropriateness (C.A.) is triggered by a building permit application, or a demolition permit application.

Historic Overlay… What it is not:

  • Is not analogous to “frozen in time”
  • Does not affect what the owner can do with the interior
  • No certificate is required for regular maintenance, including painting, unless there is a significant change in the color
  • Does not prohibit changes like window replacement
  • Selective demolition, removal of accessory buildings for redevelopment, can be allowed with a C.A.
  • Modern additions can be allowed with a C.A.

The Land Development Code, Section 2.3.4.4, provides the following criteria:

  • Historical, archaeological or cultural significance or value to the development, heritage or cultural, characteristics of the city, state or county
  • Association with events or persons of significance
  • The building style distinctive of a type, period or method of construction or architecture
  • Yielding or may yield historical information
  • Unique location contributing to a familiar visual feature of a neighborhood
  • Represents the work of a master, designer, architect, builder or craftsman

Potential uses for Lincoln property, plus new photos

gargoylessmAt the Preservation League, we have been involved in two tours of the historic AHS-Lincoln property and meeting with AISD officials over the future of the buildings and property. Recently we hosted two officials from the National Trust for Historic Preservation Southwest Office on a visit to Abilene and tour. If you’ve seen Bird’s recent photos on Facebook you’ve seen the most recent photos of the interior. We also have some from a 2009 tour here.

Thanks for your thoughts, we’ve heard from several Facebook friends who ask,

  • “what’s the plan for the building?”
  • “I hope it doesn’t get torn down!”
  • “The happiest years of my life were spent in that building.”
  • “Don’t let them do anything to dear old Abilene High – I graduated in 1932!”

So there is a tremendous amount of good will and interest in preserving the building. We have been gathering and refining ideas for the adaptive reuse of Lincoln for some time. The thing we definitely know now is that the school district will begin the process of considering proposals for the sale of the building. We also know that unlike some buildings in the past, almost no one wants demolition as an outcome. The danger is that someone would get possession of the building and let the elements take their toll in a process that’s called demolition by neglect.

We have come up with a document that outlines some of the leading potential re-uses for the property. We present this as a work in progress, and would welcome your input to further develop it. The full document is available at the link below, and here is a condensed version:

More desirable uses include:

  • Residential, multi-use, conversion of the wings to loft apartments and adding some new construction;
  • A new Central Library for Abilene, possibly including a museum of history;
  • A center of social services and offices for non-profits;
  • Educational

Less desirable uses include:

  • Use as storage space
  • Buy & hold for speculation

Unacceptable to the concept of preservation:

  • Demolition
  • Demolition by neglect

This two-page document is available here. And we welcome comments, which you can make below, or by emailing us.

Views of Franklin

This is a great mosaic. Can it be preserved in any way? We are checking into it.

This is a great mosaic. Can it be preserved in any way? We are checking into it.

Thanks to several of our members, here are some views of the interior of Franklin Middle School. Today’s article in the Reporter-News has news about saving some of the items in the school. A couple of good comments at the bottom. Demolition is set to begin next week. Janine was able to photograph a few items inside, and we’ll post more photos next week. The impressive mosaic next to the office… what’s going to happen to that? Landfill? At least with some photographs there will be some memory.

These are musical notes in the terrazzo, we think, discovered under some carpet which was glued down.

These are musical notes in the terrazzo, we think, discovered under some carpet which was glued down.

Goodbye Franklin…

We visited the Franklin Middle School campus today; the AISD board considered demolition contracts yesterday so that a new elementary school can be built on the site. Putting our hard-core preservation hat aside for awhile*, we went over to do a survey of what might exist there that would haveIMG_0661 meaning for the thousands who attended Franklin over the years since it was built as North Junior High during World War II.

One of our APL members had brought up the question of what will happen to some of the memorable items at Franklin. The AISD archives hopefully have saved some of the history of the school. Our member was wondering about some of the small items, such as a cutout Bronco that was part of the sign. There’s also a plywood logo with another Bronco over the west entrance. It’s not in great shape, but hopefully it can be restored and preserved somehow. In the cafeteria/auditorium there is a colorful full size bronco painting to the left of the stage. We couldn’t get a good photo of it due to reflections.

IMG_0655The cutout over the sign looks like metal, but may need to be redone, because it looks like it might de-laminate before too long without some paint on it. But the peeling surface does look kinda cool in an antique sort of way.

If you would like to somehow help save some of these Franklin items, let us know.

*And when we do put our preservation hat on again, it makes us say, “why would we want to tear down this building and send the materials to the landfill and then build a new one that won’t last nearly as long?”

Just a thought.

IMG_0662