Re: the link below: What are these buildings and what is SCAD? Why are the buildings threatened?

http://www.wtoctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1234581&nav=0qq5FG3v
ryarger@rypn.org

> Re: the link below: What are these buildings
> and what is SCAD? Why are the buildings
> threatened?

Savannah College of Art and Design. I believe their campus occupies part of the old C of G train station across the yard from the old shops. Dave, fill us in.

From their website,

"The college includes more than 50 facilities equipped with the latest technology available. Among these facilities are numerous structures that were once important public buildings. Having outlived their original 19th century purposes, many of these architectural treasures had been abandoned. Restored or renovated by the college, the buildings have been adapted to new educational and administrative uses."

tnold@northtexastransport.org

> Re: the link below: What are these buildings
> and what is SCAD? Why are the buildings
> threatened?

OK, First SCAD is Savannah College of Art and Design. Some opine it is less an institution of higher learning than a tax deductible real estate investment scheme. I am not going to enter that debate, but SCAD has built a series of campuses by reusing old buildings here and there all over town, doing some preservation and adaptive reuse in the process, again, with mixed reviews. If you like SCAD you like SCAD, if you don't, you really don't - little room for Quisling. It is certain that without SCAD more of Savannah's commercial and industrial past would have vanished, there really isn't a huge market for industrial structural reuse there yet, and many colorful and lively art students wouldn't infest downtown.

SCAD owns some of the former Central of Georgia Property. Their interests are on the north end of the corridor which terminated at the west boundary of the old downtown. Adjacent to the south of the SCAD property is city owned property, on which sits the Visitors Center (old Passenger Terminal) and, south of that, across Louisville Road, what is now called Battlefield Park which NS has agreed to agree to sell to the city, and south of that, the city owned shops complex AKA Roundhouse Railroad Museum.

SCAD has just erected a new dormitory building at the foot of one of the brick arch viaducts which carried trains into the former freight yard which includes two very long, very old brick freight sheds. One of these freight sheds - the one closest to the VC - has been adaptively reused as classrooms and studio space. The threatened structure is the more northern of the two freight sheds, which they own but haven't done a thing to stabilize.

It appears they aren't interested in preserving it and, in common with all the 1850's C of G brick structures remaining, they are in serious need of attention. One wonders whether the city is planting the stories or SCAD or Historic Savannah. It isn't new. I sense this is a move to gain sympathy for demolition. SCAD has money and political power and certainly we won't see the operators of the railroad museum try to impact the situation. Hell, just trying to prevent the ones on the museum site from collapsing is several full time jobs.

FYI, One of the two remaining freight sheds at the old ACL roundhouse site on the east border of the old downtown was recently demolished. The other one, the Brinson RR, SAL, and S&A remaining structures appear safe for now. The space between the two brick arch viaducts is now the site of an expansion of the Coastal Center. Industrial preservation hasn't yet caught on in Savannah to the extent we would like.

Roundhouse Railroad Museum is now in the process of working to stabilize spalling concrete ceilings in the 1925 reinforced concrete roundhouse, and do masonry pointing and repair in the 1850's Tender Frame Shop / Master Mechanic's office. Reroofing the 1850's Blacksmith Shop is under way. Additional work on the Colored Washroom, and in the vicinity of the Boiler House and the Compressor Room are planned.

A Special Local Option Sales Tax referendum passed with an overwhelming margin last month, and if all goes well, over 8 million will fund Battlefield Park improvements which includes the shops site.

I hope this has answered your questions.

dave



irondave@bellsouth.net

Here's an article I wrote for RyPN two years ago on Savannah. It's been off the server for a while but I've put it back up for a time if anyone would like to go back and read it.

Dave was a right fine host to us during this trip.

http://www.rypn.org/Articles/001105sav/


RyPN Savannah article
eledbetter@rypn.org