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Top Preservation Opportunities for 2008

Celebrating Preservation Month, on May 13th at the annual membership meeting of the Abilene Preservation League members adopted the first Top Ten Preservation Opportunities List. These buildings or places are threatened with neglect, plans that call for the property’s demolition, or other circumstances that clearly threaten the property’s continued existence.

The purposes of the list are:

• to raise awareness of the importance of Abilene’s historic places
• to generate support for saving endangered properties
• to provide a tool for evaluating and prioritizing preservation needs in Abilene

1. Lincoln Middle School. The former Abilene High School at 1699 South First was built in 1924 as a testament to the importance of education in Abilene. The building’s gothic revival architecture includes gargoyles and classic decoration. A proposal to use the campus as part of a new Career Professional and Technology Magnet School failed on the May 10th ballot as part of the A.I.S.D. bond election. The building would have been preserved and state of the art technology would be made part of it, while adding new buildings and reusing the Eagle’s Nest gym as a cafeteria. The auditorium would have served as a venue for events for all AISD schools—the new middle schools do not have auditoriums. With the failure of the bond election, Lincoln’s future is again clouded. Meanwhile, deterioration takes its toll, and the original bronze dedication plaque designed by architect David S. Castle was recently stolen.

2. WTU Power Plant. This is one of the older power plants in the state of Texas. The facility included an ice plant in its early days and was the centerpiece of the West Texas Utilities Company, founded in Abilene by W.G. Swenson who led a group of investors. The Preservation League has helped arrange tours of interested parties through the facility. Interesting re-use ideas have come forth for use as a new central public library and offices for an engineering firm, but after environmental problems are addressed, it will be time for the owner to make a decision on whether or not to demolish. Click for a Photo Tour of the Plant

3. Rosethyme (1910 North 3rd St.). Due to a catastrophic fire February 6th of this year, the future of the home built in 1903 by early-day physician J.D. Magee is in serious jeopardy. With Historic Overlay zoning, National Register and Recorded Texas Historic Landmark status, there is some protection, but the home was underinsured and the owner’s ability to reconstruct is in doubt.

4. Abilene Courts. The historic Bankhead Highway, one of the first transcontinental highways, followed South Eleventh past this 1930 tourist court at 633 S. 11th. The Texas Historic Commission is interested in the historic nature of tourist courts of this type as it is one of the few remaining original structures along this route. The building has no formal protection from demolition, but would make a good artists’ cooperative or restaurant.

5. Abilene State School Cemetery. Across from the new campus of Cisco Junior College is a historic cemetery that is threatened with encroachment and diminishing screening from quickly-developing areas. It served as the cemetery for residents and some employees of the Abilene Epileptic Colony and Abilene State School since 1904. Tombstones show evidence of the toll of early 20th century epidemics among the residents.

6. 701 Amarillo. With an absentee owner, this home seems stuck in a pattern of minimal maintenance, leading to demolition by neglect. The Amarillo home’s architecture is Art Moderne, unusual for Abilene. It anchors Abilene’s Amarillo Street Historic District, a generally well-maintained area. The Board of Building Standards recently condemned the garage and demolition of it will occur within 30 days if the owner does not make improvements.

7. 702 Meander. This home backs up to 701 Amarillo. It is a 1927 frame home known as the Dunagin-Norcross House. The roof is in need of major repairs and leaks will quickly finish destroying the house. The owner receives a homestead tax exemption, but does not reside at the property.

8. Compere Boulevard residential district. Just west of Hendrick Medical Center, this historic neighborhood where several early hospital administrators lived lacks any homes with Historic Overlay zoning. As the hospital grows, an opportunity exists to be respectful of the tree-lined, residential feel of the boulevard and its homes, and avoid turning it into more parking lots.

9. 352 Poplar Street. Thought to be the oldest house in Abilene, this house recently changed hands. Significant changes are being made to the front of the home.

10. In Memoriam:
First United Methodist Church. This 1925 sanctuary at 142 Butternut is an anchor at the base of the street and is currently being demolished. The church has held a demolition permit since September of 2006. There was a remodel during the 1980s that from the perspective of 20 years later diminished the property’s utility. The building could have been used be used for community services, but many in the congregation simply wanted it gone.

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