Blue Building makes endangered list

The Tennessee Preservation Trust has released its 2008 ‘Ten in Tennessee’ endangered sites list ‘ and the Blue Building is included.
‘It was wonderful,’ said McMinnville Alderman Jimmy Haley, who traveled to Nashville with several other representatives to attend the announcement.
‘It makes it real easy when you are around people who appreciate the merit of preservation. They recognize the treasure that local people fail to see. I think if more people had gone, they would have seen why preservation is important.’
During the presentation, Tennessee Preservation Trust executive director Dan Brown went through a PowerPoint presentation outlining each of the 10 sites on the list and why it is necessary to preserve landmarks.
Other notable people in attendance were Rachel Killebrew of Heritage Alliance, who nominated the building; Carla King from Main Street McMinnville; Caroline Taylor from Heritage Alliance; and Tara Mielnik from the Metropolitan Historical Commission.
The announcement was made at the Old Supreme Court Chambers in the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville.
‘It was very poignant that the announcement was done in a historic building in the capitol,’ said King. ‘We have endangered buildings. If we lose those memories and history, they’re gone. If we don’t know where we came from, we’re not going to know where we’re going.’
Now that the announcement has been made, a picture of the structure and a description of its current status will be added to the organization’s Web site. Updates will be added periodically.
Begun in 2001, this successful program highlights 10 endangered places across the state to help garner support for saving threatened historic resources. Of the sites placed on the program, only three have been lost.
The 2008 list is available on the organization’s site, www.tennesseepreservationtrust.org. Cicking on the ‘read more’ tab under the 2008 Ten In Tennessee announcement to view the list.

Other counties making the list:
‘ Montgomery ‘ Clarksville Historic District. Threatened by new development.
‘ Shelby ‘ The Rosemark School built in 1912. Construction of a new school with plans to demolish the old.
‘ Williamson ‘ Fleming Hall at Battle Ground Academy. The 1912 structure is now owned by the county which is considering its demolition.
‘ Rutherford ‘ Old City Cemetery. Years of neglect threaten the county’s first cemetery established in the early 1820s. The cemetery was the site of the original First Presbyterian Church, which also served as the state capitol building during the 1822 legislative session.
‘ Polk ‘ Kimsey Junior College is now vacant and beginning to suffer from deterioration. Built in 1932 or 1933, it is the only architect-designed structure in Tennessee’s Copper Basin and a rare rural example of Collegiate Gothic Architecture. Designed by architect Reuben H. Hunt.
‘ Bedford ‘ Shofners Chapel Lutheran Church is threatened by the widening of adjacent U.S. Highway 41-A. Not only the oldest Lutheran congregation in Tennessee, but the first Lutheran congregation west of the Allegheny Mountains.
‘ Davidson ‘ Geist Blacksmith Shop and Residences is threatened by demolition for its valuable land. The business was a key part of Nashville’s historic Germantown community. Although one of the rare surviving original Victorian buildings, it suffers from neglect.
‘ McMinn, Meigs and Polk counties ‘ Beth Salem Presbyterian Church was the first African-American church established in this three-county area. Organized in 1866, the church was erected in 1925. The structure suffers from deterioration.
‘ Meigs ‘ S.S. Eaves House is an excellent and rare surviving example of ‘Steamboat Gothic’ architecture. The structure suffers from neglect.