Cornelia Municipal Building crumbles to give way to progress

CORNELIA — Brick and mortar walls may crumble to the ground, but those who worked in the Cornelia Municipal Building over the past seven decades say memories will last a lifetime.

The 70-year-old building, located at the corner of Foreacre Street and South Main Street in downtown Cornelia, has been demolished to make way for a modern city hall/police department building.

The building project ultimately will involve demolition of the current city hall, located in the former Cornelia Library, and Cornelia Police Department, located in the former Habersham County Health Department.

“I can tell you it was built in 1949,” said Cornelia City Manager Donald Anderson. “When it was built, it was everything. It was the Municipal Building. It housed city hall, police, fire, public works.”

Additionally, the Cornelia Library was housed in the building in its early years.

“That tells you how much the city has grown in 70 years that all the employees fit in one building at one time,” Anderson said. “It even had a jail in it at one time is my understanding, so there is a lot of history.”

The building had undergone two expansion projects – the addition of brick and motor fire department bays toward South Main Street and, in the 1990s, the addition of a metal building creating additional fire department apparatus bays.

“You hate to lose history, but we’ve salvaged as much as we can,” Anderson said. “We’ve taken the plaque off the wall and we’ve got historical pictures and in the new building we will have all of that on display.”

Outside the building was a memorial to fallen Cornelia Firefighter Cale Thomason, who lost his life in the line of duty. That plaque also was saved for display at the new fire station planned farther down South Main Street.

Retired firefighters, as well as current and new ones, stopped by throughout the week of demolition to reminisce and catch one last look at the place where they spent a portion of their lives.

Huey Patterson Jr., who is one of those who stopped by to reflect, retired in 2013 as Cornelia’s assistant fire chief after many years of employment with the city. His father was a long-time policeman who also worked out the Cornelia Municipal Building.

As some of the city’s newest firefighters and fire officers watched the demolition Thursday, workers located a badly damaged American flag and entrusted it to those firefighters.

Lt. Kyle Dotson, Firefighter Angela Martin and Firefighter Phillip Sheriff took great care to fold the flag for transport and proper folding once they reached Cornelia Fire Department North Station.

Anderson said the building’s history and stories are important to Cornelia’s heritage.

“At the same time, it’s progress and the building was so old it didn’t meet any kind of handicapperd requirements,” Anderson said. “Electrical, computer, nothing was thought of as far as that 70 years ago, so it was time for a change. If there was a way to salvage it, we could have. The contractor is actually working on a plan now to maybe salvage some of the bricks and incorporate those into the new building, so I think that will be pretty neat if they can do that.”

In recent years, the building housed the Cornelia Fire Department South Station and municipal courtroom/city commission chambers.

“We’re sad to see that go, but we’re excited for the future of Cornelia and what this means to the city,” Anderson said.

Cornelia Firefighters Angela Martin and Phillip Sheriff and Lt. Kyle Dotson fold a badly damaged American flag found during demolition of the Cornelia Municipal Building, which formerly housed the Cornelia Fire Department South Station.

Cornelia Firefighter Phillip Sheriff, left, watches as Firefighter Angela Martin and Lt. Kyle Dotson complete the folding of the damaged American flag located during demolition of the Cornelia Municipal Building.

For 70 years, the corner of South Main Street and Foreacre Street has been home to the Cornelia Municipal Building, which also housed Cornelia Fire Department. That changed Thursday when the remainder of the building was demolished.

When constructed in 1949, the Cornelia Municipal Building housed all city departments and employees under one roof, including the library, city hall, police and fire departments, and public works.

Salvage personnel prepare to collect items from the top of the Cornelia Municipal Building on Monday.

Demolition crews knock down the first engine bays expansion in the fire department section of the Cornelia Municipal Building.

Dust flies as the former engine bays fall.

Demolition crews work to dismantle the former fire station bays at the Cornelia Municipal Building.

An equipment operator pulls down the walls of the former fire department bays at the Cornelia Municipal Building.

Cornelia Fire Department personnel watch as the former South Station is demolished. From left are Firefighter Phillip Sheriff, Firefighter Angela Martin, Lt. Kyle Dotson, Fire Marshal Josh Hazle and Chief Billy Jenkins Jr.

An employee of the grading contractor conducting the demolition wets down the building to diminish airborne dust.

A debris cloud rises as the demolition of the Cornelia Municipal Building nears an end Thursday afternoon.

An excavator operator prepares to pull down the final corner of the original Cornelia Municipal Building on Thursday afternoon.

Now that the Cornelia Municipal Building has been removed, grading and construction can begin on the new Cornelia City Hall and Police Department building. Once completed, the current city hall, left, and police department, right, will be demolished.

The corner of South Main Street and Foreacre Street in Cornelia has taken on a new appearance now that the Cornelia Municipal Building has been removed. Once the new city hall and police station is constructed on the property, the current city hall and police department, shown with green roofs, will be removed.

Crews work to remove the Cornelia Municipal Building.

An excavator pulls down the upstairs of the Cornelia Municipal Building.

A heavy equipment operator dismantles the former Cornelia Municipal Building.

An excavator stabilizes the Cornelia Municipal Building as another dismantles the structure.

This view shows the Cornelia Municipal Building undergoing demolition, Cornelia City Hall (green roof center) and Cornelia Police Department (green roof right), as well as grading for the new Cornelia Fire Department South Station on South Main Street at Wyly Street.

The appearance of the corner of South Main Street and Foreacre Street is changing as the Cornelia Municipal Building is demolished to make way for the new Cornelia City Hall and Police Department building on the property.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2019/5/794131/cornelia-municipal-building-crumbles-to-give-way-to-progress