Demolition of old jail should serve officials as a reminder

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November 7, 2009

Anonymous The News Courier Sat Nov 07, 2009, 06:17 PM CST

During the past week, the piece-by-piece demolition of the former county jail building on Green Street in downtown Athens could be felt at The News Courier building, just up the street.

But as noise and vibrations make their presence known, we are grateful that the old building, which was not the city’s prettiest even before it was abandoned four years ago, will soon be gone from the landscape.

We hope the removal of this eyesore — to be replaced with some additional offices for the adjacent Limestone County City Schools building and, hopefully, landscaped grounds — will remind city and county officials that there is work to be done to keep moving our downtown revitalization forward.

Driving streets leading onto the square — Hobbs, Market near the railroad tracks, Jefferson and others — you will see many buildings in need of repair or paint.

A few buildings have broken windows on unused upper floors; many look dilapidated, some on the verge of collapse.

They stand in stark contrast to the historic downtown buildings that have been lovingly maintained or restored.

While the Spirit of Athens, a downtown revitalization group, searches for grant money to help owners repaint some facades, we encourage our officials to look around them as they drive or walk through the familiar streets and consider ways to encourage owners to repair or renovate these historic buildings, perhaps even offer incentives for building upkeep.

During recent research for a pictorial history and Athens and Limestone County due in stores next summer, News Courier Editor Kelly Kazek came across dozens of photos of our historical buildings as they appeared in their prime.

At a time when coming downtown was an event, our forefathers took pride in its appearance.

Let’s recall some of that pride and take the next steps in beautifying our city, perhaps even requiring upkeep of business owners.

Athens and Limestone County are lucky to have one of the most picturesque downtown areas in the state.

As construction begins on a downtown event center and funds are raised to renovate the old Kroger building on Jefferson Street for a modern library, our downtown continues to improve.

More and more people visit regularly.

Let’s be sure we welcome visitors from all entrances to the square with the best we have to offer.

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