CITY TO TEMPORARILY REMOVE DECORATIVE FIXTURES ATOP BARNHILL CENTER, ADD SHADE STRUCTURE TO PARKING LOT
City of Brenham crews will begin work next week to remove concrete decorative fixtures from on top of The Barnhill Center and add a shade structure to a city parking lot.
According to Brenham Main Street Manager Leigh Linden, the job at The Barnhill Center is considered an emergency, as one of the concrete urns crumbled and fell onto the roof during the last major freeze. The remaining fixtures will be removed and shipped off to be restored and preserved before being reinstalled.
A notice sent to downtown property owners says the process is scheduled to begin on Tuesday and last for four to seven days, weather permitting.
Street to West Main Street, and one lane of West
Main Street will periodically close, as the City of
Brenham works next week to temporarily remove
concrete decorative fixtures from atop The Barnhill
Center.
(map courtesy City of Brenham)
Douglas Street will be closed to vehicular traffic between West Alamo Street and West Main Street throughout the entirety of the project. Portions of West Main Street will also be temporarily closed to one lane while fixtures are removed from the Main Street side of the building.
All sidewalks surrounding The Barnhill Center will be closed while work is being conducted above and re-opened when workers are not present. During the sidewalk closures, access to The Barnhill Center and Visitor Center will be through the doors on the Alamo Alley side of the building.
Street, will be closed next week to allow City of
Brenham crews to construct a shade structure.
(map courtesy City of Brenham)
The upcoming work at The Barnhill Center comes as emergency repairs continue at the Washington County Courthouse to remove loose granite slates on the exterior that have deteriorated. One of the panels fell off of the courthouse in December and landed in a flower bed.
As for the parking lot shade structure project, City Lot C at 200 North Park Street, located between North Park and North Baylor Streets, will have the inside spaces closed to build the structure. Work is estimated to get underway on Tuesday and take four to six days, weather permitting, but Linden says it should be done in time before Spring Break.
The KEY word being TEMPORARY.
Those “decorative” concrete urns have been up there since Mr. Simon built the theatre.
I have always thought the “urns” represented something to do with the Jewish faith.
Seems like there used to be more in number than what is up there now. May be wrong.
Being strong on the history of the Local Community, it saddens me each time something of heritage and landmarks are corrupted, morphed, or destroyed.
Understanding the need for safety, I also pray that the “temporary” part of the process does not become permanent due to politics or loss.
If anyone can jump in and clear up the true reason for the “urns” atop the Simon, please do so. As I stated, it has been my feeling that there is a connection to the Jews. And, believe me, the Jews played a MAJOR role in the early and continued development of Brenham and the surrounding area.
It was bad enough (but understandable) that Brenham lost the historic little Jewish synagogue to Austin. Mr. Toubin could no longer keep up the effort to maintain the structure. Brenham was the better for being home to it. However, realities always bring change.
So, let us hope that Locals realize the importance of preserving the integrity of the heart and soul of the Simon Theatre. Do not allow any Outlanders to make changes that our ancestors would be appalled at were they still here.
Everyone should know and understand the importance of Local History and Heritage. For, once it is gone — it is gone FOREVER.
And, the State of Texas has admonished towns for decades to hold fast to Local History and Heritage. It is the NUMBER ONE REASON why visitors come to an area — to step back into time.
It is also impossible to teach Local youth about the Community’s past if all that was is gone.
As gravestone conservator, it’s my guess that when those concrete decorations were cast, ferrous re-bar was used to reinforce them. Over the years, the iron-containing bars will rust and as they rust they expand and as they expand they will crack the concrete. The issue is much as you point out, however, in that if the reinforcement bars inside are found to be the issue, then how are they going to be removed and how will the decorations be conserved. Concrete is one of those things that people think will last forever, but at a hundred years old, and many times much less, concrete will fail. Look at spots where water gets into a freeway system and the re-bars rust and buckle and the concrete flakes out and potholes develop. I also worry that things which are removed may never be returned, and somebody will just make a decision that ‘the cost was too much’ and it was decided that ‘they were not needed for the building.’ The Schmid Brothers Grocery /Savitall building had large urns or finials as well as an elevated cornice type decoration halfway down the building on Commerce street; that was removed probably in the ’30’s or ’40’s, for some unknown reason, but it would not surprise me for a similar reason.
If all of these decorations are found to be in danger of degrading, I would hope that somebody would take a laser scan of them and create a mold or form and new ones might be poured and reinstalled.
Shaded parking? I’m wonder who is parking here that has priority over others. Why is city money being spent on parking covers, while driving on our city streets are like spending a day at an off road park?