At a meeting in April 2019 the Linden Heritage Foundation Board received an update on the status of the the 1939 Linden Firehouse. Information was presented by Joe Lovelace, Sue Lazara and Mark Thacker, Restoration Architect from Tyler.
The “Old Linden Firehouse” built in 1939 with funds and material donated by its citizens is a remarkably simple structure. It served its initial purpose until the City had need for more room for its firefighting equipment. In 1949, a second floor was added to the 1939 building and a north addition was built.
The firehouse remained in operation until 1962 when a new fire station was completed. The older building afterward had various uses until being abandoned. It fell into serious disrepair in recent decades, during which water infiltration and damage accelerated to the point of serious endangerment of the structure.
Pointing out serious and rapidly advancing endangerment due to roof collapse, Linden Heritage Foundation made an offer to the City of Linden which allowed the Foundation assume title to the Old Firehouse along with contractual responsibility to stabilize, to restore, and to identify future uses that contribute positively to the economic revitalization of Linden’s downtown commercial district.
In January 2016 the City of Linden conveyed the Old Firehouse to the Linden Heritage Foundation.
Following shows the condition of the structure in 2016 before the Foundation efforts to stabilize it.
The Linden Heritage Foundation conducted four Firehouse Clean-Up Days and added a supportive roof covering the structure to secure it.
In November 2016, the LHF received a Texas Preservation Trust Fund grant from the Texas Historical Commission for a Historic Structure Report (HSR) for the Old Linden Firehouse. In July 2017. the National Trust for Historic Preservation awarded preservation funds for Plans & Specifications (P&S).
The Firehouse Clean-Up Days, along with reports from preservation experts, established the structural elements from 1939-1949 to be not only historically significant but retained fair to good integrity. This was not true for the structural elements dating post-1949. The 1949 addition was of substandard materials and poor design/workmanship.
However, the Historic Structure Report team established a Period of Significance (POS) 1939-1962 not 1939-1949 as requested by the Foundation. The longer POS attached to the building by that finding led to a functionally challenged, fragmented and compartmentalized structure – more than 2/3 of which would not meet legal occupancy requirements.
The original use plan specified by the Foundation was commercial/retail. However, as applied to the POS 1939-1962 it proved to be a substantially more expensive project – involving rehabilitation of 1,738 sq ft, with only 487 sq ft meeting commercial occupancy code.
Mark Thacker, from Tyler, was retained as a preservation architect to prepare Plans & Specifications. After extensive review of the building and its limitations, Mr. Thacker prepared Plans and Specifications for rehabilitating the building for residential use, a more viable preservation approach than commercial.
The Texas Historical Commission and the National Trust for Historic Preservation having provided funding approved the change.
At its April 2019 meeting, the LHF Board determined to restore the Old Firehouse to a 1939-1962 POS following the Secretary of Interior Standards would be cost prohibitive even with grants and available tax credits.
For now, the Old Firehouse will remain secured and advertised for sale, on Linden Main Street – Available Properties – https://downtowntx.org/linden-texas
DowntownTX.org is an online building inventory for Texas downtowns featuring historic property listings. The software was conceptualized and developed by the Texas Historical Commission’s Town Square Initiative to increase and influence the market exposure of available historic properties across Texas.
What’s next for Linden? What’s missing in this photo?
