Gaines Hall, historic Morris Brown building damaged in blaze, faces uncertain future

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• Maggie Lee? ?
• Gaines Hall, built as part of Atlanta University in 1869, suffered a fire last week.? ?

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? Three blocks west from where the new Atlanta Falcons stadium is rising, the smell of burnt timbers and shingles still hangs over one of Atlanta’s oldest buildings. As do questions of what will happen to Gaines Hall. ?? ?
? What was then “North Hall” opened in 1869 on a breezy west side hilltop as Atlanta University’s original building. The cash for the brick building came from the Freedman’s Bureau and the American Missionary Association. It was one of the foundations for Atlanta’s reputation as a center for higher education open to African-Americans. ?

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? In its second century, the building’s fortunes declined with those of Morris Brown College. The college, once part of the Atlanta University Center consortium, entered bankruptcy in 2012.
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? Earlier this year, the school sold Gaines Hall and other buildings to Invest Atlanta and Friendship Baptist Church. Invest Atlanta has not yet returned a request for comment about its efforts to maintain the building, if any. ?

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? Then late last Thursday night, a fire broke out.
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? From the ground, it looks like the roof is gone. A little pine sapling sprouting out of an upper-story window appears intact.
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? The cause of the fire is officially undetermined, said Atlanta Fire Rescue Department spokeswoman Janet Ward. The department says the site is too unsafe to venture an investigation. ?

? But, at least a few people want to save it. On Wednesday afternoon, Chad Carlson invited all comers to the little pedestrian bridge by the building over Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive. The Westview resident is a preservation activist and recently started a Facebook page called Save Gaines Hall. ?? ?
? “This is the citizens’ building,” Carlson said. ?

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? Gaines Hall is significant not just because it is old and beautiful, he said, but also because of the people associated with it. W.E.B. DuBois was a professor at Atlanta University. Hosea Williams was an alumnus. Carlson says the building should be salvaged and rehabilitated in some way. ?

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? Mayor Kasim Reed has said the city will find a way to preserve it. A city inspector evaluated the building yesterday, says Reed Spokeswoman Anne Torres.
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