To be or not to be? – An opinion

By Tammi Kosack
February 28 2021

“Strong silent type, circa 95 years old, lifelong Fernandinian waterfront resident ISO of visionary caregiver looking for the opportunity of a lifetime. May seem like an ugly duckling from the outside, but its what’s inside that counts. Would you take a chance on me for endless possibilities and a place in history?”

And so the personal ad may look for a rare local prospect awaiting its fate. The subject is the Florida Petroleum warehouse located at 231 Front Street, built circa 1926 for the Gulf Refining Company. After serving many years as a warehouse, the interior had been converted to office space and currently sits vacant.

The owners sought a demolition permit from the building department but due to the age of the structure, the case was referred to and first heard by the Historic District Council October 15, 2020. Recognizing the historical significance as one of the last remaining industrial vernacular structures from this period indicative of our working waterfront, the HDC did not approve the demolition and continued the case to the December 17th meeting to allow for further investigation into the condition of the building, and exploration of potentially moving the building for possible civic re-use.

Although sporting a somewhat unremarkable exterior, the building is easily identifiable by its gently curved, green barrel roofline proudly protecting the original 42’ x 40’ structure. This roofline is one of the features that contributes to the extraordinary interior. Inside, visible above the remodeled suspended ceilings lie a series of the original curved timber roof trusses, fastened with massive steel carriage bolts. And just beneath the horizontal truss to wall transition live long narrow clerestory windows, with glazing still intact. It is believed the windows and original exterior siding were inadvertently preserved over the years by the addition of exterior sheathing and stucco.

The structurally sound condition of the building as well as the spectacular architecturally significant industrial features inside the building found during inspections held enough pedigree for the HDC to continue the case again to the February 21, 2021 meeting as adaptive re-use possibilities and structure moving assessments were studied. At that meeting, the final continuance was granted until April 15, 2021.

Now we are at a crossroads. Historic buildings get torn down because they lose their purpose, or are no longer viable or economically sustainable in their current location. As a community, we lose not only a structure but the essence and spirit of our history. We lose the fabric and context of what our city was like just a few generations prior, and we erase a portion of our unique sense of place with a 3-hour visit by an excavator.

As responsible stewards of our rich cultural Fernandina history, our working waterfront and the legacy of those who came before us (both within and beyond our designated Historic District), when requests for demolition are sought, how can we instead advocate to preserve the essence of a building and give it a new economic purpose—a sustainable reason for being—so it can continue forward and tell us, and future generations, the story about the people who built it and the time it was built?

That, perhaps is the ultimate question. This building has provenance, stalwart grit and relevance to our waterfront. Inspections and assessments indicate it is possible to lift the building off it’s existing pier foundation, barge it down the river and relocate it somewhere on city waterfront property for adaptive re-use. No trite pastiche of a new structure built to look like something old…the real deal as the historic hub of our waterfront. And a piece of our history rehabilitated with new life breathed into its timbers. What is needed is the desire and the partnerships to make this a celebratory reality.

This item will be discussed at the Tuesday March 2nd Commissioners Workshop at 5:00pm. There are no public comments during workshops but community voices can be heard via email and at regular Commission meetings.

Time is running out. The owners have indicated they will wait until May for someone to come forth with a plan to save this building, or the demo will proceed. What say you Fernandina? Can we answer this call?

Editor’s Note: After vacationing in Fernandina for many years, Tammi Kosack took the plunge into homeownership and her own full blown historic renovation 5 years ago. She currently sits on the Historic District Council, owns ‘chair in the air designs, inc.’ an interior and garden design firm, and can usually be found working on her home or riding her bike scouting for curbside treasures in need of repurposing.