Cleanup allows courthouse restoration to succeed

My office is what was the housewares department of a vacant department store. You can look up and see the air ducts and exposed wiring,” observes County Judge Tommy Walker, ruefully. “Everyone is looking forward to the day we can move back in.”

But it’s going to be a while, because the 1993 conflagration that virtually destroyed the historic Hill County (Texas) Courthouse also ignited issues its designers and builders never anticipated — specifically, 20th century environmental issues.

Built in 1890, the Hill County Courthouse served as testament to the growing pride of this north-central Texas community during a period when cotton was king, and exceptional government buildings were erected to reflect the needs and ideals of the community. Located conspicuously in the town’s center, it has served as the social and economic hub of the community for more than a century.

“Everything revolved around the courthouse . . . parades, Christmas celebrations with Santa Claus, the Cotton Picking Fair, everything,” Walker says. And inside, it has housed the county courtrooms, county clerks, treasurer’s office, Justice of the Peace, tax offices, motor vehicle offices, Veteran’s Affairs, Easter Seal, local title companies and more.

The tallestbuilding in the country, a massive three-story limestone structure accented by Corinthian columns and mansard roofs, the courthouse boldly proclaimed its civic stature to all who encountered it. The impressive three-tier, 70-foot clock tower atop the building could be seen clearly for miles and displayed the time from all four sides. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and a State Archeological Landmark, the courthouse has been at the hub of the country’s leading industry — tourism.

All this was abruptly interrupted nearly three years ago. A booklet designed to aid in the restoration project reports: “On January 1, 1993, the Hill County Courthouse was ravaged by a sudden fire. As stunned residents wept, and firefighters from more than 15 companies battled the flames, the grand clock tower, roof and third floor collapsed. The district courtroom, the most impressive space in the courthouse, was completely lost. Along with it, original courthouse records dating back 100 years were damaged, and historic photographs of Hill County judges were destroyed.

Efforts to raise funds to rebuild the courthouse began almost immediately. Sometimes help came from special donors. A native of the area, Willie Nelson donated the $125,000 proceeds from a concert to kick off the effort. Then the hard realities set in.

Like any major building modified and redecorated through many decades, asbestos-containing materials (ACM) and lead-based paint (LBP) were either suspected or known to exist in the charred ruins of the building.

In March, 1993, the country retained Terranext, a Lakewood, Colo.-based national environmental engineering, consulting and remediation company, to provide inspection services for the identification of these elements. In a matter of weeks, the courthouse had been surveyed for ACM, abatement procedures developed and on-site management provided during removal. About a year later, July, 1994, the company was again retained to further survey the extent of lead paint in the interior and exterior surfaces. Using sophisticated, state-of-the-art portable X-ray equipment, together with confirmatory paint chip sampling and lab tests, 203 samples of paint were tested and a plan developed for the LBP abatement of “hot” areas.

Meanwhile, as efforts to obtain funds continued (from private sources, state funds and federal sources), the courthouse remained a burned-out shell, with only the limestone exterior and its two cast iron staircases rising from the ground.

The timely resolution to the contamination problems meant forward progress. “We’ve received a $3 million grant from the Texas Department of Transportation, and reconstruction and waterproofing have begun on the outside,” says architect Larry Irsik, whose firm, Archi Texas, is heading up the restoration. “This was the grandest building in the country, and the most endangered historic building in Texas, and its restoration will invigorate the whole downtown area.”