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July 30, 2010

Renovating past is important for future

The Daily Citizen

If you are at all interested in the history of Dalton and Whitfield County, and you have some time this evening or tomorrow morning, you are invited to take a look at the renovations that are under way at the Crown Gardens and Archives.

“We are calling it a sneak peek,” Erik Gallman, executive secretary of the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society, told The Daily Citizen. “People can come through and see what we have finished and what is left to be done.”  

The preview will take place tonight from 5 to 8 and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For the past year and a half, the old Crown Cotton office building at 715 Chattanooga Ave. has been getting an overhaul. The work is expected to be finished in November, which is when a grand reopening of both the history center and archives and the Hamilton House is planned.

“We found a blueprint from a 1921 renovation (of the office building), and we are trying to take it back to the 1920s layout as much as we can,” Gallman said.

“We’ll have before-and-after pictures, with descriptions of what we have done in each room and what we still have to do,” he said. “We’ll also give folks an opportunity to sponsor various improvements. If they want to buy a light fixture, for instance, they can do that.”

While the historical society is interested in showing off the work that has been done so far, it is also looking for donors to help defray the cost of the work at the building.

“Anybody who gives $250 or more, they have the option of making the donation in memory or honor of somebody, and we’ll engrave that name on a brass plaque that will be displayed permanently in the archives,” Gallman said.

The Crown Gardens and Archives project is not the only project the historical society has going.

The society also owns the nearby Hamilton House, Dalton’s oldest brick home. It too is being renovated. Gallman said it will not be open this weekend but the society will have some photographs that will show the work being done there.

Historical renovation is an important piece of any town’s redevelopment and Dalton is certainly no exception. This work goes well with a larger effort to renovate the entire Crown Mill area and turn it into a residential and entertainment area.

We know that dollars are tight but the historical society will take any help you can give.

But even if you can’t donate right now, take the time to stop by and see the work that is going on.

It is an important part of Dalton’s future.

 

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