An aerial rendering depicting how the old MTMC campus on North Highland will look when the buildings are razed.
|
|
Murfreesboro stands to lose two significant pieces of its history puzzle: a majority of the original Middle Tennessee Medical Center and the building which formerly housed Red Rose Dairies.
While on very different scales in terms of caliber, each aided in the city’s progression toward becoming one of the largest in the state.
MTMC recently announced that “after nearly two years of market research and efforts to sell the former MTMC, officials with the hospital and Saint Thomas Health have announced plans to raze the four main buildings that comprised the former hospital” on Highland Avenue.
At the corner of Lytle and West College Streets stands a very different structure, albeit in a very dilapidated state, with a similar future ahead of it.
Affectionately known as Red Rose, this building housed a dairy in its early years and a coffee house and bistro in more recent years.
The city’s Building and Codes Department issued a Notice of Repair in late-November last year to the building’s owners, stating: “In order to ensure public welfare, you must commence with the corrections … within thirty (30) days of the date of this notice and to have the above numerated conditions completed within ninety (90) days of the date of this notice.” Feb. 27 marked the end of the 90-day deadline, and no repairs have been made to the building.
Both the original hospital building that faces University Avenue and the Red Rose date back to the 1920s. According to Images of America: Murfreesboro, by Deborah Wagnon and Christian Hidalgo, Rutherford Hospital was built with financial assistance from the Commonwealth Fund.
“It was the first partnership of a hospital and health department in the nation,” the book states.
“Working side-by-side, the Rutherford County Health Department and the Rutherford Hospital paved the way for Murfreesboro and its surroundings to improve exponentially in medical care. That improvement continues to the 21st century with the addition of the Medical Parkway corridor. The massive growth in the medical community of Middle Tennessee would not exist were it not for its beginnings a century prior.”
At the other end of Lytle Street, the Red Rose contributed firstly dairy to the county and then support of local artists, not to mention art deco-style architecture to the downtown landscape.
Whether paying for repair or upkeep, both buildings require money – and lots of it. In a news release, MTMC stated “maintenance and upkeep on the former hospital is projected to reach nearly $1.2 million annually, if left in its current state.”
Red Rose might require a similar number of dollars if completely repaired and brought up to codes.
A lost cause
Historical preservation advocates understand the fiscal need, but are oftentimes not in the position to contribute the necessary funds, which proves problematic, said Steve Cates, member of the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities.
“We need leadership from the city and private individuals to make a real commitment to preserving sites like Red Rose and the old hospital buildings,” he said. “This type of leadership would be people who are able to write grants and raise money in all manner of ways to make things happen, as in the preservation of these sites. This is not being done, in my humble opinion, because the true interest from the movers and shakers is not there.”
He pointed to other historical buildings lost over the years: downtown’s James K. Polk Hotel and Princess Theater as well as the Jean Marie Faircloth MacArthur home on the old hospital property.
“I was born in Rutherford Hospital … So much history is tied there, and no one can tell me that to leave at least the older part would be a bad idea,” Cates continued. “I know that whatever is built there could incorporate that as a significant part of the development.”
On the other hand, Christian Hidalgo, co-owner of the aforementioned book, said keeping an old building simply because its old isn’t sensible.
“To me, there’s a significant piece of history there, and that’s the plaque above the door or next to the door, as you walk in,” he said. “It basically says ‘benefiting all mankind,’ and as long as that’s preserved, and as long as that’s housed and properly displayed at the new hospital, I think that’s a legitimate compromise.”
He continued, “From my perspective, as long as MTMC preserves that one piece of history and properly tells its story at the new location, I think that’s just progress, and I think that’s OK.”
A similar point could be made regarding Red Rose, which hasn’t had a tenant for some time, according to Murfreesboro Planning Director Joseph Aydelott.
“Red Rose has been one of those properties that’s had some difficulties in terms of parking, and anybody wanting to go into business there has found that a very significant challenge,” he said.
It was built in a part of town that doesn’t offer much parking space, as it was built during a time when horse and buggies were popular and the technology of automobiles was relatively new, Aydelott explained.
“You need a place for employees to park and for customers to park, and if it’s not big enough to meet demands, customers will park on someone else’s property,” he continued. “That property, although it has some considerable appeal, particularly the aesthetic part of its architecture is unique, it performs poorly in the community.”
And while both Red Rose and the original hospital date back some 80 years, neither is actually located within the historic zoning district, Aydelott said.
“There’s a sense of loss in that once (the buildings) are gone, they’re gone forever. On the other hand, I’m a little bit of an optimist. As a planner, I hope something better and more fitting could come and uplift that part of town (near Red Rose) that may help all the businesses there,” he concluded. MP |
Email
Print
Facebook
StumbleUpon
Google
Yahoo!