Demolition paused on historic downtown building pending fire investigation - WBKO

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - A structure fire early Friday morning took a piece of downtown Bowling Green’s history; a building over 120 years old that now awaits demolition pending an investigation from the Bowling Green Fire Department, the Bowling Green Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The building has a rich history, beginning as the home and business place of a cobbler, then later a stable, a wagon repository, a hardware store, a private school, a skating rink, and as many Bowling Green residents still remember it, the Royal Music Company. At the time of the fire, the space was home to the Kerrick Bachert law firm and to Senator Rand Paul’s Bowling Green office.

“It’s called the McIntire Building, and I’m still not really sure why, it could either be the architect or it could be, you know, typically, buildings are named after people who are prominent businessmen or business individuals who kind of funded the construction of the building, or worked there, or used it for an extended period of time,” explained Ginny Willoughby, a planner for the City County Planning Commission and the main contact for the Historic Preservation Board.

Despite the mystery surrounding the McIntire name, the building has been a cornerstone of downtown Bowling Green throughout it’s life, and has seen drastic changes in its time.

“It’s kind of been a revolving door of different businesses in the community, which is really cool, and that’s kind of what’s kept it so important to the community, just because it’s allowed people to keep using the building, and that’s kind of where historic structures kind of start falling to the wayside, is when people stop using them,” said Willoughby.

After over a century of use, Willoughby says that buildings like the McIntire building build character over time, becoming parts of the community where they occupy space. She believes that it’s important to preserve what we have now for the sake of future historians.

“I guess the important thing about preservation is that we plan for things like this, and we know that it is a potential, it’s a potential for every building, let alone a historic building, that they could burn down, or be significantly damaged by fire, since it’s not fully down yet,” she shared.

The building has not been fully demolished yet, as BGFD continues their investigation into the cause of the fire. Katie McKee, Public Information Officer for BGFD, said that while there is still no timeline for how long the investigation will take, the remaining portions of the building will remain standing until a cause is found.

“Our investigation is still ongoing at this time, and there will not be any demolition of the building until our investigation concludes.”

McKee shared that while the investigation continues, they have no reason to believe that foul play was a factor in the building’s burning. While they search for a cause, Willoughby suggests that Bowling Green residents appreciate their historic spaces while they stand.

“You can build new buildings everywhere, but historic buildings allow you to have that connection to the past, and the people that have used them in the past or built them in the past, so in a cliche way, it kind of creates a full circle moment for people in the present to use what’s been in the past,” said Willoughby.

Copyright 2023 WBKO. All rights reserved.

Adblock test (Why?)

Demolition paused on historic downtown building pending fire investigation - WBKO
Read More