IS IT TRUE it has also been nearly 2,000 days since that same former Mayor and his Director of Metropolitan Development Tom Barnett announced a deal with Historical Landmark Indiana to refurbish the old Greyhound Bus Station?  …because of Historical Landmark Indiana failure to follow its commitment  the Greyhound Bus Station it now considered to be schedule to a future  wreaking ball project.  …the results are similarly abysmal to those of the McCurdy as the old Greyhound Station is deteriorating and some days even sending forth foul odors that are reminiscent of a stroll through Bee Slough after a big rain?…it is in Evansville as it is in Washington true that government has lost its ability to do anything but push meaningless papers around and claim future victories to distract voters from the malaise of the present?
I thought it was Indiana Landmarks? Obviously, no one is happier than I that the CCO is staying on the city’s rear about making sure these iconic buildings are preserved. Definitely keep us posted. It would be nothing short of disgusting to lose either one of these buildings.
Jordan,
You are correct. And you would be surprised how much Evansville has lost already in terms of historic buildings or just beautiful detailing on historic structures that still stand. This whole area of discussion is another example of lack of planning longterm, and the devaluation of what Evansville had and has now. It takes a whole community to care. And sometimes I think that Evansville is more interested in eating and entertainment that seriously taking responsibility for its past and its future.
Most of the loss in historic buildings in Evansville’s history has been at the hands of government and in the name of “progress”. Don’t forget that.
“Planning” is what got us here. Had the city always taken a hands off approach and let free market forces decide which buildings stayed, the city would have continued to grow and repurpose structures in an organic way. “Planning” is what got us a downtown full of parking lots and a bisected Main St with a behemoth of a Civic Center blighting the way.
What I’m trying to say is there is a difference between a sensible plan and a schizophrenic, ill-considered one. All we ever get are the latter.
Saying the gov’t is the only one to blame just isn’t correct. Winnecke’s “free market” buddies at groups like the chamber have just as much crumbled brick and mortar on their hands as he and past mayors do. Both sides should be blamed.
The sprawling free market developments to the east, west, and north are the main problem but don’t get blamed bc no one can connect the dots. There’s no way a vibrant downtown will ever be constructed if measures to curb urban sprawl are not enacted. And not only is the sprawl directly responsible, the roads to get to these parking lot wonderlands are taking the most land.
Old L&N Station- Now Mulzer Gravel Lot. Free Market but also the government neglecting its light rail system takes a small blame.
Old Central H.S Lot- Now empty parking lot. Gov’t but also due largely to business development to the north which is extended with the north high school situation as well.
Old C,G,I Railroad- Now back of Civic Center & empty back 40 parking lot. Certainly government is to blame but so is the road culture.
Old Skora Building- Now empty farmers market lot. Certainly the free market is initially to blame, but the redevelopment commission didn’t select the architect’s plan who wanted to reuse it either at the end.
Old Sterling Brewery- Now empty lot next to the Lloyd & Fulton. Completely the fault of the free market. Very little of the Lloyd touches the property and wasn’t overpassed til many years after demolition.
Robert Orr Building- Now service road for the Lloyd. Certainly Gov’t’s fault. The Shirley James Trailhead is an amazing monument to an amazing person but not worth trading the Orr Building for. Once more, another area destroyed by a sprawling road.
The Tennessean- Now parking garage- I’ll concede gov’t on that one as well.
Roberts Stadium- Now a waste of a lot- 100% gov’t fault, 100% avoidable. Don’t even get me started.
On the flip side, most existing buildings are serving a purpose…
Old Central Gym- YMCA
Old Courthouse- Bar Association
Coliseum- Veteran’s Association
Old Jail- Law Firm
Pagoda- ECVB & Visitor’s Center
Old Post Office- Multiple small business tenants
Reitz Home- Visitor attraction
So once more, the choice is open lot(s) of nothing, or unique architecture that still produces. I choose option B.
Not entirely true. I am assuming that you are speaking of the planning done by the Evansville Redevelopment Authority. There plan for Evansville? ERA has none.
There is a Comprehensive Plan that is managed by the Area Planning Commission, that is used to guide future developments in the city of Evansville and Vanderburgh County in general. But nobody uses it for that capacity. The arena was never “planned” into the Comprehensive Plan and still is not in the public facing documents on the Area Planning Commission’s website.
Similarly, neither was the new development going on between Redbank and Felstead Road in the Comprehensive plan. Another at whim vote by our County Commissioners to make this change.
We either need to start following (more like enforcing) our own Comprehensive Plan and stop pretending that we do follow it OR we need to decommission the plan in its entirety as a complete waste of taxpayer dollars and call it what it is. An unused plan of hopeful thinking….
Brent
Why don’t you go offer to buy it and then fix it up to run a business out of it.
Friendly Reminder: Good comment. Or start a campaign to raise money to fix them up and a fund to maintain the buildings–a simple plan. Suggest you contribute the 1st $10,000.
TO: Rails&RobertsStadium,Brad Linzy, and Martha Crosley –you guys like to complain about problems and blame others. Get involved and fix the problem. The number problem is money. Go for it!
Wayne:
Reading your comments on here about money you sound like a Lib. Wondering how far $20 you give to the hotel would go to fixing up these older building. Not to mention the $50 mil plus building you and the mayor tore down for the former Lib in the mayors office
47ford: Let me assure you I am not a Liberal or Libertarian even though people who are generally have some good traits. I am a Republican. I like to see buildings with significant historic value kept up if the required finances to do so are available.
As for as the Hotel money ($20) is concerned that you mention, the convention hotel will bring jobs and visitors to our City with their money which hopefully generate tax dollars to help keep up the important historic buildings as well as many other things. I do not believe Roberts Stadium was a historic building even though I and about everybody in the area has fond memories that occurred at the facility.
The point I am trying to make to some commenters: do more than complain and blame others. Become a part of the solution with giving both their time and money.
Thanks Jordan, the crusade has just begun. It’s time for this community to stand up to push the Historical Indiana Landmark board and the Mayor of Evansville to start the renovation project to save this wonderful Historical icon of this community.
Just curious, did you reach out to the Historical Indiana Landmark board? I walk by this building M-F on my way to lunch always wondering what is going on with it. I as well would like some answers.
Even though it is further deteriorating, I believe it has landmark status, which means as long as its viable to restore it cannot be knocked down. The building looks rough, but I would imagine it is still structurally sounds; it looks strong anyway.
What I am also curious about it the Bicentennial Park that was supposed to be the rest of the block. What happened to that thing?
If I’m not mistaken didn’t Kenny Kent have a garage next door ,and I heard
There is oil contamination is terrible and a expensive fix ,huge profits for a
Select important gubmnt peoples
Kenny Kent and a Dry Cleaner that was there both polluted the ground beyond belief. However, when those building were torn down in the 90’s they took that soil with them and the soil there now is new soil.
Why hasn’t the city officials informed us about the real status of the Greyhound Bus Station? If that property has major contamination issues will people living in downtown condos and the historical district be exposed to major health risks caused by flowing ground water during heavy rains? Also the Farmers Markets vendors have sold produce to the general public for the last 4 years on that property. I hope that the farmers produce they sold to general public wasn’t contaminated because it was stored on that lot.
Looks like a good attorney could have cause for a class action lawsuit pertaining to Gage and City sponsored activities on this alleged contaminated lot.
What is the State and local offices of the Indiana Historical Landmark doing to get both the McCurdy and the Greyhound Bus Station on track? Does anybody have an e-mail addresses or phone numbers so I can contact the State and local Indiana Historical Landmark representatives? What is the person name who runs the local office? Does the city taxpayers donate any money to help maintain the local Indiana Historical Landmark office?
Indiana Landmarks is not a government agency and therefore would get no tax dollars allotted for it. It is a non-profit and has projects all over the state of Indiana. It is also like many non-profits in that its funds sometimes are spread thinly over a large area.
I believe that the local Historic Landmarks representative is Stewart Sebree (you may want to check spelling on that). As for the State offices, use google like everyone else. Marsh Davis is the head guy on the state level. If memory serves, Kristin Tucker and maybe Bob Jones were to head the local fund raising for the Greyhound bus station. The local SW IN Landmarks office was to eventually be one of the tenants.
On a personal note, I love the old bus station and passed it many Saturdays when my cousin and I went to work with my uncle who owned a barber shop in the same block. We would walk past the bus station and around the corner to the Grand Theater (another huge loss) to watch a movie. Then back to the barber shop for a coke.
I was sent to visit my grandparents from that bus station as a child back in the 70’s. It smelled like piss and was filled with bums then and I bet is still smells like piss or worse. Historic? maybe. Useful NO. Tear the damn thing down so that block can accommodate some real job creating development. You bus station nostalgists have been hanging onto to your buggy whips so long waiting for the good old days to return that you have forgotten the smell of horse shit in the streets.
I am going to have to agree to this. That art deco building was not taken care of over the years. That era is not the best for a “built to last” building. There were and still are other buildings that should take precedence. Greyhound is to blame for the condition they left it in. I could never figure out why the city officials made the empty promise to fix it. It would make a cool diner for a private investor. Too bad the repairs would cost more than you would ever see in profit.
The building is old and ugly. Too much time and money has been spent on this piece of junk. Tear it down NOW.
http://www.indianalandmarks.org/Pages/default.aspx
Another blatant example of Evansville government incompetence. The inability to focus and prioritize in this city is beyond disgusting, it is crippling to the soul.
So what are you doing about it except complain? Mayor Winnecke is not perfect but he is working very hard to make things better. He could use your help.
http://imageshack.us/a/img594/5746/3w99.jpg
As for the contamination issue, the removal of the asbestos last year was the last thing I heard about what they were doing with the building…
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2012/sep/19/greyhound-herp/
It looks like Indiana Landmarks received some TIF funds for it as well. It was bad enough they remained silent on Roberts but now they are remaining silent on the bus station.
As for the park, I believe when funding in the previous yr’s budget for it was left out that was when it stalled. I couldn’t be happier about that. The design was boring and did nothing to symbolize Evansville’s Bi-Centennial. And now that the Bi-Centennial is over I would imagine that opportunity has been completely wasted/ruined anyways to construct a real downtown park unlike that mess or the mess at Roberts.
If the Ford Center is really going to inspire development, that four lots around the bus station would make for a nice Circle Center mall type facility around it. It would take a lot of start up capital and some good engineering to incorporate the bus station into such a complex but it would be nice to bridge the entertainment district with the government services/second coming of the entertainment district.
Rails: The contamination for asbestos is probably not the present issue. The non-use of the building,and like others similar on the combined sewer system in Evansville is likely venting fluids and gases from dry “P” traps if they even have those in place anymore.
“Dry hole venting” of noxious un-healthy gases and fluids from the ongoing CSO events into the lower regions of the buildings drainage pipes,and surrounding combined storm sewers. Also expect testing thereof to show lab identifiable finite elemental contamination of any said contamination historically allowed to run off into those systems as well.
Actually the buildings converted to condo or apartment living spaces, even extended work environments should be tested for those elements on an regular basis where historically EPA regulated bio-organics, and now banned toxic chemicals can vent through CSO.
(POPs),Persistent Organic Pollutants during photodissociation and (PCBs), (PCDDs) and (PCDFs) IE: oils, dry cleaning fluids, other solvents, heavy metals elements,lead contaminated coatings/paints and existing lead sealed piping were “once allowed” to supply potable water and drain back into such an combined storm/sanitary sewer system.
If an CSO event (fluid/vapor) backs into a controlled air space in the closed environment of a building HVAC environmental system, that said occupied building should be tested for those suspected elements as applied too acceptable exposure limitation timing set by the regulatory building codes and national EPA standards now in place.
Sampling should include the supply and return ducting HVAC systems and the surfaces which actually has had contact from fluids during CSO events.
The multiple elemental contamination is in the older buildings combined sewers finding pressure venting to lower system regions during overflow events,be that contaminated Fluids or Noxious Vapor Pressure Venting. At what levels? That is not really a known factor, “unless certified testing” is incrementally “applied by standards”,ongoing with each site per event.
Old buildings,Old combined sewers,Old problems. Answer, New innovative, effective and evolving methods to move them forward.
Not just your local Evansville issue,however by today’s available technologies very solvable and moved forward,although sometimes costly as defined through the health related standards of today’s applications.
Why do I get nervous every time I see “planning”?
The McCurdy has had enough backdoor deals take a dive. Or perhaps there is a very patient investor waiting to the point of dilapidation by now to ease the blow of a tear down. Donate the building to the Shriners if they even want it in that condition. Let someone with some common sense take it over for next to nothing. Just do something!
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