The Phoenix Building — long in a state of disrepair in the heart of downtown — is no longer safe for anyone to be inside most of the structure, city officials determined after hiring an engineer to check on the property.
Several signs declaring the building “dangerous and unsafe” were posted on the property last week, and the owners have 90 days to tell the city if they have a plan to remedy the problem, said Hopkinsville Fire Chief Steve Futrell.
“We do not feel like it is an immediate threat of falling out in the street. … We got that from the structural engineer,” Futrell told Hoptown Chronicle on Tuesday.
But the building is in danger of “falling from the inside,” Futrell said of the assessment by engineer Kelly Gardner, of Owensboro.
Two years ago, city firefighters noted that a portion of the second floor was collapsing. More recently, they could see some sections of the main floor falling into the basement, a condition that became visible through broken window glass in the section that previously housed Little Chef and other restaurants.
“One foot in, and you go straight to the basement,” Mayor James Knight Jr. said.
The mayor said he couldn’t risk the lives of firefighters or police officers if they were asked to go into the building to deal with homeless people who were possibly using unsecured alley doors to enter the building.
Futrell said it did appear that people had been using the vacant portions of the property for shelter.
“It absolutely appears so from just looking at it,” Futrell said. “A lot of the windows are broken out. It looked like some people had been living in some parts of it. I can’t say that for certain because I’ve not seen them in there. But it absolutely looks like there some vagrancy … which is also a major concern.”
Futrell said the fire department first checked with the state fire marshal to make sure it was appropriate to hire a structural engineer.
“Normally with most buildings, we look at them and if they are not immediate life safety issues then we work with [Community and Development Services] to let that go through those channels,” Futrell said. “But because the floor had fallen into the basement and …. we didn’t have access to the entire thing, we felt like it was more important to have a structural engineer come and make sure that we didn’t miss anything.”
Property owner Bobo Cravens, who previously ran Blue Streak Printers adjacent to the Phoenix Building on Ninth Street, has moved to Lexington. Futrell and Knight confirmed that his son, Al Cravens, has been in contact with the city about the engineer’s report.
Whether the building can be saved is an open question, Futrell agreed.
“Anything can happen for the right amount of money but I don’t know what that amount of money is and I don’t know if the owner of the building is willing to do that or not,” he said.
He said the city wants to do what’s best for the owner and within the law.
Knight, who pledged to make Hopkinsville safe and clean shortly before taking office this month, said he doesn’t want to lose the building.
“I’m not picking on a lot of buildings in Hopkinsville right now,” Knight said. “I just want them safe and structurally sound. That’s the main thing.”
- RELATED: We can make progress with a fresh set of eyes
- RELATED: Downtown restauranteurs announce plans for a new diner
Christian County Historian William T. Turner said the Phoenix Building was originally a hotel. It was constructed in the early 1800s. It was seriously damaged by fire in 1923, and the exterior walls adjacent to Main and Ninth streets were rebuilt.
“That’s why it looks much newer,” Turner said.
The building’s longevity ties it to several historic events.
Union soldiers attending a ball at the hotel one evening in 1864 were forced to dash out when they heard Confederates were advancing on Hopkinsville from Bowling Green. A battle followed east of town near Western State Hospital.
The building remained a hotel until the early 1900s, when it was converted to office and retail spaces, said Turner. Commercial Bank had its offices in the building from about 1908 to 1912, when it was bought out by the former Planters Bank. Later, Cassidy’s Kiddie Corner, a child’s clothing store, operated on the main floor for several years. It was followed by the Gold Gallery, a jewelry store. In the 1990s and later, it was a popular site for political headquarters during elections.
The last remaining tenant in the building, attorney Ken Humphries, will have 45 days to leave, said Futrell. The attorney’s offices are located in the last bay of the building on East Ninth Street, farthest from Main Street. That section of the building was not as compromised as other areas, so the engineer believed the city could give Humphries at least a few weeks to relocate, said the fire chief.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
