Renovation of City Hall - Part 1
The following article was contained in the program
dedicating the rehabilitation of City Hall in 1985:
The turn of the century found Waycross a bustling southeast
Georgia transportation center "feeling its oats". In 1907 when
the cornerstone of a community Young Mens’s Christian
Association Center was laid at the corner of Pendleton and
Isabella streets, Waycross already was, city boosters proudly
proclaimed, a "city of churches". Such was the optimism amid
the boom atmosphere that some were comparing Waycross with the
state’s burgeoning capital city and even labeling Waycross the
"Atlanta of South Georgia". Indeed the parallel between the
two cities was clear. Although geographically widely
separated, both were creatures if the railroads; in fact,
Atlanta’s original name was Terminus, the end of the line.
Community leaders thought that a city growing by such leaps
and bounds needed a YMCA, to build strong bodies and develop
Christian character. They had heard of a talented man in
Jacksonville, Florida, whose architectural genius had played a
major role on the rebuilding of the city in the wake of the
1901 fire which had destroyed 148 city blocks. In the fire
many of Jacksonville’s finest public and private buildings
were gutted by flames.
Henry John Klutho came to Florida from New York when
Jacksonville was literally still smoking. He was a disciple of
two celebrated Midwestern architects, Lewis Sullivan of
Chicago, and Frank Lloyd Wright, know for his revolutionary
"prairie style". Mr. Klutho distinguished himself on the
rebuilding of Jacksonville with his design of the YMCA there,
the St. James Building near Hemming Park, and the ten story
Bisbee Building recognized by its large windows and terra
cotta ornamentation. Klutho was contacted about the pending
design of the Waycross YMCA and agreed to do the job. Today it
is considered by some of his admirers to be among the finer
examples of his architectural excellence.
Although the actual beginning for the construction is not
clear, the June 21, 1907, edition of the Waycross Journal
reported that "work on the new $60,000 YMCA is progressing
very well and walls have been built up to the first floor
joists". That same news story projected that the building
would be ready for use by Thanksgiving of that year. It was
not to be true. Funds apparently ran out, for in the Spring of
1910 a community-wide effort to raise the money to complete
the building was launched. The effort raised $25,000 in cash
and pledges with installment notes to be held by the First
National Bank.
City Hall, fire stations, and the YMCA Building seemed to be
inextricably linked from the very beginning. In late January
of 1911 a "week of open house" for public tours of the new
YMCA Building was announced. Just two weeks before, the
Waycross Board of Alderman, had been told by Alderman Parker
"…that the city (should) secure new quarters, apart from the
fire department entirely". The need of further equipment in
the central fire station was given as a special reason why a
change should be made.
The YMCA Building was finally and officially opened on July 2,
1911, and dedicated "to the service of God" in a down-pour on
October 14, 1911.
Although the Waycross YMCA was laid out along functional lines
– gymnasium, swimming pool (basement floor), and dormitory
rooms on the top floor, Klutho added a touch of class and his
own originality by including interior Corinthian columns and
an atrium opening through three floors. Both of these
distinctions are preserved in the newly renovated structure.
Records show that the City of Waycross acquired the downtown
"Y’ in 1917 from the First National Bank and added a new
cornerstone to the northeast corner of the building. The names
of Mayor Scott T. Beaton (the Mayor was then elected by the
citizens) and those of the six members of the Board of
Alderman are preserved in the renovated façade.
Talk to any long-time citizen of Waycross and you’ll discover
that the City Hall Building was and has been by all odds the
busiest place in town. It has been used for church services,
by health officials for vaccination programs, meeting places
for local National Guard units, and as a command post for
military police during World War II. Many will recall that the
building served as the city library until the present Waycross
Regional Library was built. Countless "townhall" meetings were
held in the old City Hall Building, there were "war bond"
rallies, patriotic assemblies, protest meetings, and even some
political campaigns spawned on this historic site.
Only minor alterations had been made to the 72 year-old
structure when the city fathers were put on urgent notice
early in this decade that failure to provide adequate
facilities for the handicapped might lead to the loss of more
than $600,000 in annual federal general revenue sharing funds.
Already, city officials had been apprehensive about
deteriorating building, the conditions under which the people
of Waycross were being served and which city employees worked.
One department moved from an upper floor to leased quarters.
After the electorate rejected a proposal to construct a new
City Hall on the site of the Phoenix Building, the city
commission proposed renovating the historic landmark structure
in 1983 and the issue was carried by a margin of 4 to 1. The
preservation of this centerpiece of Waycross history was
clearly on the minds of the voters. The renovation preserves
the most admired architectural features, while enhancing the
building with tasteful design, comfortable surroundings, and
an atmosphere which captures the aura of the past and the
promise of the future.
James A. Pinson