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When Marion County attorney Scott Summers realized Grant Town was planning to tear down an historic building, he decided to see what he could do to stop it.
Summers said he drives past the Koppers Coal Division Federal Mine No. 1 Grill and Theater twice a day. The 125-year-old structure sits on Main Street. The building has been used as a warehouse for the last 20 years or so.
“I was able to get in there with the permission of the mayor and the contractor to walk through, and, he said, ‘You can have anything you want, we’re going to throw it away, it’ll save me money,’” Summers said. “So I ended up being there for six hours, getting everything I could from just a lot of neat old stock, a lot of stuff I hadn’t even seen before, from probably from the 60s and 70s, but some of it was from the 80s and 90s.”
The town plans to remove the building using the state’s Reclamation of Abandoned and Dilapidated Properties Program. That fund is administered by the state Department of Environmental Protection and comes from the 2021 American Rescue Plan.
Reached by phone, Mayor Charlie Rosic declined to be interviewed for the story. However he did tell West Virginia Public Broadcasting that the demolition of the building is on the town’s five-year plan to remove blighted buildings. His proposal is to add a greenspace and a veteran’s memorial to that location once the work is complete, but he has to raise money for that project.
Struck by the building’s historical importance, Summers is persevering undeterred.
“When I was in it last week, walking through, I could see the mirrored columns, and then I come to find out it was actually called The Grill, and it was a movie theater,” Summers said.
Summers registered the building with the state Historic Preservation Office who later agreed that the building was eligible to be placed on the National Historic Register.
Representatives from the state Historic Preservation Office said in email correspondence forwarded to West Virginia Public Broadcasting by Summers that “We are not rescinding our approval, we are adding to the record that, based on new information, we now consider the building eligible for inclusion in the National Register under Criterion A, and the demolition will have an adverse effect.”
Since then, the building was condemned by the town and crews tore off two later additions. Summers said the town can’t tear down the building since it has asbestos tiles on the floor.
Rosic explained that the town is working on a DEP deadline of July 31 to get the work done.
In an emailed statement, Rosic said “The structure, which stood with general disinterest from the surrounding community for 75 years, has reached a state of great disrepair. Cost estimations for the refurbishing of the building exceed one million dollars. With a budget of only $210,000.00, the town of Grant Town is not in a position to renovate the aging facility. The property is now owned by the town, and our intentions to place a memorial and greenspace on the lot will proceed.”
Below is a copy of a letter the town sent to Sen. Shelley Moore Capito requesting guidance and funding for the greenspace project in April.