Danville's first public hospital falls victim to old age

It was Danville’s first public hospital, built in 1903 along Jefferson Avenue with money from the Ladies Benevolent Society.

But the clock is ticking for the crumbling, Georgian Revival brick building the city condemned after a fire burned the structure’s upper portion on April 19, 1996. Any day now, the city of Danville will demolish the building after more than a decade of almost no improvement to the structure by various owners over the years.

The former Danville General Hospital, which became an apartment building after the hospital moved to its present location in 1926, is a blighted property and a safety hazard to the community, said Kenny Gillie, Danville’s interim director of community development.

“Ownership has transferred between several persons with no significant improvement made by any over the past 14 years,” Gillie said via e-mail Thursday.

Demolition could take place any time, Gillie said.

Cora Tucker, a North Carolina resident who had owned the property since 2004, recently gave it to an organization established for the building to get it rehabilitated. She said she has spent about $15,000 in legal fees to challenge the city’s plans for demolition and that it takes time to find money to revitalize the building.

Tucker bought the building at 257 Jefferson Ave. through the city’s tax foreclosure process, according to Gillie. Tucker said she purchased the property while visiting Danville.

“It’s a wonderful building,” she said.

Tucker said she would like to turn it into a community center that would provide support. It could be used for family counseling, helping those with substance abuse problems and addressing issues that lead to addiction, Tucker said.

However, “I had no idea that I would have to fight like this,” Tucker said, adding that it would cost $1.5 million to restore the building’s historical elements.

The three-story building, designed by the Lynchburg firm Frye & Chesterman, includes a four-column portico. The building’s 1903 construction cost about $25,000.

Sonja Ingram, field representative for Preservation Virginia, said it would cost up to $200,000 to rehabilitate it.

“I really do wish it could be saved,” Ingram said. “It could be a great addition to this neighborhood.”

Susan Stilwell, a historic specialist and an associate broker with Prudential Manasco Realty, said she wishes Tucker would give the building to the Danville Preservation League, who could find a buyer for it.

“Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever,” Stilwell said.

Stilwell laments today’s absence of a group like the Ladies Benevolent Society that would save the building.

“Where are the civic-minded women of this community now?” Stilwell asks.