State Street buildings set for total demolition

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The State Street buildings that burned during the summer have mostly been demolished.  Now, though, there is an issue with the third and final building – the old firehouse, which seems to have been damaged either by the fire or during the demolition.

Warren County judge executive Doug Gorman says it has to go.

“One of the issues is there’s a shared wall between two of the properties. And structurally, we knew they were all from all three of those buildings were damaged by that fire, hoping that it wasn’t as damaged on the end building. But it was. And when we start when they start taking down the middle building, that one was compromised structurally a little bit. So we’re going to have to take that down probably quicker than we want to, but it’s for the safety of the citizens,” Gorman said.

Some in the community are mourning the loss of historical architecture. People like Tyler Siddens from the Landmark Association, which sees the building as tangible history of the area.

“Once those things are gone, they’re gone and they’re not replaceable. And they truly are just priceless. So I think and we think and I think the majority of the people in our community and our civic leaders agree. I mean, those are things that you do want to preserve,” Siddens said.

There is hope by some, including Siddens, that the façade of the building might be saved and preserved, but plans for the land the buildings were on and the rest of the remaining structure is currently unknown.