| |
| Built in 1922, Staats Hospital was designed by John C.
Norman, Sr., a prominent Charleston resident and West Virginia’s first
registered African American architect. The landmark building originally
housed a movie theater, retail establishments & lodge hall before being
converted into a hospital.
Rising four stories, the building is made of brick
and adorned with an elegant and architecturally significant columned
façade. Since the hospital closed in the early 1980s only the first
floor has remained in continual use.
Building owners have received approval to demolish
Staats Hospital in favor of a modern doctor’s office facing the opposite
direction. |
 |
The former hospital is slated to become a parking lot,
thus leaving a gaping hole in an intact historic streetscape that boasts a
number of significant late 19th and early 20th century buildings.
Fortunately, a growing grassroots effort has emerged to save the building,
encouraging city officials and property owners to work together to come up
with a viable alternative to demolition.
Copyright © 2005 Preservation Alliance of
West Virginia
|
