The 1903 James Apartments, once known as the Winn Hotel and the Elks Lodge, is set for demolition, but not all is lost. These articles summarize how Historic Preservation Commission member Pat Fowler organized a group of people to swarm, document and brainstorm how to save the best pieces of the building.
A date for removal will be set and an electronic sign up sheet will be posted soon.
Below is a gallery of photos and then a list of the recent articles about the upcoming demolition of the building at 121 S. Tenth St.
But if you’d like to get a peek inside now, before the crowbars get going, here are three views of the building, including that of an MU law student who plans to work with officials to get zoning put in place to stop the loss of other historic buildings and to support affordable student housing downtown.
I attended this documentation, list-making event, and here are pictures from that event, Tuesday, March 1, 2016.
March 2, 2016 — Law student starts petition to preserve historic downtown, The Maneater. Summary: Grace Shemwell, a second-year MU law student started a petition to save the James Condominium, the former Winn Hotel, at 121 S. Tenth St. While the petition with 2,636 signatures can’t save this building set for demolition, she plans to work with city officials to create zoning to protect historic buildings and incentivize affordable student housing.
- to March 2, 2016 — Preservations scour hotel, apartment buildings for historic gems, Columbia Missourian. Summary: Efforts to remove features from the James Condominium or Winn Hotel at 121 S. Tenth St., prior to demolition set for later in March 2016.
- March 2, 2016 — Group surveys historic downtown hotel before demolition, Columbia Daily Tribune. Summary: Documentation of items in and to be removed from the James Condominium or Winn Hotel at 121 S. Tenth St.
- Here’s a link to a 2006 document for a designation for a National Register of Historic Places.