Help APF save local historic buildings

[Source: Aaron Royster, Kingman Daily Miner] -- The Arizona Preservation Foundation is looking to find Arizona's most endangered historic locations, and they need your help. Last year, the J. B. Wright House, the historic St. Mary's Church (pictured) and the former Mohave County Hospital were placed on the list. All three Kingman locations were added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 14, 1986. There are 54 locations in Kingman on the register. Several buildings are now in danger of being destroyed. With the efforts of preservation professionals and historians, the list identifies critically endangered properties of major historical or archaeological significance to the state. Once on the list, the locations receive assistance from the foundation in developing support to remove the threat. "By calling attention to our most threatened historic and archaeological sites, we increase public awareness of preservation issues and focus critical attention on selected sites to assist in their preservation," Board member Jim McPherson said in a news release.

The former Mohave County Hospital, 301 W. Beale St., was built in 1922. It has also been used as an annex for the Mohave County Sheriff's Office. "Both the county and the city now want to tear down the building, though the city would like to salvage the façade," the release stated. "Neither is acceptable." The Mohave County Public Works Department has put out a call for bids for the structural demolition of the building. A pre-bid hearing was held on Friday at the Mohave County Administration Building. Bids will be accepted in a sealed envelope at the Mohave County Procurement Department, 700 W. Beale St., until 2 p.m. on May 30. Once a bid is accepted, the contractor will have 90 days to complete the work. On Sept. 19, Doug Ohleman, chairman for Kingman's Historic Preservation Commission, wrote a letter to the Mohave County Board of Supervisors concerning the former Mohave County Hospital building. "As a property owner downtown, Mohave County has an opportunity and a responsibility to contribute to the preservation of Kingman's past by making a concerted effort to be included," Ohleman wrote. [Note: To read the full article, click here.]