Chick-fil-A Will Retain Part of Memphis Church Building
By Gianna Palmer | Online Only | June 30, 2008
Chick-fil-A has decided to preserve one facade and the tower of the Cumberland Presbyterian building.
Credit: Memphis Heritage
When the fast food chain Chick-fil-A purchased the 1951 Cumberland Presbyterian Church administrative building in Memphis, Tenn., it appeared certain that, without landmark designation, the building would be lost.
Now preservationists and developers have reached a compromise that has left both parties satisfied. Earlier this month, Chick-fil-A representatives announced their new plans to salvage several architectural elements of the building, including a prominent tower and one facade.
"We are trying to incorporate part of the facility but won't be able to use the building as is," Erwin Reid, vice president of real estate for Chick-fil-A, said in an e-mail. "Being able to use part of it will be determined by whether or not we can get a timely rezoning of part of the property."
The Atlanta-based company initially planned to raze the Gothic-style building in Midtown Memphis, which has long served as the archives and administration building for Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
When June West, the director of Memphis Heritage got wind of these plans in January of this year, she organized a letter-writing and phone campaign urging locals to contact Chick-fil-A representatives to explain the importance of the building, which, at nearly 60 years old, is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
"What we are trying to let them know is that if they do this effectively, it will come back to them a hundred-fold in terms of the community," West says.
In May, West and local architects got permission to survey the Cumberland building to determine what could be salvaged. They determined that while there was no way to adaptively reuse the building, certain architectural elements could be preserved. The day after their survey, West and the architects shared their findings with Chick-fil-A representatives. West insists that once the two groups met in person, whatever tension there may have been between them completely dissolved.
"It just shows you that communication is everything," West says.
"After getting to know Chick-fil-A, I'm very thankful that they entered into discussion with us because I honestly feel that other corporate fast-food restaurants wouldn't have spent the time and energy to have open discussion with us." Besides, West added, "They're just fun people."
Chick-fil-A designers also presented the idea of salvaging bricks from and incorporating them into the new building something not even Memphis Heritage had proposed. While these new plans are not final, Chick-fil-A has committed to doing whatever it can.
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Comments
Submitted by Hassayampa Smith at: July 11, 2008
Saving the facade is only a salvage operation. While this may be the only do-able compromise, it effectively removes National Register eligibility from the building.
Submitted by Ken at: July 9, 2008
Corporate sponsorship is one key to historic preservation, especially the preservation of historic downtown structures, i.e., the impact of historic lofts on downtown Denver, CO. I'm not surprised by the growing interest in preservation by businesses, professional offices, corporations; even the use of original architectural elements from a previously on-site historic structure has merit, and adds interest to a community.