About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 7, 2021)
8A Midweek Edition-July 7-8, 2021 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com LOCAL ‘A heavy responsibility’ SHANNON CASAS I The Times The Times building at 345 Green St. in Gainesville, was completed in 1970. Those who designed the building focused on using natural materials and reflecting a feeling of permanence and modernism. 1970 building designed to provide staff a modern, natural space BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previ ous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. What stands today as a landmark on Green Street is a far cry from the build ing in which The Times began nearly 75 years ago. On Jan. 26,1947, the paper published its first edition in the basement of a build ing that was formerly Ward’s Funeral Home, located at the corner of Maple Street and West Washington. In 1970, The Times moved to what was described then as a modern megalith capable of cranking out tens of thousands of newspapers in no time flat. The building was dedicated on July 4,1970, and cost about a million dollars, roughly $7 million in today’s money. The basement housed a $250,000 offset press that increased the production capacity of The Times enormously — from 4,000 papers in a few hours to almost 14,000 in less than one. The press was expanded in later years as was the building. The 1970 dedication ceremony was held on the old parking deck at the rear of the building. The next day, The Times published a dedication edition recalling its humble origins and remarking on the significance of its new building. Above all, the 30,000-square-foot struc ture was visible proof that “The Times is here to stay,” the front page reads. “Starting with a nucleus of aging equipment leased from the Gainesville Eagle and adding a rickety old second hand press, Charles Smithgall launched into a new career of newspaper publish ing, which most of his friends considered sheer folly,” the front page reads. “In just over 23 years, The Times has pro gressed from a used flatbed press in the basement of a former mortuary to an ultra-modern offset operation located in a million-dollar facility on North Green Street.” There used to sit a six-bedroom house on the property with towering white col umns and two sleeping porches, flanked by a cabin in the backyard, the chimney of which still stands behind the build ing. It was owned by the Carter family and had been around since 1900. Times founder Charles Smithgall purchased the property in the late 1960s to make room for what would soon become the paper’s new headquarters. Former Georgia Tech classmates Garland Reynolds and Jack Bailey were brought on as the lead architects. Reyn olds had been the Smithgalls’ newspa per boy years ago, delivering them their copy of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution — though not always to Lessie Smithgall’s satisfaction. “One day I threw the paper behind the bushes and she let me have it. ‘Don’t you do that again,”’ Reynolds recalled in an interview last week with The Times. Lessie Smithgall died June 25 at age 110. Years later, Reynolds found himself charged with a much greater task. “Designing a building for Green Street is a heavy responsibility, and we decided early in the work that we would go about it in a way which would be sympathetic to the neighboring structures,” Reynolds wrote in the 1970 dedication edition. “The Times is an important part of the community and we designed the building to reflect this position.” The Times building was a monu mental feat. A dozen contracting companies assembled from all over Northeast Geor gia, bringing with them hordes of men, tons of concrete, steel and glass and all the equipment needed to transform an earthy plot into a local media power house, according to the special edition. With zero mortar joints, the build ing is something of a modern megalith, made of barren concrete with sharp lines and few architectural embellishments or frills. Native materials were used in every instance possible, and Smithgall, who Reynolds described as “a man of great taste who knew what he wanted,” took it upon himself to acquire the stone from a Dawson County quarry, according to the edition. The result was a building that appears at once natural and modern — “subtle but powerful,” as Reynolds put it. “The architecture, we thought, was real fitting, kind of fit in with the nearby mountains and the stonework,” said Johnny Vardeman, former Times editor who began working for the paper in 1957. “Everybody was very proud of the build ing, and it became somewhat of a land mark on Green Street.” “It was a statement that the newspaper was there to stay and expanding its reach and improving the quality both in appear ance and in content,” he said. Reynolds said he is particularly proud of the sign out front, which “hovers out like a flying saucer. ” The new building also saw the adop tion of The Times’ mission statement, enshrined on a plaque out front: “Guided by the constitutional principle of the pub lic’s right to know, we dedicate this build ing to the continued enlightenment and freedom of the people of North Georgia.” That mission and its embodiment formed a point of immense pride for Lessie Smithgall. “Every time you talked with Lessie or met with her, she would mention that plaque,” said Keith Albertson, who worked at The Times from 1985 to 2018, including as editor in his last few years. “She was just really proud of it.” In the mid 1990s, as the summer Olym pics approached, The Times tore down its parking deck to create space for a separate newsroom and its growing staff. Up until then, the news team and adver tising department shared the main room, separated by felt-lined metal dividers. Every so often, Albertson said, some of the news staff would move the dividers ever so slightly to give themselves more space. The building itself has remained mostly unchanged since that expan sion. The press remains on site, a unique position in recent years as many news papers have outsourced printing to ffhr (times ir mmikm SHANNON CASAS I The Times A special edition published July 4, 1970, marks the dedication of The Times building at 345 Green St. in Gainesville. It is the newspaper’s third home since its founding in 1947. About this series As the pace of development in Gainesville reaches a fever pitch, The Times is examining the history of some of the buildings downtown and nearby in this weekly series publishing Tuesdays in The Times’ E-Paper and Wednesdays in print. offsite facilities. Pages are designed using software and then exported to a direct to plate system in a room by the press. Plates are then hung on the press to produce the newspaper. Giant rolls of paper and barrels of ink are also stored on the first floor. There is also a smaller commercial press and other machinery used in production. On the second floor are offices for advertising, news and other staff. The exterior stonework lines one side of the newsroom, where the parking deck once sat. The news industry, however, has changed dramatically in recent years with increasing focus on digital products including email newsletters, the newspa per’s website and app and its E-paper, which provides pages that appear like a print edition that can be read on a desk top, tablet or other device. “Some things never change,” said Editor in Chief Shannon Casas, who has worked in the building since 2006. “The dedication issue highlights familiar com plaints about the size of the paper — just a few pages in its first years — but also a familiar dedication from the news staff to its community. “The Times newsroom is still an important place for Gainesville and Hall County and the many journalists who devote their time and energy inside and outside of these stone walls to inform the public.” Cable barriers to be installed on Ga. 365 BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. Cable wire barriers intended to prevent vehicle rollovers will be extended nearly 30 miles in the median up Ga. 365, including through northeast Hall County. The Georgia Department of Transportation announced the $3.4 million safety improvement projects last week. One project calls for extending the barriers north from Exit 24 on Interstate 985, where it crosses Jesse Jewell Parkway/Old Cornelia Highway, to Lula Road/Ga. 52 in Hall, a stretch of 8 miles. A second one would run 9.7 miles from Ga. 52 to Duncan Bridge Road/Ga. 384 in Habersham. A third project calls for continuing the barrier another 11 miles from Ga. 384 to south of Toccoa Highway in Habersham, according to GDOT. The completion date for the projects is April 2022. No other details about the project, including why it’s being done, was available. “Information on schedules, lane closures and detours will be available in advance of construc tion activities taking place,” a GDOT press release states. GDOT installed the barriers up 1-985 over a decade ago. “We’re basically trying to get them inside all grassy medians across the state,” an agency spokes woman said at the time. “It’s to prevent crossover accidents.” The steel cables may not completely stop a car going more than 100 miles an hour, she said, but they’ll slow it down. They “are life-saving, adaptable traffic devices ideally suited for use in existing medians to prevent cross-over crashes, and are one of the most effec tive safety measures state transportation depart ments can deploy to protect motorists on today’s congested highways,” according to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ website. Man sentenced to 25 years for shooting at police BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers A Gainesville man convicted of shooting at a Gainesville police officer was sentenced June 28 to 25 years behind bars, according to court documents. Daniel Andrew Smith, 38, was found guilty June 1 on a single count of aggravated assault upon a peace officer. The jurors were allowed to consider lesser offenses of obstruction of a peace officer and reckless conduct instead of aggravated assault. Superior Court Judge C. Andrew Fuller imposed a sentence of 25 years to serve in confinement. Gainesville Police were called out around 10:30 p.m. June 25, 2020, to HomeTowne Studios on Jesse Jewell Parkway for a report of a man armed with a gun who was drinking. “Shortly after police made contact with the man, (Smith) fired a gun at the officer,” accord ing to the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, who was requested to conduct the investigation, at the time of Smith’s arrest. “The officer returned fire, and the man fled on foot around the hotel building.” Smith was apprehended roughly five minutes later, according to authorities. Northeastern Judicial Circuit District Attorney Lee Darragh said he felt the 25-year sentence “reflected the very serious nature of firing upon a police officer.” “It was a very dangerous situation that could have resulted in serious injury or death to (the officer) and even to the defendant himself,” Dar ragh said in a statement. “The judge’s sentence reflected that what Smith did cannot be tolerated in our community.” Defense attorney Larry Duttweiler did not return a request for comment regarding sentencing. A Smith BOATING ■ Continued from 1A “We will not be identifying those involved or detailing the extent of injuries due to HIPAA,” he added. On Sunday afternoon, one person was injured in a tubing incident in Hall County and transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center. McKinnon said he has not received any updates on the incident. On Sunday night, several people sus tained minor injuries and one person was transported to Northside Forsyth Hospital after two boats collided in Shoal Creek. The operator of the striking boat was arrested for BUI, and both boats suffered major damage. Other boating incidents included a boat that capsized in Shoal Creek with five people aboard, a boat that ran aground in Chestatee River and a houseboat that struck another boat and its dock in Orr Creek. Over the weekend, Gainesville saw eight BUIs, seven boating incidents and five injuries. Statewide, DNR reported two drown- ings, 28 BUIs, nine boating incidents, eight injuries and no boating fatalities 2021 July Fourth weekend. Last year, DNR reported three drownings, 15 BUIs, two boating inci dents, one injury and one boating fatality. LAKESHORE ■ Continued from 1A the retailer’s 154 stores nationwide that closed as part of bankruptcy proceedings. And then came one of the mail’s stoutest challenges — the pandemic. “COVID hit us really hard, with the lockdown and the restrictions,” Al-Hadidi said. “We didn’t lose any staff. We maintained all our staff — security, housekeep ing, management.” Also, the mall was able to keep most of its tenants, he said. Rubi Avalos is one of the mall’s newest tenants, open ing Downtown Nutrition, a healthy drinks and shakes store. Her brother and the store’s co-owner, Junior Avalos, stumbled upon the location, as the siblings had been eyeing a location across the street. “Before I was here, I did not pay attention to the mall,” Rubi said. “It’s crazy that, as lonely as (the mall) may seem, a lot of people come here. 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