Another piece of history goes up in smoke

http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/090608/met_472243.shtml

I first heard about North Augusta's latest historic loss via text message from my editor Friday morning. My first thought was disbelief. There was truly nothing like it.

I had the privilege of touring the building a couple of times while its owner, Robin Dunn, worked to polish it until it shone. She was like a child at Christmas, her eyes gleaming as she talked about the different fabrics she'd chosen, or a new piece she had bought, or the next project she would undertake.

She only had the place for a little over a year.

The interior was warm yet impressive. Rich heart pine paneled the walls, floors and ceilings, the latter of which sported intricate hand-made designs. The staircase, located at the rear of entry room, led to a second floor that offered views of the first floor on the interior, and breathtaking views of Augusta from its front gabled windows.

Rooms on the second floor were either tastefully wallpapered or painted, with richly-hued wooden doors and trim. Some rooms were offices, some were meeting rooms.

In one room on the second floor, which contained a full, luxurious bathroom and appeared to have been used for living quarters at one time, had several square cut-outs in the floor and walls. Given the reputations of some previous owners, it's possible these were hiding places for either money or drugs.

The third floor was just plain creepy.

I recall paint peeling from the walls of the dark, dank space. It was accessible through a narrow hallway on the second floor at the rear of the building, which led to a narrow staircase. The only two gabled rooms were connected by a dark, narrow hallway. It was mostly used for storage.

At first, Robin opened the Seven Gables as a meeting facility. Only this year did she open as an upscale restaurant for lunch.

It's interesting that the Seven Gables met its demise in the same manner as the Hampton Terrace Hotel.

Around the turn of the last century, North Augusta was the Hampton Terrace, an opulant behemoth that spread its wings atop the hill. Rich northerners would flock to North Augusta to escape the bitter northern winters.

The hotel spawned a few satellite buildings, of which the Seven Gables was one. Across Georgia Avenue, one of the two buildings that served as the sanitorium still stands. The other was later destroyed by fire.

In 1916, just before the opening of its 14th season, the Hampton Terrace was destroyed by a fire caused by an electrical short.

Officials are still investigating the cause of the Seven Gables fire.

There is now a gaping hole on Georgia Avenue where a piece of the city's history used to live.


Investment goes up in smoke
Cause of blaze still under investigation
By Lisa Kaylor and Julia Sellers Staff Writers

NORTH AUGUSTA --- Jared Mankins and Amber Lloyd hesitantly approached Robin Dunn, the Palmetto House at 7 Gables' owner, as the remains of the historic building smoldered Friday.
The couple, who were supposed to be married at the Georgia Avenue site Nov. 1, told Mrs. Dunn they were there to offer support and would wait to discuss the fire's effect on their upcoming nuptials.
"We kind of don't know where to go," Mr. Mankins said after talking to Mrs. Dunn. "We're at a loss for words."
Mrs. Dunn first learned of Thursday night's fire at the former Seven Gables Inn when a friend's husband called her from the scene. Mrs. Dunn had left the Palmetto House only an hour earlier.
"I live in Savannah Barony, and we could smell it" on the way to the car, she said. "When we saw it, everything was on fire. It was like something you see in a movie."
Within an hour, the house was engulfed in flames and destroyed.
Crews tore down the structure Friday morning to contain flames that continued from interior walls.
North Augusta Public Safety Chief Lee Wetherington said the fire's cause is still under investigation.
Shortly after the fire started, a 2-inch gas line exploded behind the building, but the fire was contained and no one was hurt.
Mrs. Dunn bought the property for $678,000 in March 2007 and reopened it as the Palmetto House at 7 Gables Restaurant this past March.
Even after renovations, Mrs. Dunn continued to upgrade at least one thing every week.
"We were going to get a new freezer this week," she said.
Three of the 13 employees watched the smoking rubble from a bench on the property. "We worked here," Cassandra Elam said. "We were a family."
She mourned the loss of the building, which included heart pine flooring, walls and ceiling.
"The architecture is something you just won't ever see again," she said.
Ms. Elam also expressed concern about clients who have scheduled events. Some owners of area meeting facilities have called Mrs. Dunn and offered to honor her contracts with clients.
Mrs. Dunn assured Mr. Mankin and Ms. Lloyd that she would soon be in touch and provide them with a list of options.
Mrs. Dunn said she isn't sure what her next move will be beyond finding out the cause of the blaze.
"I really do want to know what caused it," she said.
Reach Lisa Kaylor at (706) 828-3904 or lisa.kaylor@augustachronicle.com


PALMETTO HOUSE AT 7 GABLES HISTORY
1903: Built as a hunting lodge for the Hampton Terrace Hotel, which burned down Dec. 31, 1916 , because of defective wiring.
1908: Named Palmetto Lodge under the ownership of New Yorker John Herbert , whose family used it as a winter home.
1928- 43: Author Edison Marshall buys the property and renames it Seven Gables in honor of a Nathaniel Hawthorne novel.
1943: Mr. Marshall sells the property to Marvin MacFerrin, the pastor of Greene Street Presbyterian Church
1977: Bruce and Rose Salter purchase property
1989: The Salters name the Seven Gables restaurant the Buffalo Room. They later have their license revoked for barring black patrons.
1993: The Salters sell their business to Tra-Kim Inc., owned by sons Randy and James Salter.
1996: Buffalo Room reopens under sons' ownership . Randy was the only son to hold a deed on the establishment.
Feb. 11, 1999: Randy Salter is sentenced to 11 years in prison for transporting marijuana between Texas and South Carolina and money laundering. As part of his plea, he forfeited ownership of the property.
2000: Cecil and Herbert Barns buy the property at auction for $400,000 but never reopen it.
2005: Property goes on market again for $655,000
March 2007: Robin Dunn purchases property for $678,000 and opens the Palmetto House restaurant in October.
Source: Augusta Chronicle Archives, North Augusta James U. Jackson's Dream (Book)