FLORENCE — A piece of this city's history went up in smoke Wednesday when the Florence Fire Department conducted a controlled-burn training session at the former city government center off U.S. 42.

Tom Baumann (foreground), Florence Fire Department captain, picks up aluminum letters that were on the old Florence Municipal Building, while firefighter Scott Knoll pries others loose. (Patrick Reddy photos) | ZOOM |

        Mayor Diane Whalen, whose father, C.M. “Hop” Ewing, was responsible for the building's construction when he was mayor in 1963, watched for a short time as firefighters started fires inside the one-story structure on Niblack Memorial Drive.

        “I don't want to see any more,” Mrs. Whalen said as she left the scene. “There are a lot of memories here.”

        City government left the 38-year-old building, located on 5 acres behind the Boone County Public Library building, and moved into the new Government Center building on Ewing Boulevard in 1998. Mrs. Whalen is the first mayor to serve in the new city building, just as her father was the first mayor to serve in the old city building.

        By the end of the day Wednesday, the concrete block structure was reduced to mostly rubble, which will be cleared away in the coming weeks. A city park is planned for the property.

        The old city building, which housed city government offices, council chambers, the Police Department and eventually the Boone County combined dispatch center, was one of Mr. Ewing's first goals after being elected to the first of five terms as mayor in 1960.

        “We purchased the land for $14,000,” he recalled. “A council member, Bob Hammersmith, owned the property, and he had to resign from council so we could buy it from him.”

Firefighter Mark Bogues ignites a mattress in the old Florence Municipal Building on Wednesday. | ZOOM |

        The mayor said he tried to persuade the council at that time to purchase an adjoining plot from Mr. Hammersmith for $18,000, which would have given the city ample room to expand or even build a new, larger structure later, but council members said no.

        The city obtained a $51,000 grant from the now long-defunct federal Accelerated Public Works program. City officials then negotiated a 20-year $75,000 construction loan with Western & Southern Life Insurance Co. to begin work, and the building was dedicated on July 1, 1964.

        “We paid off that loan to Western & Southern at $618 a month,” Mr. Ewing recalled with a chuckle.

        By comparison, the new Florence Government Center, which houses city offices, council chambers, police and dispatch — and leases space to a bank and a utility — cost $7.1 million and sits on 40 acres that will soon include an aquatic center and a skate park.

        Mr. Ewing, who didn't witness the burning Wednesday, said there was some nostalgia involved in the building's demise but added, “It served its purpose, and the city outgrew it. The building was designed for a second floor to be added, but council would never go for that, either.”

        When the decision was made in 1997 to build a new government center on Ewing Boulevard, Florence council and then-Mayor Evelyn Kalb tried unsuccessfully to sell the old structure for $1 million.

        Mrs. Whalen said the city had not received what it considered a serious offer for the property, and council decided to convert the 5 acres into a park.
       

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