County commissioners voted Monday to restore the old theater style seats in the 1890 Donley County Courthouse as part of a $2.9 million renovation of the building. 153 of the seats are stored in the attic while only one of the original courtroom benches (foreground) remains.
Enterprise Digital Photo
When the Donley County Courthouse Restoration is complete in 2002, it should look a lot like 1913 following decisions made by the commissioners’ court Monday.
The court voted unanimously to salvage and refurbish theater seats currently in storage in the courthouse attic – seats which haven’t been used for approximately 20 years.
The seats were first installed in the courtroom in 1912 or 1913 after the original bench seats were sold to the Goldston School for $1.75 each. Today, 153 of the seats are stored in the attic, neglected, largely forgotten, and covered in bat guano.
To go back to the 1890 Courthouse’s original seating, new benches would have to be manufactured for the building.
“It just seems like the proper thing would be to use what we have,” said County Judge Jack Hall, acknowledging that the theater seats are part of the courthouse’s history. The theatre seats also have “a lot more character.”
The wooden seats and backs on the theater chairs will all be restored or replaced.
The court also voted to reorient the courtroom with the judge’s bench situated in an alcove on the north side of the room. Currently, the bench is at the south end, but local recollections and physical evidence point to its originally being situated in the north.
“You just look at the room and the ceiling and all, and it just looks like [the north end] is where it belongs,” said Commissioner Donnie Hall.
Judge Hall said the current bench is very nice, but it is not original and was going to have to be rebuilt anyway.
Commissioners also discussed the fate of two large trees on the north side of the building. The trees are destroying the sidewalk near the building, and leaves from branches overhanging the roof are clogging the gutters, causing water to damage the interior of the courthouse.
Also, the trees – both elms – are obscuring the view of the building, and commissioners agreed that it didn’t make much sense to restore the building if it couldn’t be seen.
The court voted to remove the trees, which Judge Hall said he understands came up volunteer and were not planted under special circumstances. Commissioner Hall suggested that local organizations might be asked to donate trees for memorials once the restoration project is complete.
In other courthouse news, the court voted to advertise for bids next week for the abatement of lead paint, asbestos, and bat guano. The bids will be opened on February 12, 2001, and a contract will be awarded after consultant Luis Acuña of Sun City Analytical, Inc., in El Paso has reviewed the bids. The abatement work should take about two weeks.
“If we’re able to keep this timetable, construction work will follow on the heels of the abatement,” said John Kiehl of the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission.
April 22, 2002, has been set as a target date for completion of the $2.9 million restoration project.
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