USPS Publication Number 16300
T h is C om mu n it y Ne w sp ap er is a publ ic at ion of Es c a mbi a-S a nt a R os a B a r A ss o c i at ion
Se r v i ng t he Fi r st Jud icia l Ci rcu it Section A, Page 1
Vol. 21, No. 51
V isit T he S ummation W eekly O nline : SummationWeekly.com
December 22, 2021
1 Section, 8 Pages
A L ABOR OF LOVE IN OLD SEVILLE
I
by Kelly Oden
n a town as rich in history as Pensacola, historic preservation is at the heart of maintaining our cultural authenticity. While older homes and buildings require significantly more maintenance and care, the benefits to the community in terms of preserving history and character are well worth the extra effort. Local law firm Kerrigan, Estess, Rankin, McLeod and Thompson knows the value of such efforts well as they recently invested substantially in the restoration and renovation of their 140-year-old office building across from Seville Square and the results are nothing short of breathtaking. Currently sitting on the corner of East Government Street and Alcaniz Street, the 5,000-square-foot antebellum stunner features a treasure trove of architectural details including a double veranda spanning two floors, carved columns and balustrades, tall double doors to the veranda, Queen Anne-style millwork, broad bay windows and a gabled roof with a short portico. The building also has an interesting history. According to beloved Pensacola historian, the late John Appleyard, Benjamin Overman originally built the home in the 200 block of East Gregory Street. Overman, who hailed from North Carolina, came to Pensacola to join his friend, Ezekial Simpson, in the burgeoning lumber industry. Simpson Mills became a great success, perhaps in no small part due to Overman’s innovative engineering skills. Interestingly enough, Overman also designed a number of significant local structures including the beloved St. Michael’s Catholic Church. In the 1960s, the city began a project to widen East Gregory Street. The Overman house was no longer owned by Benjamin’s descendants and would have been razed, but as luck would have it, a
local architect named Hugh Leitch purchased the property. Leitch had to have the building cut in two in order to move it to its current location at 400 East Government Street in the Seville Historic District. In 1978, Bob Kerrigan and George Estess bought the building to house their young law firm. At that time, Kerrigan did some extensive restoration to the property’s interior woodwork. “All of the window casings and baseboards are the original oak, but all this beautiful wood trim was covered in layers of paint,” said Attorney Mike McLeod, who has been a partner of the firm since the early 80s. “Bob Kerrigan had more than 100 years of paint painstakingly stripped from all of the trim to expose the original oak. We’re very proud of that.” Over the years, McLeod said the building held its own through many storms, including Hurricane Ivan. However, the building suffered substantial damage from Hurricane Sally resulting in the firm’s decision to do a full-renovation. As with most renovations, they encountered a few surprises along the way. “Hurricane Sally was a wake up call,” McLeod said. “We had roof damage and we had water intrusion in some of the exterior walls. We had to move out of the building to repair it, so we decided to do a complete refurbishing. We put a new roof on. We had all the rotten wood from the exterior of the building replaced and painted the original color. A lot of the interior walls had to be removed down to the studs because we had wet insula-
tion. Then, we discovered we had asbestos in two rooms of the building. So, we had to remove the asbestos at a significant expense. We had people in here with HAZMAT suits and they had to use negative pressure respirators. It was an expensive and complicated process for what seems to be just a little bit of removal.”
as far as real genuine old buildings that still look the way they looked when they were built 140 years ago. And now it’s as comfortable as being in a modern building.” One thing that struck McLeod during the renovations was the original window mechanisms. “When we did the renovation we took all of the window molding off to have
We think it’s money well spent. I think the older you get, the more you value older things. And I do think this building is the centerpiece of the historic district as far as real genuine old buildings that still look the way they looked when they were built 140 years ago. And now it’s as comfortable as being in a modern building.” Beyond the structural repairs, the firm also took the opportunity to remove the carpets and refinish the original heart pine floors. All in all, the renovation included a new roof, new insulation, new ductwork, new sheetrock, asbestos removal, floor refinishing, new landscaping, new furnishings, new lighting and the exterior was completely renovated and painted. “We think it’s money well spent,” McLeod said. “I think the older you get, the more you value older things. And I do think this building is the centerpiece of the historic district
it cleaned,” he recalled. “Behind that window molding there are these big heavy weights. They’re very big and long and some of them have two weights and they are on these old ropes that create a pulley in order for the original owners to lift them. They’re still on the same old ropes. They’re still functioning.” He also had a chance to see the original structural beams when some of the ceiling was being replaced. “It was interesting to see the old 140 year wood beams. They are so big and just about as hard as steel. They’ve aged and hardened
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over 140 years,” he explained. The firm worked with interior designer Joy Hodges to update the furniture and lighting, bringing a contemporary and comfortable feel to the space. They also transformed the third floor space from a dusty old storage room to a sleek, modern employee lounge complete with skylights, television, a coffee bar and a sofa. Over the forty years the firm has occupied the building, they have watched downtown Pensacola grow from the neglect of the 70s and 80s to the booming and lively historic neighborhood of today—and they are thrilled to be a part of it all. “While we do love the building itself, we also love the neighborhood,” McLeod said. “It’s surrounded by good restaurants, so you can walk across the street and have lunch or dinner. It’s right by Seville Park, which hosts a lot of festivals. On Friday and Saturday nights, it’s hopping right around our neighborhood. They have live music at Hub Stacey’s on weekends. People sit and eat outside at Dharma Blue. Over the last couple of years we’ve seen old buildings get refurbished. There’s kind of a new life to the streets. Downtown is a happening place to be. It’s the place to live and work. We’ve had opportunities to move into a bank building over the years, but we just like this location. We like being part of the neighborhood.”
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