Frustration grows on burned block as cleanup efforts stall

PORTSMOUTH

Five months after a predawn fire destroyed the historic Zion Baptist Church and two High Street buildings, there’s more rubble than revitalization to the 600 block.

Barbara Vincent Hester, owner of Vincent Hester Gallery, said she did not expect the block to remain in ruins for so long. Kenneth Woolard, co-owner of Way Back Yonder antique store, is disappointed as well – but not surprised.

Woolard said the city manager told members of the Olde Towne Business Association early on not to expect a “green, grassy lot until July.”

But the bleak scene still resembles a war zone, casting gloom over an area that had brightened in recent years thanks to restored storefronts dating to the early 1900s.

“I’m tired of looking at it,” Woolard said.

Retailers have also felt the loss of Skipjack Nautical Wares & Marine Gallery, which was demolished after the December blaze. The store, owned by Joe and Alison Elder, had served as an anchor in the block, Woolard said.

The fire started in Zion’s sanctuary and sparked a chain of destruction. The fire spread to the church’s community center on High Street, causing part of that structure to collapse onto the building housing Skipjack.

In January, a wall of 927 High, a renovated building housing apartments and commercial space next to Skipjack, was deemed unstable. That further stalled recovery efforts, according to the city.

The tenants in 927 High were evacuated and not allowed to go back for belongings until the damaged wall could be shored up temporarily. Tenants were notified in March that they could return, and they had to be given time to make arrangements to do so, said Monique Bass, city spokeswoman.

Citing public safety concerns, the city fenced off the damaged area.

As time dragged on, Alison and Joe Elder grew tired of waiting. They knew tenants had been able to get into the building next door, said Joe Elder.

Two weeks ago, they decided to begin a heart-wrenching salvage operation.

Elder told his wife, “If we get arrested, so be it.”

Their battle to save whatever they could started before the last ember was put out. Before the Skipjack building was torn down, the Elders pleaded for time to retrieve items.

Last month, Elder’s attorney, Stanley Sacks, gave notice of claim to the city, a prerequisite for a lawsuit. The attorney said the essence of the claim is that the city did not have to tear the building down.

“These people lost everything in their business and almost everything they owned.”

Since then, a lot of things that could have been saved were destroyed by the elements, Elder said.

“I just dug up one of my favorite paintings today, a very large oil painting done around the late 19th century of the Battle of Trafalgar,” he said Wednesday.

It was in shreds, he said.

In better moments, they’ve uncovered ship’s bells and family photographs, even the gold ring with the 17th-century Spanish coin that Elder’s wife gave him when they became engaged.

Such sentimental discoveries keep them mining the debris for remnants of their former life.

The Elders had a small amount of insurance on personal property but did not have fire insurance on the building, Joe Elder said. They had stopped the policy for a short time to cut expenses, he said.

“What they want most is closure so they can move on to whatever is next for them,” said Vincent Hester, one of many friends in Olde Towne. “It’s been a one-brick-at-a-time salvage operation with two people working to exhaustion.”

Along with the sympathy of friends, the Elder’s toil might have drawn the notice of thieves.

After uncovering three ship binnacles, the couple set them aside with other pieces of inventory until they could find storage. When they returned, the heavy World War II antiques were gone. Together, they were worth almost $10,000, he said.

“You think it can’t get any worse, and then it does,” he said.

On Wednesday night, police arrested a man trespassing on the site and charged him with petty larceny.

Kimberly Pruitt, assistant to the city manager, said paperwork is being done that will release the fenced-in sites back to owners. It will be up to property owners to clear the sites, she said.

“It was an emergency situation,” Pruitt said. “No one planned for this to happen.”

Since December, members of Zion Baptist have met at numerous locations for services, meetings and funerals.

“I don’t know about blaming anybody,” said Fletcher Parker, chairman of the deacons. “It just happened, like the fire.”

Parker is proud to say the congregation has not missed a service since the fire, and the church has brought in new members.

Currently, Sunday services are held at a Seventh-day Adventist Church, and some sort of church activity takes place every day, he said. The church has continued its ministry to homeless people and a tutoring program in an annex of the church on Green Street. Members don’t know yet what a new building will cost or how much the insurance will cover, he said. For now, they are trying to focus on what shape the church’s ministry should take in the future, he said.

When it does come time to rebuild, many members hope the new church can be designed around the bell tower that rises above the ruins.

To church members, Parker said, the surviving bell tower “is kind of a sign.”

Janie Bryant, (757) 446-2453, janie.bryant@pilotonline.com