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2013 Endangered Properties List

Owner: Privately Owned
History and Significance:
The revitalization of the Laney-Walker and Bethlehem neighborhoods has been taking off over the last several months. But few historic buildings are being rehabilitated, and many threatened with demolition. Some empty lots will see new construction which will mark a new beginning for many residents. At the corner of Hopkins and Phillips Streets and across from Laney High School sits a large single family home built in 1926 and occupied by the Bohler Family. The Bohler family is best known for Lt. Henry Bohler who was an Augusta native and a graduate of the prominent Haines Normal and Industrial Institute. Henry would become the first African American pilot in the United States Military as part of the Tuskegee Airmen. The Bohler family still occupies the home and its condition is fair with the typical attention needed to various systems throughout the house, including a fresh coat of paint. The Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History has remained in contact with the family in an effort to help with preservation of this community landmark and to bring awareness to its rich history and prominent history makers who called Augusta home.

 

Threat: Development pressure from surrounding
neighborhood, condition continues to deteriorate.
Potential Uses: Single family home, income producing
residential apartments; commercial office space;
community center.
Preservation Tools: (1) Contributing structure in the
Laney-Walker North Historic District which is listed in
the National Register of Historic Places, which makes it
eligible for all programs of the National Register,
including available grant funds and the tax incentives
for certified rehabilitations.
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