New roof for Powell School approved

New roof for Powell School approved

Posted: Updated:
By WBRC Staff - email
The historic Powell School building lost its roof to fire in January 2011. Source: WBRC video The historic Powell School building lost its roof to fire in January 2011. Source: WBRC video
The Birmingham Design Review Committee has decided the windows of the school will be boarded up to help preserve the building for development. Source: WBRC video The Birmingham Design Review Committee has decided the windows of the school will be boarded up to help preserve the building for development. Source: WBRC video
The scene of the fire at the old Powell Elementary School building in January 2011. Source: WBRC video The scene of the fire at the old Powell Elementary School building in January 2011. Source: WBRC video
BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC) -

The Birmingham Design Review Committee has approved construction work to be done on the old Powell Elementary School in downtown Birmingham.

The committee has approved a new roof for the school, Michael Calvert, a volunteer for the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation, confirmed. The windows will also be boarded up to help preserve the building for development.

The historic school caught on fire in January 2011. Supporters hoped to save the school because it was the first school in Birmingham and has a foundation dating back to the 1880s.

Funding for the roof came from the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation and the City of Birmingham through insurance on the building. Work on the school will start in the next couple of weeks.

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