Limestone College will break ground Friday on Winnie Davis Hall project

The ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. The renovated building will have: Six wireless multimedia classrooms Three museums and galleries Several faculty offices A new tower that will contain an elevator and restrooms A kitchen area for catering meetings and receptions Limestone College officials will take another step Friday towards completing a multimillion dollar renovation project at Winnie Davis Hall of History.

The college will hold a groundbreaking ceremony at 2 p.m. for the project. The event will be held as part of a Limestone alumni reunion weekend and the Board of Trustees spring meeting. The public is invited to attend the ceremony.

The college has been involved in a year-long $4.8 million capital campaign to restore the structure.

Limestone College is less than $100,000 away from completing fundraising for the project, president Dr. Walt Griffin said. Contractors will submit their bids for the Winnie Davis construction project April 21.

"We are at least a month away from construction actually starting at Winnie Davis," Griffin said. "We wanted to go ahead and hold a groundbreaking ceremony before the students finish classes in early May."

Winnie Davis was built in 1904 by president Dr. Lee Davis to serve as a center for Southern history and literature. It is named for the daughter of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Varina Howell Davis.

The building fell into disrepair and was closed by the college in 1977 for safety reasons.

Construction is expected to start in June.

Griffin estimated it will take between 12 to 18 months to complete the project.

The renovated building will have six wireless multimedia classrooms for history and honors courses. There will be three museums and galleries along with several faculty offices.

A separate tower will be added on the west side of Winnie Davis to contain an elevator and restroom facilities necessary to meet building code requirements. A kitchen area will be added for catering meetings and receptions.

Martin Meek of Campbell Meek and Associates Architects, Inc. is lead architect for the project. Meek is renowned for is preservation work on historic buildings.

Major League Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry, who started Limestone's baseball program, led a fundraising effort in 1987 to repair the Winnie Davis roof and seal the exterior of the building until it could be restored.

"If that work had not been done 20 years ago, the building would not have survived," Griffin said.