The Athletic Club Rises From the Ashes
Despite severe fire damage and water-warped floors, the Walla Walla Athletic Club vows to rebuild and add new amenities.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Though the insurance will not nearly cover the damage sustained, William Verdenius, secretary of the Walla Walla Athletic club, which was practically destroyed by fire Monday night, announced today that the quarters will be refitted and opened as soon as the work of repair can be completed. Insurance adjusters were in the city today and settled the losses on the bowling alleys; other insurance on stock and gymnasium paraphernalia will be adjusted in a day or so. The building is owned by Mrs. J. H. Stahl, and she will have repairs started immediately. It is practically certain that new bowling alleys will have to be put in, as water soaked the hard wood floors to such an extent that they are beginning to warp. The management is also contemplating the installation of baths if a strip of ground to the east of the building can be leased for a term of years.
“Though the insurance will not nearly cover the damage sustained... the quarters will be refitted and opened as soon as the work of repair can be completed.”
Rebuilding efforts after downtown fires were a staple of early 20th-century civic life in Walla Walla. Today, the community continues to grapple with the preservation and adaptive reuse of its historic athletic and social spaces.
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