Loveliest Village Tour features Haines home, Hargis Hall

The Auburn Preservation League's (APL) seventh Annual Loveliest Village Christmas Tour of Homes and Buildings will be Saturday, Dec. 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 15, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Tickets for the tour are $20 and are available at Wrapsody in downtown Auburn, The Flower Store in Ogletree Village and the Auburn Chamber.

Tickets will also be available at each home on the days of the tour. For more information about the tour, visit www.auburnpreservationleague.org.

Haines home on Payne Street

When Susan and Stewart Haines bought the Tudor style home at 315 Payne Street in 2002, Susan was quite familiar with it.

Her parents, William B. Lowe and Lurline Betts Lowe, lived in it for more than 50 years, raising Susan and her brother. Following the deaths of both of her parents, Susan and her husband acquired the property.

According to the original deed, which Susan's dad kept stored in a safe, the lot was a tiny portion of the land acquired by the United States under President Martin Van Buren, from the Creek Indians. The land passed through several owners before it became the Lowes’: N.W. Thornton, 1839; L.W. Payne, 1872; and Euel A. Screws, 1924. Mr. Lowe purchased the land, which included a one-year-old home, from R.L. and G.L. Johns in 1938.

Originally built with two bedrooms and one bath, Susan said she remembers when her parents added a second floor and a back den in 1955. Earlier this year, Susan and Stewart hired architect Randy Wilson and builder Colvin & Evans to remove the den and construct a new one, as well as a new porch and master bedroom and bath. The renovation project also included expanding and updating the original kitchen, which Susan said was "as big as a postage stamp."

The new kitchen, complete with an island and stainless steel appliances, is Susan's favorite room in the house. It also features a back-splash and archway that were constructed using bricks original to the home.

Other original components include floors and moldings, a bath tub, doors and knobs. The front part of the home is original, except for the paint.

Some of the home's furnishings were handed down from Susan parents and grandmother, Mrs. W.A. Betts, including a platform rocker, cedar chest, a number of tables, and other accent pieces. An antique wall phone hangs in the new kitchen.

For the holiday tour, two Auburn High School students will provide musical entertainment.

Hargis Hall on Auburn University's campus

Hargis Hall was constructed before its iconic neighbor, Samford Hall, on the Auburn University campus, but its history is just as intrinsic to the university's heritage.

According to minutes of a board of trustees meeting in 1887, it would cost the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama $13,060.90 to build a new facility for the department of chemistry – a meager amount compared to today's standards.

The hall opened in 1888, a few months before Old Main was rebuilt – following a fire – and renamed Samford Hall. It was named Hargis Hall following the death of Dr. Estes Hargis, a Birmingham physician who attended Auburn from 1915-17. After completing his education at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Minnesota, Hargis worked at the Mayo Clinic, serving as first assistant to Dr. William J. Mayo, one of seven people who would create the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Hargis himself established the Hargis Clinic in Birmingham in 1928 and Hargis Hospital in 1938. Auburn awarded him an honorary doctor of science degree in 1965. Hargis Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

Hargis housed the School of Pharmacy and later became known as the music building, a recital hall remembered by many students for its good acoustics and cramped practice space. Currently, it is home to the Graduate School administrative offices.

In its 125 year history, Hargis Hall has experienced two fires. In 1978, the entire building was destroyed after a cutting torch apparently set a joist ablaze. The tool was used in removing old pipes as part of a renovation project to update the building to house the Graduate School. Only part of Hargis had been in use since 1972.

In a Dec. 24, 1978 article from The Tuscaloosa News, the fire, which started under the building, had "smoldered for several days before it finally engulfed the two-story building."

A second fire in October 2011 did little fire damage, but the extensive water and smoke damage forced the Graduate School to be temporarily relocated.

Hargis Hall may contain modern furnishings for office and meeting spaces, but old photographs, including one of a chemistry lab, can be found throughout the building.

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