1050 Burmeister Ave, Beckley, Wv 25801 (MLS# 22-1085)

Exterior: Brick; Stone

Foundation: Concrete; Stone

Roofing: Metal

Flooring: Ceramic Tile

ATTRIBUTES AND HIGHLIGHTS Unique Historical Structure Brick & Stone Construction Workshop / Warehouse Proximity to I-77 and I-64 1.4 Miles From CSX Glen Morgan Depot Proximity to New River Gorge National Park & Preserve Proximity to Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine Proximity to Winterplace Ski Resort Market Area of 250,000 Residents Tourism Destination For Approximately 3 Million About Raleigh Coal & Coke Company One of the most powerful coal-mining interests in southern West Virginia in the early 1900s, the Raleigh Coal and Coke Co. pioneered the extraction of coal in the productive Beckley seam, which underlay much of the present city of Beckley. It operated six mines on the Piney Creek Branch of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, the first line owned by the railroad to be built off its mainline from the New River Gorge. The competing Virginian Railroad also built a line to the town. Raleigh Coal & Coke became influential in the expansion of neighboring Beckley, the commercial center of southern West Virginia. In 1929, it donated 60 acres for the development of a country club and golf course and 300 for the development of a exclusive residential neighborhood built to accomodate industry magnates and business leaders from throughout southern West Virginia. In 1950, the company ceased operations and divested its interests, selling off lots in the community of Raleigh. Through 2020, the community declined but has recently seen increased residential interest as a site for affordable housing. Property owners in and near the powerhouse have discussed pursuing the development of a national historic district that would preserve several period buildings that remain, including several residences and company buildings. LOCATION Google Coordinates: 37.7568574295393, -81.17029136442058 Address: 1050 Burmeister Ave., Beckley, WV 25801 Elevation Range: 2,160 feet above mean sea level HISTORY The powerhouse was among the first principal buildings built by the Raleigh Coal & Coke Company at Raleigh, a company-owned community established in 1898 to house employees and their families in central Raleigh County. The company opened six mines and swiftly became one of the state's chief coal producers, marketed under the trade name Black Knight Coal. By the late 1920s, the population of Raleigh had outpaced that of Beckley, and the company had become so successful that its officers organized the Black Knight Country Club, which featured a clubhouse, tennis courts, and a golf course raised on a hill above the town. Many of its successful officials and other investors built sizeable homes around the clubhouse. Often recognized as the architect of the company's success, Colonel Ernest Chilson (18691931) arrived at Raleigh in 1906 and established many of its first buildings, including the powerhouse. No records have yet been found identifying the builder who might have worked with Chilson. However, Chilson was highly regarded as a student of architecture himself and designed his own formidable home, "Casa Loma," high on a hill overlooking Raleigh near the country club. Chilson also directed the design of the country club with architect Alex Mahood (18881970), designer of many landmark buildings across West Virginia. However, Chilson was likely too young to have worked on the powerhouse. ARCHITECTURE The powerhouse building was designed to perform the all-important function of distributing electric power to mines, residences, and company-owned buildings throughout the community. However, its design also incorporated ornate architectural features that elevate the building above that of a merely practical structure. The powerhouse was, in reality, the nerve center of the company and town. Exterior The design of the building is more ornate than other industrial buildings in the region. It incorporates varied surface ornamentation, including red and yellow brick and uncoursed, rusticated stone. A band of molded concrete, a water table between its first and second stories, includes a swastika symbol that has attracted the attention of passersby for generations. However, the building was built long before the symbol gained a negative association. The first story and foundation are built of large blocks of rusticated sandstone block likely quarried in the area. The four sides of the first story are punctuated with double doors of iron. The first floor is approximately 10 feet high, and the second story is of like height. Each exterior wall is approximately 45 feet wide and 20 feet high. The second story above the ornamented water table is built principally of red and yellow brick punctuated by windows, seven per side, inset with steel, approximately three feet wide by six feet high. Metal letters commemorating the Raleigh Coal & Coke Company are affixed to the wall spaces between the windowsRC&CCO. The roof above the lower stories is hipped and of corrugated metal. It rises in two tiers 14 feet above its base from the top of the building's second story. The roof is divided between its top and lower tiers by a course approximately one foot high through which a range of lower voltage transmission lines extended outward to the town and mines. The ceramic-insulated holes through which the lines passed remain in place. A range of high-voltage transformers was installed on the patio of stone that flanks the northwest face of the building but was removed when the power was decommissioned as a power source in the 1950s. Interior The interior of the building consists chiefly of a single two-story space, 40 feet wide by 40 feet across and approximately 20 feet high. It opens above into an attic area, which extends upward another 14 feet above a network of rafters. The ground floor has been subdivided into a large room (approximately 40 feet long and 27 feet wide) and two smaller rooms. The larger room may have contained electrical equipment, and its floor is paved in hexagonal tiles. The unfinished floors of either of the smaller rooms are two feet below the floor of the larger room. The historical function is presently undefined. A working carriage rail used to lift and drop transformers remains in place and runs the length of the larger room. Since the 1950s, the building has been used chiefly as a workshop and warehouse, its use facilitated by four doorways positioned at the center of each wall. Three of the doorways are approximately nine feet wide by 7.5 feet tall. A fourth is approximately 11 feet wide by 7.5 feet tall. ZONING The property is located in an unincorporated rural area of Raleigh County. Please refer to the Raleigh County Commission and Raleigh County Health Department for zoning requirements. PROPERTY TYPE/USE SUMMARY The property since the 1950s has been used chiefly as a storage facility. It is bounded at the rear by residential properties and at the frontage by industrial properties. MINERAL RESOURCES West Virginia law provides for separate ownership titles for surface rights and mineral rights. This property is being conveyed as surface only. BOUNDARIES AND SURVEY The property is being sold by the boundary and not by the acre. ACCESS/FRONTAGE The property is located at Burmeister Avenue at Raleigh Ridge Road, both paved single-lane routes. Each of the building's four facades opens onto a street or private alley. UTILITIES Water and sewage service are not currently provided to the building but run alongside it. Water: Beckley Water Company Sewer: Beckley Public Service District Electricity: Appalachian Power Company Cellphone Coverage: Various Carriers DEED and TAX INFORMATION Deed Information: Raleigh County Deed Book 5050; Page 8156 Acreage: 0.2 acres +/- Real Estate Tax ID / Acreage / Taxes Fayette County (41), Town (11) Tax Map 28D: Parcel 39 2021 Real Estate Taxes: $87.94