The Centralia Sentinel building at East Broadway and Poplar has been saved for redevelopment.
Roger Campbell has purchased both the Sentinel building and the adjoining warehouse from Better Newspapers. He plans to use the warehouse for his business Contained Storage and Shredding and has donated the Sentinel building to the Centralia Foundation. Campbell said he feared without someone taking care of the Sentinel Building it would fall into serious disrepair and become the next Langenfeld Hotel.
Campbell has already had his crews remove a considerable amount of old paper and clothing that had gathered in the building. He also had to repair the water piping in the building that was damaged when heat was turned off last winter. Four sump pumps that were not operational allowed water to gather in the basement are back in service.
Centralia Foundation Chair Dave Agee is pleased to receive the donation. He says the foundation’s plans are to restore and preserve the building. Agee says several ideas have been discussed on how to use the building, with no final decision made. He expects the project will include preservation of the newspaper’s past.
When Paxton purchased the Sentinel from Better Newspapers, they did not buy any of the buildings and the Sentinel has moved to smaller offices on East Second Street. Campbell says the original owners of the Sentinel, the Perrine family, assisted with the sale by helping to clear the title from money they were still owed on the building.
Campbell wanted to give the public a chance to tour the Sentinel building in an open house set for Wednesday, September 23rd, from four to seven. He says visitors will be able to see the old press and other unique items and join in celebration of decades of memories. Refreshments will be served.
The Sentinel building was first constructed in 1881 with renovations in 1922 and 1929 to convert the building to the Egyptian Revival style. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Place in 1978.
