ROME, Ga. — A historic landmark and centerpiece of a downtown area is in ruins.
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Lisa Bowman bought a picture Tuesday, just in case she never sees it again.
“Why did you buy that?” Channel 2’s Berndt Petersen asked.
“Well…my mother was married in that courthouse,” Bowman said.
A picture of what had been standing along 5th Avenue in downtown Rome for 134 years, and even in the face of calamity, it is still standing.
“This is our landmark. Our identity. It’s just heartbreaking,” Floyd County Manager Jaime McCord said.
NewsChopper 2 was overhead Monday afternoon when the bell tower came crashing down in flames. The tower clock stopped at 2:35 p.m., the time the power was cut to the building.
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Renovation work was being done at the historic county courthouse, but what sparked the fire is still unknown.
“We have our investigators working this. A group of people. Hopefully, we’ll have it figured out soon,” Operations Fire Chief Clete Bonney said.
Firefighters were still hitting hot spots early Tuesday afternoon, and had drones armed with thermal imaging to pinpoint the places.
NewsDrone 2 was also up with views showing how a fire gutted a building; this was it.
County officials say a structural engineer will evaluate the damage and will have to give the all clear before fire investigators can go inside.
Bowman says this place has held a special place in her heart her entire life.
“It’s a beautiful building. Everybody is sad that this happened,” Bowman said.
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