The National Trust for Historic Preservation has called on the University of Georgia to reconsider its decision to tear down Rutherford Hall and replace it with a bigger dormitory. Support is growing to save the building.

Rutherford Hall was one of the first women’s dormitories on campus and is located in the complex where Charlayne Hunter-Gault lived when she integrated the university in the 1960's.

The director of the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation, Amy Kissane, says Rutherford’s structural problems are not insurmountable.

And the National Trust also says rehabilitation is cheaper. "The numbers they had showed it was 12-thousand dollars more per bedroom for new construction than for renovating Rutherford. If that’s the case, then I really don’t understand. There’s absolutely no reason for the demolition” Kissane says.

Rutherford Hall is also one of the few remaining Works Progress Administration projects built during the Depression. UGA President Michael Adams says he’ll make a final determination by the end of this month

Tags: UGA, Michael Adams, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Rutherford Hall, Amy Kissane