Editing Rafford Hall

[[Image:RaffordHall.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Pensacola Athletic Club (later Rafford Hall)]]
[[Rafford Hall]] was built as the '''Pensacola Athletic Club''' in [[1889]] on the southwest corner of [[Baylen Street|Baylen]] and [[Belmont Street]]s as the '''Pensacola Athletic Club'''. The club was the endeavor of a group of businessmen, led by [[Louis P. Knowles]], whose financial success (and the accompanying combination of rich food and a sedentary lifestyle) had given them corpulent physiques. [[William D. Chipley]], who lived nearby and reportedly favored the idea, sold the land for the club at a reduced price. Membership to the club cost $10 for initiation and $3 per month, and by 1890 there were a hundred members.<ref>[[John Appleyard]]. ''Historic Buildings of Pensacola'', p 19.</ref>

The club remained popular until the [[Pensacola YMCA]], with professional trainers and more advanced facilities, opened nearby on [[Palafox Street]] in [[1904]]. The Athletic Club closed, and building was sold to the [[International Order of Odd Fellows]] (IOOF) and named after benefactor [[Richard Rafford]]. It was used for decades as a meeting hall and exercise center for the IOOF and other fraternal benevolent organizations, including the [[Knights of Pythias]], the [[Woodmen of the World]], [[Royal Neighbors of America]], the [[Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen]], the [[International Association of Machinists]] and the [[Communications Workers of America]].<ref>Ibid, p 20.</ref>

The building was acquired by the [[North Hill Preservation Society]] in September [[1974]] and restored by [[Theophalis May]]. Its construction, which inspired the [[L&N Marine Terminal Building]], was two-and-a-half stories of wood frame, plus a wraparound balcony on the second floor, over a brick basement. Its external dimensions were 85'4" by 41' with a 40 by 60 foot meeting room and gymnasium. The 230 foot running track, constructed of wood, was suspended from the second floor and encircled the gymnasium's inner perimeter.

The building was destroyed in a fire of "suspicious origin"<ref>Ibid.</ref> in (''year needed'').

==References==
<references/>

{{arch-stub}}
[[Category:Demolished buildings]]