Moody brings 'Lazarus' building back to life

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Olivia Bumpers
  • 23d Wing Public Affairs
Moody Air Force Base, Ga. --  Every day, thousands of Airmen and visitors unknowingly drive by one of the original buildings constructed here at Moody.

For the past year, the 23d Civil Engineer Squadron, the 23d Contracting Squadron and civilian contractors teamed up to put the extra work and effort into restoring the newly renovated landmark.

"[The green building] tells Moody's story," said Kenneth Sloat, 23d Wing historian. "This base has two constants. The first is that we are always training people to fly, fight and win. The second is that we have a great relationship with the community. This building tells both of these stories in a neat way."

Initially, the building was an aviation cadet recreation center until it was transitioned into a library in the 1970's, then became the child development center annex in the late 1980's and early 1990's.

After learning of all the prior history of the structure, Lawrence January, 23d Civil Engineer Squadron project manager, jokingly named it the "Lazarus" building referring to the story in the Bible where Jesus brought a man named Lazarus back to life.

"It was resurrected and now it's going to be a fully functioning building," said January. "At one point there was discussion about demolishing [the building] because it wasn't being used for anything. I credit the wing's leadership for making the decision to keep and renovate the building because they realized the significance of having it."

Shortly after recognizing that the building was important to the history of Moody, the design process began in 2010 and the early stages of the renovations began late last year.

Renovations included: roof restoration, replacing the side panels, and preserving the interior by ripping up old carpet and sanding and waxing the wooden floors.

"This is one of the last buildings on base built around the World War II era," said Bill Bryan, 23d Civil Engineer Squadron chief engineer. "The main changes we made were that we added air conditioning, handicap restrooms and a kitchen area."

One specific portion of the design that wasn't altered was the color of the building.

"Back when Moody first opened, the buildings were painted green," said Bryan. "We decided to keep the original color and matched it so that over the years, when it begins to fade, it will fade into its initial color."

Although there isn't an official name of the building yet, Sloat mentioned that they are calling it a heritage hall for now.

"The main point of having this hall is to have a place people can gather for their events at no price," said Sloat. "The hall is going to be used as a conference center for a majority of events such as: receptions, retirement ceremonies, going away parties and more."

Not only is the building going to be used for celebratory events, it will also be used as a place where historical artifacts will be on display for visitors to see.

"Every base has a place for visitors to get a glimpse of its history and a place to remember their visit," said January. "With the air park, the heritage hall and the newly established Blue Star Memorial out in front of the building, it gives everyone a place to see and understand Moody's history. The big green building is what everyone who comes to Moody will always remember."

Although a few modifications are needed, the heritage hall is currently open for use as of last week.

"It is substantially complete," said January. "Once we make those additional changes and begin decorating [the interior], we hope to have people visit and take a look at Moody's history in one place."