By Michael Butler

The red brick structure that has housed the Tallassee Recreation Department for nearly five decades will be coming down this week. The building will be imploded on Thursday morning at approximately 8:30.

Originally, the facility was home to the Alabama National Guard in Tallassee.

“I want to say it was built before 1953,” said Charles Blalock. “We played our high school basketball there in ’54.”

Blalock attended R.R. Moton.

“I left in 1955. We played on the ground and started playing at the armory. It was a cement floor. We were glad to be playing inside.”

The armory was named for Ransom Dewey Piper, a local who was killed in action in the Korean War while serving in the U.S. Army in 1951. His name is still on the current National Guard Armory facility in Tallassee.

“I remember him,” Blalock added. “We had two guys from Tallassee killed in Korea, Dewey Piper and (Billy) Causey, who lived in Friendship.”

Numerous community events have been held at the former armory and rec center over the years including dances and concerts. The Tallassee Recreation Center relocated to the Gilmer Avenue location from East Tallassee in the late 1970s.

After the building is gone, the same footprint will be used for the new community center which is slated as a 428-day project.

*Update: The date for demolition has been pushed back since the article was posted. The job is expected to be done the week of July 27.