TSYS, city dedicate Mott House site

What use to be the last remaining pre-Civil War riverfront mansion on the Chattahoochee River is now just a brick portico and a memory.

Friday morning officials from Columbus-based electronic payment processor, the city, preservationists and curious onlookers watched as the monument and plaza where the Calhoun-Griffin-Mott House once stood were dedicated almost two years after the structure was destroyed by fire.

“What we are celebrating today is the classic Columbus vision,” said Mayor Teresa Tomlinson. “We are constantly taking our history and imagining how it can serve our future.”

In this case, there was no choice to finding another use for the site.

Commonly called the Mott House, it was owned by TSYS and at the time of the fire was under a nearly $4 million renovation to put a conference center and boardroom in the structure. The project started in 2013 and was scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2015. Built in 1841, the house had survived the Civil War and the expansion of riverfront textile mills.

On Sept. 7, 2014, a fire started inside the house after midnight and by 3 a.m. it was engulfed in flames. By morning, it was smoldering ruins with the only thing remaining was a red brick outline. The cause of the fire was never determined.

TSYS Senior Executive Vice President and President of North American Service Bill Pruett said doing something fitting with the site was important for the company.

“We wanted to highlight the history of this site and our commitment to the community,” Pruett said.

The distinctive portico was salvaged and a plaza that can be used by TSYS and its employees is where the house stood. There are six granite obelisks that tell the story of the house, arguably the most historic structure in the city at the time it burned, and how it fits into the history of the city. The Chatthoochee Riverwalk runs in front of the site and those using the riverwalk can access the markers.

It is also at the foot of the Frank Martin Pedestrian Bridge at 14^th Street.

“It is a marvel of adaptive reuse,” said Historic Columbus Foundation President William J. Burgin. “Despite the great loss, the site remains significant.”

The city has also invested significant money in the nearby area, building a roundabout at the Columbus entrance to the pedestrian bridge.

This story was originally published July 15, 2016 at 2:25 PM with the headline "TSYS, city dedicate Mott House site."