It is a building that virtually no one other than people who make a living off of make-believe has fond memories of and the abandoned jail on Walton Way is coming down piece-by-piece.
The former law enforcement center at 401 Walton Way started off as a place where people woke up in the morning confined to a jail cell realizing that they had hit rock bottom in their life, and it ended its life as a multi-purpose film set that sparked interest in Augusta as a huge draw for Hollywood directors.
Crews from Thompson Wrecking Company were at the site Friday chipping away at the concrete and steel structure.
“401,” as it has been referred to because of its street address, has been a controversial building since the day it was opened.
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The Walton Way jail tower along with its surrounding complex was completed in 1985 and would only go on to serve only 27 years of its intended purpose. The jail tower was decommissioned on Jan. 7, 2014, according to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Department website.
In the early 2000s, the building developed a serious leak in the basement due to shoddy plumbing that was encased in concrete and the moisture eventually created a serious mold problem throughout the workspace areas. Employees with allergy issues had to work in a portable building outside.
The loss of administrative space and continuing issues with the plumbing in the jail prompted the city to build a new Sheriff’s Office building across the street and to move inmates over to the Charles B. Webster Detention Facility on Phinizy Road.
Finally, the building was retired, but even in its mothballed state, it remained controversial as Superior Court Chief Judge Carl Brown got in hot water with the Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission over his attempts to save the building and have it continue to be used as a Juvenile Court Facility.
The building did spur interest in nationwide film community circles as a malleable movie set and was used by several production companies for that purpose. Scenes from “The Suicide Squad,” which was released this year in the old jail in 2019. However, interest from Hollywood was not enough to save the building.
Mark Crump, a local film producer who worked on “The Suicide Squad” among other productions that have used the old jail as a set says he is sad to see what he considers the facility that jumpstarted interest in Augusta as a film location face the wrecking ball.
“That jail was a great draw for numerous films. To lose it now takes one more gem out of our arsenal to attract filmmakers here and that is a loss to the film community,” Crump said.
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According to Crump, demolishing the jail makes it tougher for artisans such as set designers and technical advisors working in film production who live in Augusta as they will have to relocate elsewhere to find work.
“We employ mainly skilled workers, and they have to go to where the jobs are,” Crump said.
In 2015, Augusta voters agreed to spend $1.5 million on the demolition in that year’s special-purpose local option sales tax referendum, and this year voted in SPLOST 8 which allocates $6 million for the construction of a replacement building to house Juvenile Court.
The Augusta Commission has voted to rehab the Craig-Houghton Elementary School property nearby to house Juvenile Court and no firm decision has been made on a final use for the old jail property, according to the Clerk of Commission, Lena Bonner.
District 10 Commissioner John Clarke, who tried in vain to save the building, says that it was shortsightedness that led to the demolition of a building that even he concedes is “ugly.”
“Augusta is now demolishing what was the heart of the film industry here with no future plans for the location, it’s sad, really, that’s all I can say, It’s sad,” Clarke said.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com.
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