Something you don't see every day!
Posted: June 5th, 2012, 5:32 pm
I am doing some work in a small town in South Carolina and the City Hall is a very old building with a lot of history. At one point in this 3.5 story red brick building's history it housed an opera house, the police department, and many other City functions.
After my work was over for the day I decided to explore a little in this building. I walked up the long narrow steps to the 3rd floor which was the Opera hall that burned at one point but was never renovated. It's an unfinished red brick room with massive timber rafters and a bell tower. The ceiling was peaked and I would estimate about 30 feet tall. The great room is mostly used for storage but as I surveyed the space a large structure in the corner caught my eye...what in the world is that......I asked.
Surely it cannot be.....
but as I walk closer, sure enough...there in the 3rd floor of a historic building with wooden floors and red brick walls, is a relatively OLD indoor bullet trap!
Further examination revealed it was pretty dang well-used. The (TINY) sand-filled tray at the bottom is LITTERED with lead!
Here are a couple examples.
It became evident from examining the BRICK WALL behind the shooting lane that not every marksman that used this range was a skilled shooter.
This picture doesn't do the wall justice. The wall is covered in bullet pock-marks. The highest one was at least 2 feet higher than I could reach - I would estimate 10 feet off the floor. Some people missed, and missed BADLY.
Can you imagine strolling around downtown Whereverville, SC in the 1950's and hearing the pop-pop-pop of .38s from the 3rd floor of the City Hall building?!
Amazing bit of history that I felt fortunate to stumble into. I thought you all would appreciate it.
After my work was over for the day I decided to explore a little in this building. I walked up the long narrow steps to the 3rd floor which was the Opera hall that burned at one point but was never renovated. It's an unfinished red brick room with massive timber rafters and a bell tower. The ceiling was peaked and I would estimate about 30 feet tall. The great room is mostly used for storage but as I surveyed the space a large structure in the corner caught my eye...what in the world is that......I asked.
Surely it cannot be.....
but as I walk closer, sure enough...there in the 3rd floor of a historic building with wooden floors and red brick walls, is a relatively OLD indoor bullet trap!
Further examination revealed it was pretty dang well-used. The (TINY) sand-filled tray at the bottom is LITTERED with lead!
Here are a couple examples.
It became evident from examining the BRICK WALL behind the shooting lane that not every marksman that used this range was a skilled shooter.
This picture doesn't do the wall justice. The wall is covered in bullet pock-marks. The highest one was at least 2 feet higher than I could reach - I would estimate 10 feet off the floor. Some people missed, and missed BADLY.
Can you imagine strolling around downtown Whereverville, SC in the 1950's and hearing the pop-pop-pop of .38s from the 3rd floor of the City Hall building?!
Amazing bit of history that I felt fortunate to stumble into. I thought you all would appreciate it.
This is probably an EPA violation and I dont want any feds finding out.