RIP Little Gatehouse

Kim Edwards took this photo just moments after the gatehouse slid into the water.

The Pine Lake Gatehouse became history at 4:45 on March 2. Kim Edwards had just started her trail run at Pine Lake when she heard a loud noise that sounded like a car accident. It was the gatehouse sliding into the water. It sank fast. The above photo shows the water surfacing still churning just moments after the building sank. Notice how the concrete base has tilted.

Pine Lake gatehouse in 2017

This gatehouse has been an eyesore for years, but there was no easy way to access it. The building housed a valve that at one time could be turned to release water from the reservoir, but the valve has not been operable since at least the 1980s.

The gatehouse in 2013, note missing concrete at waterline

The building itself was the least of the problems. The concrete base had spaulded away terribly at the water line. You could see daylight all the way from one side to the other. Very little was holding it up. In order to repair the concrete, the reservoir would need to be partly drained, but since the reservoir valve was stuck shut, that wasn't an option.

Most of the concrete at the water line was gone

It's likely that the concrete finally gave way and the building immediately slid off. RIP, little gatehouse.

The new landscape