In 1967, Roy Lewis moved to Mobile, Ala., to begin his career in the construction business. Fresh out of college with a degree in building sciences, he began working on-site at the USA Medical Center campus, then Mobile General Hospital.This year, Lewis � now the owner of Roy Lewis Construction Corporation � oversaw a major part of the expansion of the clinic space in the Mastin Building � the building he worked on when it was originally constructed nearly 50 years ago.
�Coming back to work on the Mastin Building addition brought back a lot of memories of things that would happen on the job � especially the jokes and pranks that the workmen would pull on one another,� Lewis said. �It was a lot more fun to work in construction back then.�
Lewis was born in Daphne, Ala., in the house his dad built. �He put my footprints in the fresh concrete on the rear steps,� Lewis recalled. His dad, a professional electrician and �jack of all trades,� finished that house a little bit at a time. Growing up, Roy always enjoyed building and said �it must�ve run in the family.� As a kid he constructed forts and tree houses; he was especially proud of a tree house he built in a chinaberry tree in the backyard.
But construction wasn�t always at the forefront of Lewis� mind. Lewis, who had dreamt of flying since he was six years old, originally attended Auburn University to pursue a degree in aerospace engineering. He wanted to become a pilot in the military and hopefully get into the space program. His junior year, though, he flunked his physical because of a heart murmur, and he dropped out of school. It wasn�t until he began working for an architect as a draftsman that he became interested in building for a living. �I went back to Auburn, changed my curriculum, and here I am,� he said.
After graduating from Auburn University, Lewis briefly served as project manager for the Saturn rocket test platform in Huntsville, Ala. �At that time it was the only offer I got coming out of school,� he said. �Construction jobs were very limited.� Soon after � at the age of 23 � he moved to Mobile and started work completing a surgery suite at USA Medical Center.
�We finished out the interior of a surgery suite on the West side of the hospital while the Mastin Building structure was being put into place,� he said. Toward the end of the Mastin Building project, Lewis was brought in as project engineer. He was responsible for coordinating the installation of cabinets and wardrobes � �getting materials to the job.�
According to Lewis, the Mastin Building was originally built as nursing dormitories. �At the time, I was hoping to catch me a girl in nursing school,� he laughed, �but that never materialized."
Although the Mastin Building looks �pretty much the same� as it did then, Lewis said the area around it has changed tremendously. �It was sitting back in the woods, and Three Mile Creek wasn�t developed,� he said. �There was a good bit of area in the hospital that wasn�t built yet, either.�
The Mastin Building was originally built with a swimming pool on its West side to accommodate the students who lived there. �When we were putting on the addition this year, we uncovered a corner of that swimming pool and had to reposition the placement of the rear entry stoop,� Lewis said. �It�s much easier and much more cost-effective to reposition than to get rid of the swimming pool.�
Lewis and his crew � who were contracted to lay the structural foundation and the structural steel of the addition � have finished their portion of the job, which is now entering its final stage of completion.
The 2,000 square foot addition is expected to be move-in ready in October. The new space will provide 10 extra exam rooms, a physicians� work room, patient restrooms and a staff break room.
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