One crew of bright orange T-shirts and another of white jumpsuits swarmed the American Legion Paul E. Bolding Post 7’s property off Riverside Drive on Tuesday.

The veterans organization’s headquarters building underwent a one-day blitz of renovations, interior and exterior, by a crew of Home Depot volunteers.

And prisoners from the Hall County Correctional Institution, under watchful supervision, were laying the groundwork for improvements to the century-old Chattahoochee Park Pavilion.

Post Commander Dave Dellinger was beaming as he watched the flurry of activity. Such projects simply don’t fit into the post’s budget.

“We couldn’t do it — no, not at all,” he said. “We sometimes have trouble paying the bills.”

But, as commander, Dellinger said he recognized early on that the post needed to make some long-overdue repairs, especially at its main hall, which was built in 1982. “I took the job for one reason — to get some stuff done,” he said.

The post pursued a grant through Home Depot for more than a year, with Dellinger learning just a month ago that the post would receive $6,800. The legion’s women’s auxiliary was able to contribute another $2,000, Dellinger said.

A crew showed up in force and wasted no time on tasks in and around the main hall. Jobs included putting down new flooring, laying new drainage lines, putting down new landscaping and restoring a monument bearing a faded plaque with the names of World War I veterans.

Such projects are commonplace for Home Depot, with workers showing up from stores throughout Northeast Georgia for the work, store officials said.

“This was a huge opportunity for us to give back to the community and that’s what we like to do,” said Reece Gilmer, manager of the home-improvement chain’s store on Dawsonville Highway in Gainesville.

In July, Gainesville City Council voted to spend $25,000 for building materials to restore the pavilion, which was originally part of an amusement park, Chattahoochee Park, built on the banks of what was then Lake Warner. In return, the post agreed to allow the city to use the building to promote tourism and to conduct public safety training exercises for a 10-year period.

“We’re getting the job set up,” said Wayne Skinner, construction supervisor with the Georgia Department of Corrections. “We’re in our demolition process right now, and we’re ordering materials.”

A crew of up to 12 prisoners at a time will be working on the project, which could take three or four months to complete.

“I don’t know that we’re going to meet that (time frame),” Skinner said. “With all this old stuff, we’re not sure what we’re going to run into.”

At one time, the pavilion, which overlooks Lake Lanier, was a popular showplace. Georgia Power bought Chattahoochee Park in 1923 and operated it as an employee retreat until 1955.

The American Legion acquired the property in April 1959, occasionally leasing the pavilion for picnics and weddings.

The nonprofit Atlanta-based Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation named the structure to its 2012 list of 10 Georgia “Places in Peril.”

“The pavilion has a large amount of rotting timbers that are in need of repair and replacing,” states the Georgia Trust website in its report on the property.

Dellinger said he’s been told that when renovations are finished, the pavilion “will be good for another 100 years.”

When the work is done, he plans on inviting dignitaries — including Gov. Nathan Deal, an American Legion member — and area veterans, and celebrate the opening over grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. By restoring the pavilion to its former glory, the post envisions drawing crowds anew to the lakeside attraction.

“We’re hoping to rent it out for weddings and other (events),” he said.