Thanks, PrudentPreservation, for seeing the forest for the trees. Did anyone realize that this year is the 100th anniversary of the opening of this circa 1910 City Hall Building? Many communities would celebrate such an anniversary. This event will obviously pass without fanfare here in Independence. I ran across the above post card image back in the day when citizens were pretty proud of their public buildings. It certainly doesn’t look like that anymore, but it still has the potential to be a community asset. The condition of this property is more a community problem that a county government problem. If citizens do not care about historic buildings, then that apathy will be reflected in the government officials we elect and in the directions governments take. And these buildings become difficult to sell for private redevelopment since they are not eligible for State & Federal Historic Preservation Tax Credits or many grant programs (since they are not in a historic district). Will this property become yet another poorly maintained parking lot that is only used during a 4-day festival? Is anyone picking up on the reoccurring themes of these blog posts?
No comments:
Post a Comment