Radford Should Save Its Historic Buildings

March 26, The New River Valley Current

As citizens of Radford, we support the director of Main Street Radford, Gerri Glass, and her effort to preserve the city's oldest commercial building. Glass put her finger on the heart of the argument. While property owners do not want to be told what to do with their property, they fail to realize that we share this space, as we would share a watershed, and what one does to the "river" touches us all.

Radford is the quiet corner in the New River Valley, prosperous and livable. Through efforts from civic-minded persons like Glass, we have yet to experience the multiplex and franchise smarm so prevalent in other communities in our region. We have historic buildings that foster a sense of intimacy and closeness that's uncommon in 21st century American towns. This should make us think twice about doing away with this kind of structure.

Preservationists understand that the built environment is part of the vernacular and folkloric fabric of which they are a part, a fabric that is hard to replicate, but easily torn apart.

But more than this theater of memory, more even than aesthetic or historical reasons, there is another reason for preservation. Restored buildings have demonstrated a regenerative impact upon their environs, similar to that of healthy cells when new skin is grafted onto damaged or distressed tissue. This effect can be observed in many cities where historic restoration has occurred.

Estimates that it would cost $1 million dollars just to "stabilize" the building seem seriously inflated, as estimates for demolition are no doubt underestimated, failing to account for the loss of a historic structure.

We call on design professionals to offer more realistic figures to help save the building, and we call on the Mullinses to reconsider their proposal for demolition.

Of late, we could certainly use a good corporate partner in our community. At the very least, every effort should be made to save that facade. We have parking lots, and we have enough bricks in the landfill from the hospital. We have only one building like the old Fred's Auto Parts.

Rick and Cathy Van Noy

Radford