Sep 11, 2014 4 min read

The city of Washington’s plan to raze four buildings – two of them on Main Street – is welcome news. For too long, quite a few structures in the city’s business district were allowed to deteriorate to the point at which they pose a threat to public safety.

But the demolition plan brought to light a quandary. The city must ensure safety and attract new business and residents, but its greatest assets are its history and heritage. How can turning historic buildings into rubble and empty lots create a better atmosphere for living and working?

There was no protest at a hearing Monday over the plan to raze a building at 160 N. Main St. Its owner is in Australia and has no plans to repair the structure, which is in danger of collapsing and is a hazard to neighboring buildings and to anyone walking by it on the sidewalk. But the property at 144 S. Main St. is another story.

Tripp Kline questioned why that property is on the demolition list, and he said its ornate façade makes it “a property that is a focus of the Main Street corridor.” Kline is president of the board of directors of the David Bradford House Historical Association and is the driving force behind the Whiskey Rebellion Festival and so has a particular interest in Main Street and its historic atmosphere.

The fact is, though, the South Main Street building, last occupied by Washington Bar & Restaurant Supply, is in nearly as bad a condition as others on the list. The heavy ceramic tiles on its newer façade are falling off and pose a danger to pedestrians. Much of what’s wrong with the property is hidden, however. Its roof, as one neighboring property owner said, is “one snowfall away from falling into the basement.” Water pouring in from that roof destroyed all three floors of the interior.

Little wonder no one stepped forward to rescue this late-19th century edifice; the cost to do so would be outrageous.

Although the ground upon which the three-story brick structure sits is indeed historic, the building itself is not particularly so. According to the late Ray E. Knestrick, author of “Old Buildings on Main Street,” the lot was purchased in 1792 by William Meetkirke, an early settler of Washington who served a justice of the peace in 1795, as postmaster in 1797 and was “one of the men who tried to settle the Whiskey Insurrection in 1794.” He built a two-story brick building on the northeast corner of what is now Main Street and Strawberry Alley that later housed the Philadelphia Bank, Washington’s first bank.

That building ceased to exist long ago. The current building housed many businesses over the years and was once the location of Washington Meat Market.

It is indeed sad to see old buildings fall to the wrecking ball. The sentiment to preserve them might have been just as strong in the 1920s, when old log and brick properties along Main Street rich in memory were razed to make way for the George Washington Hotel, Citizens Bank and the Observer-Reporter. Nearly a century later, these buildings are rich in history themselves, reflections of the city in its heyday. They, too, will be gone someday.

We do, indeed, need to preserve our past and protect the buildings that represent it, but not by saving ruins. These buildings need to come down. Instead of waiting for buildings to deteriorate so badly that they must be demolished, the city should place much more emphasis on preventing these buildings falling into ruin in the first place. They can do this with tougher ordinances, frequent inspections and vigorous enforcement.

Let’s cut our losses and protect the assets we have left.