Of course, there's another side to it.
Around here the buildings that really should have been preserved were
demolished in the 50s & 60s. The only significant building that has been
demolished recently was only significant because it was such a
horrendously BUTT UGLY eye-sore!
They did rescue a neighborhood of beautiful Victorian Gingerbread houses
and there's a "historic district" to protect them and the plantation
house of the father-in-law of the guy who sold the state of North
Carolina the land for the original plan of Raleigh. They moved a log
kitchen building where Andrew Johnson was born to the site & have
rescued some other tiny historic buildings.
The downside is that my house is on the fringe of the Historic District
and every few years I have to have an argument with some asshole who
doesn't like the "non-conforming modifications" that were made to the
house 20 years before anyone even thought of having a historic
preservation district(about 10 - 15 years before I bought it).
From: "knarftheriault
I agree. In this town we are fast losing our older.buildings (many of
which have so much character) to the wrecking ball so ugly fifty
floor condos can go up.
These new buildings are so cheaply built that a local study estimates
that the average life expectancy for these atrocities is 25-40 years.
That means some condo owners will have their building fall down
before they're done paying their mortgage.
One building has been shedding its plate glass windows during
windstorms causing the closure of a major downtown street and a
multi-million dollar refit. Luckily no pedestrians or passing
motorists were injured by the falling glass.
But I digress; this is about historic designations.
I'm in favour but the counterpoint is that once your building is so
designated its value plummets. One is restricted in what renovations
are permitted and because any renovations must be in keeping with the
original architecture/design permitted renos are very expensive.
Unfortunately these buildings end up being white elephants. Everyone
loves them, no one wants to buy them.
Cheers, frank
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