THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 30, 1994 TAG: 9409300022
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 40 lines
Staff writer Patrick K. Lackey has maligned the beauty of a Norfolk landmark (``The jewels of Norfolk . . . and its wart'' (Sept. 23). I allude to a building that once housed an Old Norfolk firm, the Jones Cold Storage Co., founded by my grandfather, Walter H. Jones.
A wart? This grand structure with the clean, functional lines of a perfect cube when first built stood out in sharp contrast to the gingerbread structures that surrounded it. These other buildings have long since met the fate of the bulldozer while this giant has withstood the ravages of time and hurricanes.
Its exterior walls are scarred by weather and time. But there is little there that some patching and paint could not cure. How remarkable was the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel before Michelangelo went to work?
Artists would have to look far and wide to find better surface for murals. I've heard no complaints about the whales along Waterside Drive.
One wall of the warehouse could bear images of various commercial vessels that have plied the waters of Hampton Roads. A mural of famous sports figures might well face Harbor Park. Another wall could celebrate cultural diversity. The wall facing City Hall could portray former mayors of Norfolk or, perhaps, the current City Council. Would not our leading political figures enjoy looking out the east side of City Hall to view themselves in 60-foot-tall splendor?
Perhaps the City Council, with permission from the current owner of the warehouse, could commission the art departments of Norfolk State University and Old Dominion University to apply their talents to this project. The time may be ripe to form ``Save the Wart Society of Norfolk.
MAX B. JONES
Norfolk, Sept. 24, 1994 by CNB