THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 18, 1996 TAG: 9602160205
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
SOURCE: John Pruitt
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
Every time Bill Beamon scores a victory in his quest to save his East Washington Street business from the city's wreckers, I cheer.
Every time I pass by his structure and neighboring others targeted for destruction to make way for parking spaces serving Suffolk's new courthouse complex, I grieve.
Every time I consider that Mr. Beamon is essentially alone in this fight to keep at least his architecturally interesting building standing, I fume that more of us don't care enough even to be interested, much less involved.
It's just one disgruntled businessman trying to hold up a multimillion-dollar project, we seem content to believe; why doesn't he just step aside for the common good?
Who says it's in the best interest of Suffolk to have such structures removed from the cityscape? Only the small clutch of city officials involved in the project. Nobody else was even asked.
That's bad enough. But worse, I think, is that so few people have bothered to let officialdom know that the structures matter.
You know why? The buildings are in the wrong place. They're on East Washington Street, and that's just not an address prominent in the thinking of Suffolk pre-servationists.
It's a pity, too, because there are some very interesting structures in the area, which also happens to be predominantly black.
They're not on Main Street, like Riddick's Folly, which is beautifully preserved; or the former CSX train station, which a group of citizens is working so hard to restore to public use.
That's not to criticize the devoted workers behind those projects. There's a limit to what they can take on.
In this month devoted to black history, I wonder why more minority citizens haven't rallied with Mr. Beamon to preserve structures in predominantly black areas. Resignation will only bring more demolition.
For now, though, back to Mr. Beamon's court fight:
City officials close to the project are confident that, eventually, they'll prevail. Their prediction proven so, the little man once more will be bulldozed by bureaucracy.
Even if things ultimately do work out that way, Mr. Beamon will hold the comfort of having waged a good fight. He's fighting for principle, he says; he's not about to surrender his property, his taxpaying livelihood, for a parking lot - or, I suspect, anything else.
All of us can take a lesson from that. We may not like all of his tactics or all of what he says, but his convictions are strong enough to guide his actions. Not all of us can stake that claim.
Here we are talking about revitalizing downtown, and one way the city plans to do it is by knocking down interesting buildings that border what will be a huge expanse of asphalt, albeit interrupted with sporadic plantings and landscaping.
How that will enhance downtown escapes me, but I admit a fondness for old buildings over acres of bland asphalt.
Instead of space for a few extra parking spaces, why couldn't the targeted buildings be seen as shopping and dining outlets for the hundreds of people who will use the complex daily?
Instead of impediments, why couldn't they be viewed as complements?
Even after the city has bought much of the property, there's no reason the buildings can't be left standing - at least long enough to test compatibility.
Revitalization and preservation have worked together well in some other cities. Suffolk shouldn't miss out on this opportunity for a demonstration project here. MEMO: Have your say. Write to the editor, or call 934-7553.
by CNB