Stephanie Meeks, the the president and chief executive of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, writes in a letter in The New York Times that Detroit, gearing up to tear down tens of thousands of blighted structures, should fully consider ways to preserve its important historic buildings.
I was in Detroit recently and was struck by the economic revitalization underway in historic neighborhoods like Corktown, Midtown and the Villages. While the city’s vacant buildings are clearly a challenge, these neighborhoods demonstrate that they are also an opportunity for Detroit to reinvent its economy.
Preservationists understand that demolition must be part of the strategy for Detroit’s future, but we need to ensure that the city’s most important historic buildings are spared so they can become building blocks for the future. Surveys to determine which of the city’s buildings are eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places have already been completed, and they need to be considered before large-scale demolition begins.
