of Chillicothe, Ross County & South-Central Ohio
of Chillicothe, Ross County & South-Central Ohio new 8/9/06
John Fraim is a regular columnist for the Chillicothe Gazette. I bristled at a column he wrote a few months ago about the Carlisle Building, and I feel the same about his "A quick newcomer's guide to Chillicothe" column in the August 9th paper. Allow me to address those points.
Mr. Fraim has a bad attitude about the Carlisle Building. In this column he describes it as "something left over from the 1800s" as if historic architecture in Chillicothe is worthless. Quite the contrary: the downtown architecture defines the town. Imagine if it weren't there. Then the 'geography of nowhere' that fills Bridge Street would represent most of the architectural achievements of Chillicothe.
He continues, writing that the Carlisle "cannot be entered because it is about to fall down and wise visitors would do well to avoid the intersection." He mentions "the remains of the building" and writes that "the present refusal of anyone to take firm action is a self-solving problem, because the building will simply fall apart. Let's hope it falls in and not out."
Frankly, I am sick of the continuous ignorance of people about the Carlisle. It is not about to fall down. It is nowhere close to falling down. People who don't know anything about the structural engineering of historical buildings and who have not read the reports on it written by structural engineers should not tout their ignorance in such a way.
And in defense of the owners of the Carlisle Building, KG&R, they have sucessfully renovated and restored several buildings of similar age, size, and and construction as the Carlsile - and some in far worse condition - and they have never had so many problems with a community as they have had with Chillicothe. Perhaps if locals would stop badmouthing the project, dismissing the building, and refusing to support the effort, something positive might happen.
Furthermore, I will state that anyone who thinks the building is unsafe and dangerous doesn't know what they are talking about, and anyone who thinks it is not worth heroic efforts to save it is a fool. The Carlisle is a keystone of the downtown, and its loss would be a horrible blow to the culture of the historic town. But then again, what can be expected of a community that can't even save two little wooden houses on West Second Street from being neglected for decades and then demolished in a 'midnight raid'? The absurdity of a downtown this rich and a willpower and so weak to conserve it is astounding, and is something I've been trying to figure out for years.
Mr. Fraim's comments are in painful opposition to what he wrote in his July 9th column:
Chillicothe...has become a regional city of many delights. The town and area surrounding it is a history buff's delight, with a compelling story that starts thousands of years ago.
Mr. Fraim does do a service to his readers by explaining some local place names in his August 9th column, which I will augment. You can read about them in Heritage News' August "Appreciation Briefs."