of Chillicothe, Ross County & South-Central Ohio
of Chillicothe, Ross County & South-Central Ohio DRAFT July 2005
Religious organizations are sacred and traditional institutions, and as such, are very important parts of society. Among their many roles, a minor one is that they contribute to the vitality of their environment, whether it be a crossroads or bustling downtown metropolis. I know full well their importance, being a historian and a churchgoer.
But like all other organization in an urban setting, they can also be destructive.
This is an introduction to a webpage which is a summary of losses of buildings in the Chillicothe downtown and adjacent old neighborhoods because of demolitions by church organizations.
The following list of demolitions by churches should not be seen as evidence that the next church should be allowed to do just what the previous church and the churches before it were allowed to do - but rather, that the system set up 30 years ago to moderate change in the downtown is not being operated properly.
To see how it should be operated, all it takes is a look at city ordinance 1197 (forming the Design Review Board): "The purpose...is to maintain and enhance the distinctive character of the Preservation District." Is the city doing that?
Or, recall what Darrin Wasniewski told the Design Review Board 17 months ago from his experience in German Village: "Things inproved when the local preservation commission began strictly following the law," as reported in the Gazette February 12th, 2004.
The Design Review Board is supposed to encourage creative solutions, not destructive eliminations. It's supposed to do the job that preservationists are doing - informing, educating, encouraging conservation and long-range plans (see city ordinance 1197.08), instead of short-term actions. With everything that is changing in today's Chillicothe, in the historic downtown and neighborhoods we need more stability like restoration and adaptive reuse - not less, like demolitions.
The Design Review Board is supposed to encourage economic stability and development indirectly by encoraging and - yes, enforcing - preservation. ...Not by allowing owners to alter and destroy their buildings because that's all they can afford or because they have good intentions, as is one habit. (If least-budget maintenance and good intentions worked consistently, Detroit would have a beautiful downtown. You may know how terrible it is, and I'm certain you know what economic and cultural state it is in.)
One indication of whether a culture is in growth or decline is whether there is a net gain or loss of its artifacts and their quality. If a building is lost, does another that is better take its place? There or elsewhere? Or is it lost forever and replaced with an asphalt desert, a wasteland for metal carriages to occupy for only a brief time?
Buildings are removed for many reasons - but no matter why, they are lost forever. No replacement or reconstruction will ever be the same, and though one may be accurate, it is expensive to recreate the traditional elements and use traditional methods.
Chillicothe has lost much of its unique and irreplacable downtown, and parts of its older neighborhoods. There is still plenty left, but the scales are tilting. How much is left? Enough to sacrifice for unplanned empty lots? Or do they cry out to revitalize them for intimate, characterful streetscapes?
Traditional downtowns and neighborhoods are different from our modern equivalents. The older ones have a greater density, more intimacy, and smaller scale. They are human-scaled. Contrasting example such as modern shopping malls and suburbia are automobile-shaped and car-scaled.
A healthy commercial area is necessarily vibrant, busy, and somewhat chaotic - withness Bridge Street. When commercial areas decline, they must be managed differently to re-shape their services to find a new clientele - or else they will be reshaped for new uses, such as parking lots and other redevelopments, usually involving demolition.
A historic downtown such as Chillicothe's is far too valuable to sacrifice to demolition just because it has declined with the rise of Bridge Street. That is why the city enacted laws setting up a "Design Review Board" and a regulatory system in 1974.
Parking is a modern necessity. But how much is enough? No matter how much more parking is supplied, there always seems to be a demand for more. Hopefully, it is because the downtown economy and activities are growing. But with the declining number of downtown Chillicothe buildings housing businesses, residents, and institutions, how can parking needs always be increasing?
Or - is it not need...but something else?
Continue to the list webpage...
(And an additional comment - Why are Chillicothe downtown churches in the habit of expecting a demolition permit for a parking lot while barely mentioning plans to replace part of the lot with a church social hall - witness Calvary Lutheran's action, Walnut Street's plans, First Baptist's stated plans. If we knew that there will be more than just a hole in the streetscape, there would be less resistance to their short-term plans, and thus less for long-term plans.)
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Zimeroy F. Downs House on a Sunday midday, February 20th 2005. |
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