A friend of mine was involved in negotiating a future for the Evanston
station.  He was working on the project from Michigan, and so was not
directly involved in the local politics of the thing, but his impression
was that the demolition -- or rather the decision of the visitor's
center not to pursue reuse of the building -- was indeed
politically-motivated.  That's life.

HPists of today seem eager to be perceived as economic developers.
Before that, they wanted to be environmentalists, and before that
community developers (my personal favorite).  No longer a "cult of
antiquarians", thankgod, the ideology of the profession seems to
endlessly shift/diversify.  What we really need, I think, are politicians
who aren't just paying lip service to a specific HP issue that may pay off
in the next election.  But preservationists in politics.  Is this thread
back to Ken for Pres?  I've been a bad girl, and so haven't a chance.

On Thu, 1 Oct 1998, Ken Follett wrote:

> In a message dated 10/1/98 2:53:40 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [log in to unmask]
> writes:
>
> > Here's the part that bothers me the most.  "The Evanston visitor's
> >  bureau decided that it did not have the resources" to take over
> >  the building, at the news site, as a visitor's center.
> >  "'It would be something we would consider down the road, maybe in
> >  two years.'"  (quotes from Sun-Times, quoting the bureau's
> >  exec.dir.)  Two little and two late.
>
> So for two years they could not wait? Is this a reflection of the short terms
> & short term thinking of politicians? This may be taken as a snide comment but
> I am serious in asking, is the exec. dir in this case Republican or Democrat?
> I'm wondering if there is a corollary between progressive developers and
> political affiliation. If there is a predominance of Republicans that like to
> tear down old buildings then should we be considering that a downturn in
> Democrats in congress would have a negative impact on HP? Considering the
> problems the Dems are having with Clinton I'm concerned about the long-term
> impact on the preservation industry. Who in government works the most to cut
> the NPS budget for building maintenance? With the New Amsterdam Theater &
> Disney deal in NYC there was a lull, a deep bulf of press silence, in the
> switch from Cuomo (Democrat) to Pataki (Republican) for governor. I think
> there were some people with deep pockets holding their breath to see which way
> the Pataki administration would turn. I think redevelopment of 42nd Street &
> jobs won out and that consideration of HP was a minor consideration.
>
> ][<en
>

Maura Johnson, Field Services Coordinator
Ohio Historic Preservation Office
BGSU, Jerome Library, 5th Floor
Bowling Green, OH  43403
Phone:  419-372-6935   Fax:  419-372-0155