Is this worth saving?
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| The Central Block - centerpiece of the south end of downtown Sutton dated 1887 is 128 years old as we move into 2015. |
Sutton residents are fortunate to have some of the finest historic buildings in the area which depict the once-common architecture of plains frontier towns. And many of us are proud of our downtown.
But age is creeping through the foundations, the frame and the facades of each building. Left alone each and every one of these buildings will gradually, maybe faster than that, deteriorate past the point where no amount of effort and expense will save them. Drive to Clay Center, Harvard and other surrounding towns to see our future, unless...........
Arresting the deterioration of old buildings is a formidable prospect, and expensive. The beauty and historic significance of downtown Sutton is a community asset. We cannot expect the individual owners of the pieces of our downtown to carry the full load of determining whether or not downtown Sutton will have any look similar to today's in ten, twenty or thirty years. The Central Block is 128 years old. What will the west side of the south business district look like in 2050? Or the west side of the north end? Or the Bender Building? Unless.....
A few years ago there was a small group which made noises and some actual action to address the question of preserving downtown Sutton. The time was not ripe, or the effort was not there, or the hurdles were just too high. All that's changes since that time is that the situation has worsened. That will continue, unless.....
Unless what? Unless some sufficiently large group of Sutton residents and organizations decide that preserving downtown is a worthwhile objective and put some collection of smart heads together to figure out how, it soon won't matter.
The first question really is, "Is it worth it to save downtown Sutton's historic appearance?" And "No" really is a legitimate answer to the question. In fact, that is the implicit answer currently being "voiced." Is it not? Is that a consensus?
If not, let's do something.
Sutton's Sesquicentennial approaches - 150 years since the beginning of our town. We have choices about which specific event to measure 150 years from but current planning is for the year 2021, 150 years since the community of the banks of School Creek went from one homesteader to a hundreds of people, a railroad and dozens of businesses between April and the end of the year.
Wouldn't it be a great 150th Birthday Party for Sutton and Suttonites to celebrate the 150 year history of the community AND the prospect that the distinctive appearance of downtown Sutton will be here to enjoy for another generation or two or.........?
This comment has been inspired by a small cadre that is ready to stir the pot on this question. Stand by to be stirred.....
Jerry Johnson
402-773-0222 or better yet, comment below...
1 comment:
Hi Jerry, I recently was at a meeting with merchants on South end of town that were affected by the most recent tornado. We are talking about buildings built in 1891 , that could very much disappear, and along with it half of your downtown historical area, I can see we’re some buildings are missing, when this buildings disappear so dose the history , of how the town came to be and who put there hard work into making the town , The heart of Sutton Still beats, the merchants, that are trying to keep it going , are facing a critical, decision . I heard expressions, that made me hear that pioneer spirit , the voice of those that came here and were determined , to build this town for future generations. It rests on , the 4 names on the Central Block Building and all those , that keep the heart beat going. Please help , to keep Sutton alive. I’m ahistorical preservationist , and am willing help to “ Restore History One Board At A Time “ Frank Loyd Wright said “ If you build , and it doesn’t effect the landscape, you have build it right “ these historical towns were built right , they tell the story about this country and those that built it.
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