Editorial: The limits of preservation

Published 12:00 am Friday, October 10, 2008

It’s not unusual for the fate of an aged structure to be up for debate when Historic Salisbury Foundation’s OctoberTour rolls around ó or at any time. The renovation of an old building always involves a cost-benefit analysis. Fortunately, many people in this area realize that preservation’s greatest benefits may be intangible, so they are willing to take on considerable costs.
The results are all around us, and not just in the West Square Historic District. Consider, for example, the Alexander Long House near Spencer, Organ Lutheran Church near Rockwell, the Old Stone House near Granite Quarry, the Landis Depot, the China Grove Roller Mill and Third Creek Presbyterian Church.
Will the South Fulton Street home of the late Sidney and Suzanne Blackmer join the list of carefully preserved structures? You wouldn’t think it possible, considering that the shell has sat unused and deteriorating since a 1984 fire. The visitors who have come to town for OctoberTour this weekend to see restored homes must wonder how a house was allowed to languish so in a community with a reputation for preservation.
Ownership is the issue, not a lack of community interest. The Blackmer heirs have turned down past offers for the house, and Jonathan Blackmer has applied for a demolition permit that can be executed next October. But there’s hope for the house yet. The threat of demolition may shake loose a more generous offer from someone willing to save the house and set aside part of the house as a museum to the Blackmers’ theatrical careers, as has been stipulated. The house is in much worse shape than most structures that get saved ó neglect is one thing, fire quite another. But the only limits on a building’s preservation are the vision and resources of the owner. The cost would be great ó easily the $400,000 Jonathan Blacker has stated. But the benefits ó the history saved ó would reach all the way back to 1821 and John Fulton, the man for whom the street was named, and the girls who boarded there to attend the first Salisbury Academy. With all due respect to the Blackmers, that is a key part of the house’s story.
Before the first “save the house” plea was heard, commenters on the Post’s Web site derisively referred to local preservationists as “hysterics” and advocated tearing down the Blackmer house. Had those people owned the houses along Fulton and Ellis streets in the 1970s, Salisbury probably would have no West Square Historic District, nor any of the districts that followed. Rowan County would not have its rich store of old farmhouses and distinguished church structures. Most remnants of the county’s early history would be lost. Tearing down a structure is easier and less expensive than preserving it; of that there can be no doubt.
Sometimes preservationists have to withstand storms of such criticism. Yet they persevere. Those who tour the homes on this year’s OctoberTour should appreciate more than the graceful architecture and charming patina of Salisbury’s old homes. They should also take into account the dedication it takes to save such structures, one by one. Few cases are as challenging as the Blackmer house, but none is easy.