Snapshot in time vs. repurposing for the future

Comments

[Ron Newman]

Boston has a repurposed prison building too: the Charles Street Jail became the Liberty Hotel.

I do not at all like the idea of any kind of police headquarters in a former SS building. That's just creepy, and suggests a continuity between the previous occupants and the current ones.

[Cam Beck]

It's an interesting dilemma.

When you earmark land and landmarks for historical reflection, you prohibit anyone from using it in what may be a much greater productive capacity.

On the other hand, there are certain things you don't want future generations to forget - or deny. In these cases, the cost of not having them may well exceed the cost of having them.

Unfortunately, while we may fairly accurately predict the material consequences of replacing a tourist attraction with an office building, it's much more difficult to predict the human consequences of replacing physical historical records of where great atrocities were committed with something that generates (even significantly) more revenue.

I don't have any rules for making such judgments, but that's probably why deciding what to do with historical landmarks, in this or any other country, is such a laborious process.

[Stephanie]

OMG Slava hahahaha.

Hope to see you both Sat night @ Chris' thing...and look forward to hearing your stories!