Editor, Gazette-Journal:

The Gloucester Volunteer Fire Department is moving forward with plans to tear down the Booker Buildings on Main Street (the former Calvin Hotel, Tri-County Furniture Store, and the Booker House) and replace them with a massive new fire station. This action will do irreparable harm to the historic character of Main Street by removing three prominent historic buildings that have stood since the 1930s and 1940s.

The location and scale of this project is both misguided and inappropriate for this space, as the current fire station is only two blocks away, and the new facility will not resolve the safety/accessibility issues inherent in their current site. The replacement of landmark buildings with large industrial buildings and parking lots is not in line with the preservation and beautification efforts on Main Street that have taken place over the last couple of decades and led to tremendous economic benefits. Countless individuals, business owners, non-prof...