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-profit groups, and Gloucester County have spent their time and money to improve historic buildings, sidewalks, and plantings to make this community a desirable place to dine, shop, walk and enjoy. To jeopardize this progress by removing some of the most prominent historic buildings is unthinkable. To lose the potential that these irreplaceable historic resources hold is truly regrettable.

We and others continue to encourage the fire department to consider alternatives to tearing down these structures, including renovating their existing facility or relocating to a more desirable location that does not have all the construction and access limitations of Main Street. If building a facility on the Booker site is ultimately the best decision, they should at least incorporate one or two of the Booker buildings into their plans, not wipe them out entirely. We do not question the need for fire and rescue services, but we do question where those services are located and how they will best serve the community.

We feel the best solution is for the fire department to facilitate the renovation of these buildings. They could be refashioned into all sorts of new purposes that bring business, activity, tourists, and tax dollars to Main Street, all while preserving their character and historic features.

They have willing partners and sources of funding within the community of preservationists that have helped sustain and build Main Street into the success story it is today. There could be new shops, offices, a hotel, bakeries, apartments, and other useful businesses that our community needs in order to be sustainable and economically successful. We urge the fire department to reconsider their plans and find a solution that supports the needs of our citizens while also preserving the character of Main Street.

Thane Harpole and Dave Brown
Co-Directors, Fairfield Foundation
Gloucester, Va.