Editor, Gazette-Journal:

The former Calvin Hotel, Tri-County Furniture Store, and the Booker House have been prominent landmarks on Main Street since the 1930s and ’40s. We think these buildings deserve to be saved, rather than demolished to make way for a new fire station and other infrastructure.

Our primary reasons for wanting to save these buildings are threefold: 1) the buildings are historic, 2) preservation drives economic growth, and 3) there are plenty of alternatives the fire department should consider including modifying their existing station and looking at other, more suitable locations.

All three buildings are part of the Gloucester Downtown Historic District, which is listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. They contribute to our historic Main Street landscape with its broad mix of mid-18th- through mid-20th-century buildings and represent large and prominent examples of different architectural styles including the Streamline Moderne-style Calvin Hotel and the colonial revival Booker residence. The loss of these significant buildings would drastically alter our Main Street community that many families and businesses in Gloucester are trying to enhance.

Second, the opportunities for rehabbing these buildings for new purposes—from stores, hotels, and breweries, to apartments, restaurants, offices, etc.—are nearly endless and certainly preferable to their destruction. In spite of their present conditions, these are large and interesting buildings that could be rejuvenated for new functions, and they could bring much needed jobs and economic growth to Main Street.

Lastly, we feel that the fire department should strongly consider other options to fit their future needs. We are not arguing against having adequate fire and rescue services—they provide a vital service for the community. However, they could consider options to expand their current facility that would not threaten historic buildings, or they could relocate to a more suitable location elsewhere on Main Street or on Route 17 that would provide them with more space to expand, increased access to primary roadways, and would not threaten historic structures.

Preservation of historic buildings has helped our Main Street thrive, as it has done in downtown communities across the county. We hope the Gloucester Fire Department will seriously consider saving these buildings, rather than destroying them.

Thane Harpole and Dave Brown
Co-Directors

Fairfield Foundation, Gloucester, Va.