When is a historic district not a historic district?
When not enough people care about its survival.
Much of New Castle’s North Hill is classified as historic. Officially, that means it has a large number of older homes with a variety of interesting architecture.
And indeed, a walk or drive around these neighborhoods reveals this to be true. As we have said repeatedly in the past, New Castle’s architecture and the character of many of its older buildings is one of its greatest strengths.
But in some eyes, it also becomes one of its greatest weaknesses.
Because of a long — and continuing — population drop, New Castle has no shortage of houses. And many of them are abandoned and deteriorating. That includes houses on the North Hill.
Such structures become targets of thieves, vandals and arsonists. They may be perceived as hazards, rather than assets.
On Tuesday, the New Castle News ran an article about the Scottish Rite Cathedral Foundation’s acquisition of some properties on the lower North Hill, which are being demolished. The land will be used to expand parking for the cathedral.
Certain historic-minded residents oppose the demolition, in part because they want to protect the character of the neighborhood and worry that the demolitions may be part of a larger plan to eliminate a large swath of historic homes around the cathedral.
So who’s right, officials with the cathedral’s foundation, who say parking is an issue and the homes being demolished are eyesores? Or preservationists, who proclaim something precious in the city is being lost forever?
In a sense, they are both right.
Paul Lynch, who serves as president of the Lawrence County Historical Society, was interviewed by The News about the North Hill house demolitions. He noted that the area’s historic designation is largely meaningless if there is no way to maintain the properties within it. By allowing them to deteriorate, and hurt neighborhood property values, the owners of these homes — and the community — threaten to spread the problem like a virus.
So is simply tearing down these homes the solution? It is a solution, but not the desirable one. Instead, New Castle’s historic district ought to be something the community can embrace for its inherent value and potential for improving the quality of life throughout the city.
Neighborhoods seldom remain stagnant; they either deteriorate or improve. Repairing vacant and dilapidated homes on the North Hill will take money, presumably both public and private, in order to reverse the current trends.
But more than money, the historic district requires a commitment. It must come from property owners, the city, people who support preservation and organizations — including the historical society — that do likewise. Standing on the sidelines and complaining or making excuses is not an answer.
Making the historic district a practical reality requires planning, organization and effort. It also demands a level of cooperation among different interests.
We are not seeing much of this now. There is certainly no meaningful strategy.
Without cooperation, the historic district will not prosper and will not live up to its potential of helping to revive New Castle. That would be a tragedy.
Editorials
EDITORIAL: Historic opportunity
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Postal service’s financial woes not of their own making
It’s no secret that the U.S. Postal Service is experiencing financial troubles. One of the consequences of a deficit in the billions of dollars soon will become apparent in New Castle, when the city’s mail processing facility on Cascade Street is shut down.
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Our Opinion: UPMC, Highmark tangle for dominance. But what about the public?
Health insurance recipients in western Pennsylvania received some good news recently. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Highmark Inc., the two local behemoths of the insurance and health care industry, reached an agreement to extend their contract with each other. The 18-month extension will be good through 2014.
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Our Opinion: Annual Jack Butz Award honors community involvement
During his lifetime, Jack Butz was known as someone who donated much to the community. And even now, years after his passing, Butz continues to give. We refer to the annual Jack Butz Award, where a local citizen is recognized for his or her contributions to New Castle and the surrounding area.
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Our Opinion: Why would New Castle weaken architecture standards?
There are times when communities must decide what they want to be. For New Castle, one of those times is arriving later this month. New Castle City Council is considering changes to the municipal zoning ordinance that will have the effect of seriously weakening standards for the North Hill Historic District.
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Our Opinion: A box from 1914 says something about the past — and today
The former Elks building in downtown New Castle was demolished months ago, but one bit of business remained. And city officials addressed that last week, when a time capsule from 1914 was opened.
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Our Opinion: Awareness campaigns protect generations of children
The first step in solving a problem is recognizing that it exists. That was a major factor behind the recent Walk for Justice at Cascade Park, organized by the Crisis Shelter of Lawrence County.
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Our Opinion: Secret Service scandal symbolizes breaches of public trust
There are a couple of pieces of good news regarding the Secret Service sex scandal. The first is that an investigation has determined the women hired as prostitutes by Secret Service agents in Columbia apparently were just that.
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Our Opinion: Municipalities save money with shared services
In difficult financial times, finding ways to use tax dollars more efficiently is an essential government task. That’s why we were pleased to learn that Shenango Township and South New Castle Borough have agreed to share police services.
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Our Opinion: State politicians use campaign funds in criminal cases
If you want to wage a spirited defense against criminal charges, you need money. A good attorney, after all, isn’t cheap. But if you are an influential elected official in Pennsylvania facing trial, this problem comes with a ready solution. All you have to do is tap into your campaign funds.
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Our Opinion: Resignation in Neshannock highlights leadership issue
With Neshannock Township now seeking a new manager, we hope the supervisors have learned something from their experiences so far. That’s because their efforts to date on selecting a manager for the municipality haven’t gone very well. Ironically, the questionable practices and decision-making displayed by the supervisors demonstrate the need for sound management in the township.
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Postal service’s financial woes not of their own making
