Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Three Coins in a Fountain
Preservation New Jersey released a list of Ten Most Endangered Historic Sites. I urge everyone to visit the website. Must have been difficult to narrow the list to ten. The list includes - as one endangered site - three public funds to preserve historic sites.
Given the current economic situation & the towns where the sites are located, two of the sites - Robbinsville Industrial Track & Plainfield's Lampkin House - are probably hopeless causes, & two more almost so. Another, First Presbyterian Church of Ewing, hobbles a congregation by making a historic building an all-consuming focus. The church community knows they have other work they are commanded to do, & now all their efforts & fund-raising have to be devoted to propping up a slate roof. The charms of nearby Liberty Hall in Union are not promoted widely enough, & if the Foundation reached out to surrounding neighborhoods it would discover a strong, untapped vein of local opposition to development of open space. I can hear the Liberty Hall Carillion from here; it plays "Three Coins In A Fountain." As for the Charms Building in Asbury Park, preservationists have lost too many battles in that city to have good expectations.
***
Have to find an optometrist/optician tomorrow. My glasses fell on the bathroom floor & snapped. Lightweight frames, a few years old,. they had reached a fragile stage. Got them crazy-glued but it won't last. Couldn't locate my previous pair, found an older pair - thick, large, yellowing plastic frame, ten years old, the lense strength not much different but silly looking things. Glad I at least have some backup. There's a much older pair in the drawer, smaller dark, indestructible frames that actually look pretty cool but must be from 20 years ago, useless lenses.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
Given the current economic situation & the towns where the sites are located, two of the sites - Robbinsville Industrial Track & Plainfield's Lampkin House - are probably hopeless causes, & two more almost so. Another, First Presbyterian Church of Ewing, hobbles a congregation by making a historic building an all-consuming focus. The church community knows they have other work they are commanded to do, & now all their efforts & fund-raising have to be devoted to propping up a slate roof. The charms of nearby Liberty Hall in Union are not promoted widely enough, & if the Foundation reached out to surrounding neighborhoods it would discover a strong, untapped vein of local opposition to development of open space. I can hear the Liberty Hall Carillion from here; it plays "Three Coins In A Fountain." As for the Charms Building in Asbury Park, preservationists have lost too many battles in that city to have good expectations.
***
Have to find an optometrist/optician tomorrow. My glasses fell on the bathroom floor & snapped. Lightweight frames, a few years old,. they had reached a fragile stage. Got them crazy-glued but it won't last. Couldn't locate my previous pair, found an older pair - thick, large, yellowing plastic frame, ten years old, the lense strength not much different but silly looking things. Glad I at least have some backup. There's a much older pair in the drawer, smaller dark, indestructible frames that actually look pretty cool but must be from 20 years ago, useless lenses.
Labels: Asbury Park, New Jersey
