April 20, 2015
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down

Parts of the old Don Harvey Ford building, where the shiny used cars used to sit, ready for eager buyers, came tumbling down the other day.  And as I drove by and saw the destruction, as always my mind wandered back to, well, days gone by.

It is hard for me to witness the tearing down of a building of any sort.  Maybe it's because I appreciate the process that goes into building such a structure, board by board, nailed together with lots of willpower.  Yet it only takes a heartbeat to destroy something like that.

Progress, I know.  The old shall fall to make way for the new (and improved).  Who coined that saying I wonder.  And who decreed that the new is always better and improved.  Sometimes we fail to learn from the past.

I'm not saying that whatever will be put into the spot of Don's old used car lot will not be worthy.  I guess it's just all about change.  But that doesn't stop us from remembering what was. And sometimes, where architecture is concerned, that's all we have: memories.

I've been perusing a book written by Minnesota author Larry Millett called,Once There Were Castles, a wonderful, informative, illustrative book describing many of the incredible homes that once graced the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.  The author not only presents informative facts about the architectural details of these beauties, but he tells about the people who built them. And lived within their walls.

Sadly many, no most, of those buildings were razed many years ago.  Some only lived for a scant few years before yielding to greater architectural structures in their place.  Others fought and lost the battle of urban sprawl. Surrounded by rising sky scraping structures, the homes eventually gave way to the shadows and were reduced to rubble in a pile of disgrace.

Those are the thoughts I have as I see a structure - any sort, torn to pieces.  Yes, call me romantic, call me sentimental call me a fool.  But yet I refuse to let something go without a struggle, whether it be physical or emotional.  It's just how I am.  And maybe the world should have a few more of us around to remember things as they were, just as the world around us tumbles to rubble.