Dear Mayor Bouley: This letter is an urgent request to you, and the Concord City Council, to seriously consider saving the iconic Concord gasholder building.
We are not Concord residents but own rental property there, and feel obliged to speak up on behalf of this historic landmark.
Growing up in Concord in the 1950s and ’60s, I witnessed the steady demolition of Concord’s beautiful historic structures and landmarks. Even as a child, I was horrified that a monument of such handsome Victorian architecture – the Concord railway terminal – was taken down to make way for a strip mall. What was once known as the IBM Building on Bouton Street replaced a historic home called the Rumford House. That home was surrounded by beautiful lawns and gardens. So many Revolutionary War-era buildings on Main and North Main Street met the same awful fate – to provide lots where gas stations, dry cleaners, and small stores were then built.
We grew up in a 1790s house in Loudon on a land grant to my ancestors from King George of England. Our parents were the teachers of family and local history. I learned, at an early age, the appreciation and reverence for antiquity in every form, and the importance to preserve and protect the same.
Concord would be just another small, unremarkable New England town, devoid of the outward manifestations of its history and relics, if we do not stand up for, and save, all the wonderful, ancient places and structures that are so much a part of our rich heritage here.
Kudos to those who have come forth and fought to restore and refurbish much of Main Street. Obviously, there are deep pockets in the capital area, as shown by the handsome development and restoration of much of the downtown area. The gasholder building must be included in this important preservation of our past.
MARY W. PAVEGLIO
Bow