Most the older homes in Athens originally had slate roofs, some still do. Around the 1960s it was hard to find people with the skills to repair a slate roof, so many people had their slate roofs torn out and put on asphalt shingles as a replacment. This was very short-sighted -- replacing something that would last hundreds of years with proper maintenance with something that would last 20+ years. Fortunately, now I see homes that still have slate roofs being repaired rather than replaced. So, we are making some progress,

As an aside, if the OHIO Board of Trustees was in charge of D.C., they'd be tearing down the Jefferson and George Mason memorials because they are not in pedestrian flow along the national mall.

And were you in charge, nothing would ever be built because you'd insist that a Civil War Soldier once walked across a patch of land that would otherwise be affordable housing.

Look at this building: https://www.filepicker.io/api/file/TfpLFq48RXKqHOoNGFtK

It's not been compared in this thread to the Jefferson Memorial and the Colosseum.

It's a red brick rectangle with a nice enough courtyard. As I said, I understand the argument that repurposing could be a smarter financial decision. But the idea that Scott Quad's somehow central to the character of Ohio University and it's malpractice by the Administration to replace it just feels like a bunch of folks mistaking nostalgia for history.

I doubt my mind will be boggled.

I'd love it if the Berry was still there. That's what gives a place like Athens character. Is Chipotle still at the Varsity Theater location? Kind of sad, but at least they didn't knock it down.

Broadly speaking, I think this is a bad thing and has had a negative impact on American dynamism. NIMBYism is one of the core reasons why building in the US is much harder than in other Western Countries, and neighborhood associations, home owner associations, environmental groups, have far too much influence over what gets built.

I can see that here, as on so many other topics, the underlying axioms upon which your reasoning is based are polar opposites of my own. But, to the case in point, given the very historic nature of the Berry Hotel the university could have made efforts to have an historic preservation group purchase it. They could have gotten creative. The options were not limited to keep ownership of it, or tear it down.

I know a little about the mindset of the administration at that time, and they had no historic sense at all. About a decade before the Berry was torn down, an upper-level university administrator (whose name shall be withheld here to protect the guilty) had his office moved to McGuffey Hall. In a closet in that office were a bunch of boxes -- stacked to the ceiling -- containing the transcripts of Ohio University students for much of 19th Century. Said administrator took a look at them, and said, "All of these students are probably dead, so these are of no use." He then had them pitched in the trash. They are now under a mound somewhere in the Athens garbage dump. As a result the university now has no transcripts of students for most of the 19th Century, including future governors, cabinet secretaries, an editor of the NYT, etc. They have been able to reconstruct some information because the archives does have some old grade books, but much valuable information is now lost. This administrator was still on the job at the time the Berry Hotel was torn down.

For the record, in this case, the university technically didn't tear down the Berry Hotel. They sold it to the city and let the city do the dirty work. But, they sold it to the city knowing the city planned to tear it down and put up a parking lot. I'm sure this reminds my buddy giacomo of a song!

NIMBY implies people in the area where the project is located, were opposed to it.

As I posted, that wasn't the case with the Urban Renewal Projects I designed.

The people in the project areas just wanted to be sure that certain structures preserved, even if they had to be moved.

So are you saying that people who live in the area, where an Urban Renewal project is proposed, shouldn't have a say in the project ?

And trust me, people living in area where the Urban Renewal project is located, will make sure all conditions are met.

The Urban Renewal projects I design are pretty much all "mixed use" (retail and residential)

In NJ any residential project must set aside a % of the units for "low income" and "moderate income" .

I really don't think its possible, for a number of reasons, to try to put wind turbines in a urban area.

As far as Public Transit Infrastructure, NJ has that pretty well covered with
bus and rail.

Since, as I said, the Urban Renewal projects I design a are a few blocks in one
municipality, the Public Transit is there.

Great idea.

Incorporate preservation with practicality.

No wonder O.U. didn't do it. :-)

They paved paradise
Put up a parking lot

Joni Mitchell

Would that memorabilia be served better an alumni center and have that as a starting point for conducting student tours of the university? Its important to have the right space for everything. A museum for the Convo inside a basketball practice facility could capture cultural history because it would include the big concert moments along with the sports moments as done in Madison Square Garden.