Posted by Gerry Wilkinson on January 02, 1998 at 14:18:17:
In Reply to: Re: Thomas Hall destruction posted by Jerry Klein on January 02, 1998 at 12:53:42:
:
: : I read with amazement the article about Temple's proposal to tear down both the Baptist
Temple and Thomas Hall.
: Someone should send the proponents of this to Europe, where there are many buildings older than our entire country!
JK is 100% correct. In Europe, buildings don't get torn down because they turn 100. In many places that would be a fairly new building. During one of my visits to Rome, I was out seeing the sights. One building that comes to mind was an old theater that was almost 2,000 years ago. The structure was not destroyed. It was preserved and now is a modernized apartment building complete with air conditioning. I was told by the person I was visiting that those apartments are considered to be "prime" space and highly sought after.
How wasteful this country is when we often tear down a building just because it doesn't fit into today's plans. In Upper Darby, there was a Pizza Hut that was built when my 12 year-old daughter was born. It was torn down and replaced by a Boston Chicken. There was nothing wrong with the previous building other than it didn't fit into Boston Chicken's idea of what their building should be. How wasteful!
Thomas Hall is a beautiful building.
Current students at Temple, like my 19 year-old daughter, Maya do not necessarily think that
tearing down old buildings make for a better campus, a better education or a better way of life. It
is just an university administration that has lost touch with what is going on. Let's spend some
money. Then, we'll spend some more. If we run out of funds, just raise tuition. It was like that
at WHYY, Channel 12 when I worked there. Unlike most managers, my departments lived within
their budgets. It was quite commonplace for managers to run way over budget. Next year, they
just got a bigger budget and they shook the tin cup a little harder and a lot longer. Temple has
run amuck building structures that may not be needed nor wanted. Remember, Paley Library
when it was being built...it was supposed to be a fantastic place. My undergraduate daughter is
not even permitted to even check out books. Things need a-changing at TU.