Arrington: Save the Thelma Boltin Center
Letter to the editor
Updated at 9:04 p.m. to change the date of the upcoming meeting from November 16 to December 7.
There is a familiar phrase: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
That is not why I am writing this Letter to the Editor.
But history does play an integral part of our everyday lives. And so much history is embodied in physical buildings and monuments.
Imagine no Independence Hall and its Liberty Bell. No Ellis Island. No statue of Iwo Jima.
No St. Augustine, FL. No Johnny Cash Boyhood Home.
Likewise, I cannot imagine Gainesville without its own iconic Thelma Boltin Center that provided many essential services to WWII servicemen until the end of WWII. It has admirably served the community in its present form for 80 years.
But the City of Gainesville, which had the building built in 1942, wants to demolish it.
Let’s face it–keeping two walls while wastefully demolishing the rest of the building is not a “partial restoration,” it is a demolition!
Swirling around this burgeoning issue are unspecified rumors of the dire condition of the building, lacking verifiable specifics for public review.
The City has been practicing demolition by neglect and chose its favorite architect, Wannamacher Jensen, whose penchant for modern design is not consistent with our historic preservation needs.
The City claims it needs more meeting space. Really? Plenty of classroom and meeting spaces exist near the Thelma Boltin Center, at Santa Fe College Blount Center, Headquarters Library, hotels, Thomas Center, etc.
Yet the City, as it is prone to do, would add unnecessary space at high cost.
Save Gainesville’s historic gem and honor our nation’s WWII servicemen.
Write to the City Commission at citycomm@gainesvillefl.gov and tell them you want to save the Center – no additions and no demolition. Also please attend the Commission meeting on December 7. It is especially appropriate to urge the City Commission to vote for full restoration as we honor Veterans on Veterans Day.
Thank you.
Karen Arrington, member of Friends of Thelma Boltin Center, https://friendsofthelmaboltincenter.org
The opinions expressed by letter or opinion writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AlachuaChronicle.com. Letters may be submitted to info@alachuachronicle.com and are published at the discretion of the editor.
Well Karen, don’t know if you’ve been paying attention of late but the city commission doesn’t really pay much attention to the people of Gainesville.
Hi Karen,
I represent one of the 33% of Gainesville’s residents that have lived in Gainesville more than 6 years. I’ve lived here nearly 50 years. The The Thelma Boltin Center means nothing to me. Living for many years in the Duck Pond I used to vote there. Nearly all of the WWll people are dead so they don’t care.
Did you not get the news that the City of Gainesville is broke, we can’t even afford a proper police department or road repair. If the “Friends of the Thelma Boltin Center” want it restored, I suggest you put up the money to do it.
Yes, let’s all ignore, dismiss, and trivialize history. What could go wrong?
The people who are dead are unable to care about the building but their descendants do which is why honor them. The City of Gainesville will not pay for the renovation. They are using Wild Spaces Public Places money which is a tax on county residents. The Friends of the Thelma Boltin plans to fund a museum that will feature the WWII soldiers, Thelma Boltin, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members who played there.
It should be allowed to decay like a reminder of the past, but keep the brick walls and other non-wood parts. Stabilized. Then use it as an outdoor venue, a backdrop shell.
If you continue down this path, nothing is left to preserve.
The building is multi-functional.
Restore and maintain.
Over 70 years in Gainesville.
It is another horrible agenda-driven decision.
As of 10 a.m. Monday, the two Thelma Boltin Center items are on this Thursday’s city commission agenda 1 p.m. session. https://pub-cityofgainesville.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?Id=82c6ffdd-e246-4336-b6d9-180ed43d3034&Agenda=Agenda&lang=English
It has been pulled from the Agenda and will be on December 7th as seen in the revised article.
The City cannot afford this. I’m glad that you have fond memories of this place and want to preserve its history, but to be absolutely blunt this building is not “iconic” in any way.
You may not be able to imagine the city without it due to your involvement, but I guarantee you that 99% of Gainesville residents have never been in this building or even know what it is.
If it is to be preserved, it must be done with private funding. Otherwise it should be demolished in the most cost-effective manner and timeline possible.
The City is not using their money. It is being done with Wild Spaces Public Places money. Many people have spent time in the building and want it saved, as seen in the numerous emails sent to the City Commissioners. Their memories are still strong and they want the building preserved. It was recently in the Sun that a soldier met his wife at a dance here during WWII, and there are others with happy memories similar to that one.
This is a very well written and clear letter.
The city’s current “Partial Restoration” plan – to mostly demolish the Thelma Boltin Center and replace with a larger building – has an estimated cost of $5.6 million.
The most affordable option is to repair the current building for an estimated $450k. Repairs would address the problems with the building – replace the roof, some trusses, and add structural reinforcement whrre necessary.
Additionally, the City could remove non-load bearing walls that were added around year 2000 to the wing & entrance area. That would be easier than demolishing and rebuilding and would address a common concern about the wing layout.
This building was used by the public right up until mid March 2020. It was closed due to virus concerns, not due to imminent problems with the building.
The Repair Plus Remove Partitions option would meet community needs in an affordable manner while preserving a building with many memories.