Preservation effort worth pursuing

Can you imagine building some of the downtown McCook buildings today?

The Keystone Hotel, the former Lincoln Land Office (the oldest building on Norris Avenue), the refurbished Fox Theatre -- even the paving bricks would be impossible to duplicate today, thanks to the ever-inflating price of labor and materials.

The owners may not appreciate it, but downtown buildings would cost millions of dollars to build in 2008.

And, even if they could be constructed anew, they just wouldn't be the same. Yes, they would be more efficient and would meet current construction codes, but the character, atmosphere and memories they carry are irreplaceable.

That's the commodity that needs to be preserved when businesses look at the bottom line.

To help make the point, J.L. Schmidt, director of the Nebraska Main Street program, is conducting a meeting at 7 p.m. today (Thursday) sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The meeting is designed to help create a new organization called Heritage Nebraska, which will work with Main Street programs to revitalize downtowns across the state.

McCook's meeting, set for one of those historic buildings, the Fox Theatre, is the last of six across the state.

They have already taken place in Lincoln, Plattsmouth, Wayne, Hastings and Gering.

It's good to see economic activity, such as two new restaurants, taking root on McCook's Norris Avenue. But, it's good to establish efforts like Heritage Nebraska now before any future development threatens to deprive generations of the "on the bricks" experience.

If you'd like to have some input into the process, plan on stopping by tonight's meeting, 7 o'clock at the Fox Theatre on Norris Avenue.