[RP TownTalk] Wachovia and the Field of Rubble

Thu Jul 17 12:12:26 UTC 2008

Yeah - Gerald King - you said it so well.  I agree
wholeheartedly - and I think if this idea was done
a long time ago ----------------
we would have been finished a long time ago 
without all the agony & crap we have gone thru.
And our town would still have all the charm & 
appeal that brought so many of us to THIS town
and we don't want to lose it.

If Hyattsville can have all that charm & appeal
in new development that fits right in with their
historic nature -THEN WHY CANT RIVERDALE??

We have MORE HISTORY - DARN GOOD HISTORY -
than Hyattsville has, than Montpelier has or any other
historic home in this area -----and OUR MANSION
DESERVES A HISTORIC DISTRICT THAT DOES IT
PROUD.  Our Mansion is a VERY important Historical
Mansion.

Every resident & new comer to this town should know
the details of the history of the town as well as the 
mansion to promote education & pride in Riverdale.

And if you ask any resident to give a talk on why
our town/mansion is SOOOO great - they will look at
you and say Whhhaaaatttt?????? Duh!!!!!!

Outside the Historic District, meaning Kenilworth Ave
can design whatever they want that fits that community

BUT OUR HISTORIC DISTRICT should not only reflect
OUR appreciation of our Mansion but should COMPLEMENT
our mansion and show our utmost RESPECT for its 
surroundings & our PRIDE IN OUR HISTORY..

If WE cannot show pride & respect for our Mansion
& Historic District - who else will ??-- moving into this 
town or even driving by our town.  Mt. Vernon, Lee 
Mansion, etc survives throughout the ages BECAUSE
ITS RESIDENTS/CITIZENS FIGHT FOR THAT 
atmosphere, architecture, love of its great history
and want to SHARE  it with everybody and  SHOUT
IT FROM THE HIGHEST HILLSIDE.

COME ON PEOPLE, LEARN WHY WE ARE SO
PRIVILEGED AND SHOUT IT FROM THE HIGHEST
HILLTOP - HOLD YOUR GUNS TO MAKE THE 
ATMOSPHERE/ ARCHITECTURE/ TRIMMINGS IN
THIS MANSION/HISTORIC DISTRICT WORTH A
sightseeing public visit and/or new resident proud to
be here.

Thanks for letting me stand on my soap box.

Emily

In a message dated 7/16/2008 8:38:08 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
Gerald at geraldking.com writes:

This is  a second try. I have eliminated the original message from 
Heather fearing  that it made my email too large for TownTalk. This 
message was originally  sent at 3:51 pm.

Heather Blanchard wrote:
{I can't help but think  that the end goal would be to restore the Rte. 1 
corridor into a walkable  community, similar to the approach 
Hyattsville's downtown. There would be  mixed use, incorporation of 
community needs and consistent  aesthetics.}
What a quaint little thought. Walkable, mixed use, consistent  
aesthetics-these have been the fantasy thoughts of the good people of  
Riverdale Park. Too bad they are not the dominant thoughts of the  
pragmatists, developers and  and power brokers in this town and  county 
who see gold in this strip of the nations oldest highways.  We  were 
told, the corner was too valuable to allow old buildings and a  landmark 
mural to stand in the way of building a brand new franchise  
business-Exhart Drugs. They (Exhart) were the only ones willing and  
capable to pay the absentee owners who wanted more for their properties  
than any small businesses could afford. The deal had to include several  
other (old) buildings that might be considered (aesthetically  
consistent). Money talks and the demolition of all but one of the  
buildings was done surprisingly quick.  Then came the never ending  
struggle between big bucks business, power giddy governments, and the  
good people of Riverdale Park.  Financial problems knocked out  Exhart  
and led to "The Field of Rubble" The financial value of this  large 
buildingless property can only be developed by deep pockets with  
political pull. The good people of Riverdale and historic  
conservationists posed problems for the deep pockets. Walkable, mixed  
use, and consistent aesthetics are not conducive to financial sharpies  
who seem to put maximum profit over citizen,s desires. This is not  
unusual and I do not mean to imply that all the investors and developers  
are mean spirited, cold hearted crooks. They are practical business  
people who usually feel they are doing good.
My fantasy (suggestion) is  to break up the property into separate lots 
(originally the there were  four separate lots). Then limited purchases 
to small entrepreneurs. Assist  these purchasers in financing the 
building of small one or two story  structures whose facade would be 
aesthetically consistent with our late  nineteenth-early twentieth 
century style. Save and restore the one  remaining building in the 
original land purchase. It has some fine lines  and good brick work. I 
know the old argument  that its an eye sore  and not worth saving. They 
use that to eliminate historic buildings and  replace them with Rite Aid 
cookeycutter brickwork.
Finally, I think the  town owes a reward to the owner of the Calvert 
House who is the only one  who has invested in a trellis in front of his 
business. I said "invested"  because it cost him plenty to make the area  
aesthetically inviting  and maybe even a little 'walkable'. We need more 
business men of this  nature.
That's my rant. Once that fantasy is complete, we can turn our  attention 
to the other side of the street.
Gerald  King

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