Mickey's Diner, St. Paul

Mickey's Diner, St. Paul
Originally uploaded by rllayman

From "Unlocking value from the past," in the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

The value of history may not be apparent at first blush. But once a building or a patch of ground or an unbroken vista has yielded its story, it becomes something more - part of our collective soul as people living in a certain place at a certain time....

Historic preservation is a tough concept to cling to when a city that needs development and investment and new energy - downtown St. Paul is what we're thinking of - faces choices of the status quo vs. risky but exciting new ventures. The verve to preserve is one of many competing urges when a city looks forward.

We believe the case for preservation has to be made on the basis of its inherent and enduring value. The point isn't to worship history, it's to take advantage of it. We don't want shrines to the past. We want places we can live and work and dine and socialize in.

So kick our cobbles and love our bricks, preservationists. Help us focus our attention on parts of our landscape we can't afford to lose. Help us separate the old bricks that are just old bricks from those with important parts of our story layered into the mortar.