The Observation Deck

Anyone know anything about the basement being dug on Edwards south of the Sinagra house?

The Sinagra house was razed in preparation of the construction of the beer garden/food truck park slated for that lot.

But the Sinagra house is still there,

The red house? I thought it was gone last time I drove by or perhaps the house I thought was the Sinagra house, isn't the Sinagra house.

Kate, you are right, I fluffed up. The Sinagra house IS gone. Demolished by neglect(the power was cot 10 to 15 years ago). How this got by the city is beyond me.

That beer playground was supposed to be up and running in 2019

Oh, the plans they make; the promises.

After the Matthew C Hall house was razed, I came to realize that historic preservation is one of those "nice to have" things in Lakewood, but there's no passion for it, it's not in the DNA. So much of the very best of our architectural legacy exists only in photos.

photo sent in by Tracy Brubaker.


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The demolition of Hall House, the day after Christmas in 2007, when Lakewood Historical Society had been told by the city and owner they could move it if they could raise the money, when they had secured a nearby place to move it, a place owned by a descendant of the Hall family, when the Historical Society had nearly raised enough money to cover the cost ... that tells you the degree to which historical preservation is a matter of convenience and politics here.

The later loss of that commercial building ... neglected so long that chunks were actually falling off of it from a wall bowed out over the Edwards Ave sidewalk ... that says something about the city's ability, or perhaps willingness, to enforce its own codes. That building was not historic, just vernacular architecture, but it was an example of the streetcar era that makes our commercial corridors interesting, and it was full of businesses until the owner kicked them out because he thought he was going to build a taco bell. The building was both full of businesses ... so money coming in ... and under citation ... for years while the decay of the masonry advanced. A long, slow failure to do anything.

I came to realize that historic preservation is one of those "nice to have" things in Lakewood, but there's no passion for it, it's not in the DNA.

that tells you the degree to which historical preservation is a matter of convenience and politics here.

When will people finally realize this - the people in power here are all talk. They say Lakewood is charming and unique, but as soon as they can tear something down and build shiny new, and say that development is good, they jump at it.

Former mayor Tom George posted on this board that he knew prominent people here who would love to tear it all down and build new.

Development makes people money but it doesn’t improve our lives.

It’s time to vote for new leaders who truly understand the heart of Lakewood.

Vote out the incumbents. We’re at a critical juncture.

Bridget, do you happen to know who was Mayor in the last days of 2007?

George was only Mayor from 2004-2007.

He was elected right after the West End debacle.

Bridget Conant wrote:

I came to realize that historic preservation is one of those "nice to have" things in Lakewood, but there's no passion for it, it's not in the DNA.

that tells you the degree to which historical preservation is a matter of convenience and politics here.

When will people finally realize this - the people in power here are all talk. They say Lakewood is charming and unique, but as soon as they can tear something down and build shiny new, and say that development is good, they jump at it.

Former mayor Tom George posted on this board that he knew prominent people here who would love to tear it all down and build new.

Development makes people money but it doesn’t improve our lives.

It’s time to vote for new leaders who truly understand the heart of Lakewood.

Vote out the incumbents. We’re at a critical juncture.

Trust me folks, if you stay in Lakewood and keep your eyes open, you will witness the leading-edge of the bulldozer blades "steam-roll" their way through our city. --All to build housing that none of us can afford, most of it built with our own direct and indirect public subsidies.

I have never seen a worse Mayor than Mike Summers. He needs a 50 foot statute in Lakewood Park with a plaque reading "Never Again" in neon lights!

Bridget Conant wrote:George was only Mayor from 2004-2007.

He was elected right after the West End debacle.

So Tom George was Mayor, and allowed historic Hall House to be demolished in the last days of his administration, after telling LHS and neighbors that they could save it if they could raise the money to move it and find a destination? I just want to be clear that this kind of thing isn't all one political camp.

In my mind this is the unanswered question: how much do we want the government to have control over privately owned property? The private owners of 3 buildings on the corner of Edwards and Detroit neglected them and one by one knocked them down. One was built in the 1860s and had local historic value. One was streetcar-era mixed use, both storefronts consistently occupied and a guitar studio upstairs, commercially viable and great for local, small business. But that was not what the landlord cared to maintain, and the city ultimately didn't have the power to do anything about it.

Mark Kindt wrote:

Bridget Conant wrote:

I came to realize that historic preservation is one of those "nice to have" things in Lakewood, but there's no passion for it, it's not in the DNA.

that tells you the degree to which historical preservation is a matter of convenience and politics here.

When will people finally realize this - the people in power here are all talk. They say Lakewood is charming and unique, but as soon as they can tear something down and build shiny new, and say that development is good, they jump at it.

Former mayor Tom George posted on this board that he knew prominent people here who would love to tear it all down and build new.

Development makes people money but it doesn’t improve our lives.

It’s time to vote for new leaders who truly understand the heart of Lakewood.

Vote out the incumbents. We’re at a critical juncture.

Trust me folks, if you stay in Lakewood and keep your eyes open, you will witness the leading-edge of the bulldozer blades "steam-roll" their way through our city. --All to build housing that none of us can afford, most of it built with our own direct and indirect public subsidies.

I'm in no hurry to see that beer garden go up in a very inappropriate place - across the street from a kids baseball field. But I don't like beer much, no special problem with it, just that I don't like it the way some people do. And I associate beer with a lot of not so good things, like "Ten Cent Beer" night.

I have never seen a worse Mayor than Mike Summers. He needs a 50 foot statute in Lakewood Park with a plaque reading "Never Again" in neon lights!

Mike Summers got my enmity the old-fashioned way, "he earned it." (For reference: https://youtu.be/iVXWakbPq6o)
It seems to me that much of the nasty divisiveness in this town originates in City Hall. Hopefully that will change in January no matter who wins the election.