Sometimes when I'm in Rome I drive around and look at architecture. Often I find myself wondering about the families that built these stately edifices. Were they happy? Some of the homes were quite magnificent, in their time. The original owners were doctors, lawyers, bankers, grocers, the upper crust of what was then a small but thriving town. I found information in a book that shows the boundaries of this place in the 1800s and I actually was very surprised at how small Rome really was originally. The library that I frequented regularly with my Mom when I was small, was housed in a structure that was the home of a Mr. Jervis. His home, which to me was part of the center of our city, was actually built outside of the city limits. Fort Stanwix Park, through which we walked to get to both Grandma's house and to the Library was originally the city Cemetery. A century of progress made significant changes in the economic development of Rome. The style of the architecture reflected the prosperity of it's residents. Stately elms lined our streets, horse drawn carriages were the major mode of transportation so carriage houses were the norm. The affluent were ever mindful of the comfort of their guests and built large porticos under which the carriages could discharge their passengers out of the weather. I've often wondered why, since said guests were exposed to the weather during the drive.
Then progress happened. The families moved away, houses were sold and remodeled into apartments. Porticos were torn down or closed in to make more apartments. Slate roofs became a thing of the past, brick work was painted over and wrought iron was allowed to rust. Much that was beautiful became ugly. Then Urban renewal and the rebuilding of Fort Stanwix happened. Stately homes were torn down, entire blocks of our retail district met the wreckers ball and were replaced by a few modern buildings with flat roofs. Whole businesses were destroyed, never to return. Streets were closed and parking garages were built to park the "New Downtown" shoppers cars. Didn't happen. Few businesses opened their doors in the "New Downtown" and shoppers chose to go to the malls where more places to shop were found. We do have a Fort Stanwix National Park, where once thriving businesses and many examples of artistic architecture stood proudly. Those examples of architecture that were kept with pride. That still had their wrought iron decorations in good shape. Some of the downtown structures had seen better days, but did they really need demolishing? The Fort has stood for 30 years now, and I've lived within walking distance of it most of those 30 years. I've been there...once.
It's a fine piece of Revolutionary War history. Volunteers dress and act as they would have in the 18th century. A day in the lives of soldiers and their families can be glimpsed once inside the walls. You can buy toys that were played with back then, pewter dice used to gamble with. Learn about the foods they ate, the weaving and knitting they did, the music they listened to and it's a fine experience. Really it is. To get to my bank, my office, my grocery store, I drive by this wonderfully historic National Park. Over the years I have trained myself not to look too closely at it. When I do, I don't see the wonder of this structure, I see all that was destroyed so that this structure could exist. The loss of the best place to buy jelly doughnuts, the loss of the original home of the first person killed in WW1. The loss of the oldest and largest tree in our city. The loss of much of our architectural history, and one house that had the finest wrought iron decorations in the city. The loss of much that I knew and loved as a child.
