My thoughts on the future of the Historic Courthouse

Since I look out my office window just about every day to a view of the historic courthouse I feel compelled to speak on the matter of its future. Whenever someone from out of the area pictures Montgomery County they instantly think of our “Old Brick Lady”. You can see it high on the hill as you come east into town on Rt 16 and many a newbie to the area has had their breath taken away by it. I see it all the time, people passing through town whipping out their cameras. I never see them ohhing and ahhing over then new courthouse, as it looks very much like any modern office complex.

I am not putting down the new courthouse. It is very nice and we should be proud of it as well and I am sure if it is around in a hundred years it will garner more attention. All I am saying is that we have a treasure that many of us take for granted. To turn it into storage would be a terrible mistake. Warehouses don’t get attention and this would effectively shut it off to the public thereby shutting down the soul of downtown.

Other “forward” thinking communities have had the foresight to see the value in preserving their architectural history. Progressive communities aren’t just made up of new steel, veneer brick and tented glass. They celebrate their splendid past and uniqueness while still offering modern amenities.

Other communities have preserved and modernized historic structures, while making them functional in our modern era. Let’s start looking around and getting valuable information on how we can do the same. How many pieces of our history are already gone? Is the moment all that matters? Is it worth it to preserve what makes us special? I think we cannot let the ball drop on our watch. It is our responsibility to future generations.