What's Worth Saving?
Jul 3, 2007 9:37 - 8 Comments
Posted by: Cindy Cotte Griffiths
Department: News
Tags: by Cindy Cotte Griffiths, construction, historic preservation, zoning
Department: News
Tags: by Cindy Cotte Griffiths, construction, historic preservation, zoning
In a quest to visit as many amusement parks as possible, my family spent a day at historic >Knoebels in PA. A highlight of the day was the carousel, because for the first time, I got a chance at the “golden ring”. My entire life I’ve heard of the fabled brass ring. How you would hang off the horse and grab it. As a child, I was always told that it was too dangerous. They just don’t have them anymore. I thought they were all gone. As we went around, the man on the horse in front of me got the golden ring, but if he had missed, it would have been mine. I had a handful of non-golden rings that you throw back at a lion, and never thought it would be such fun.
As I rode all the old & new rides, I spent the day thinking about what is worth saving. Sometimes old things surprise and delight you. Rockville owes a great deal of thanks to Eileen McGuckian, the Executive Director of Peerless Rockville. She recently announced her retirement from the organization she founded more than 30 years ago and she will be missed. Our heritage and history are important and if it wasn’t for her, Rockville would have lost a great deal of character.
So I’ve found myself thinking about the “Pink Bank” where Bank of America is located. They formalized a plan to tear it down and put up a building much like the rest of the new downtown. Don’t get me wrong, I like the new downtown, but does it all have to all be exactly the same from the same era? We lose a sense of place when our downtown is just a development rather than a city that evolved over time. Our pink bank is cool, 60’s cool. The 3D rectangular design is different and breaks with tradition, but it fits with the rest of the architecture as you look up North Washington. It’s just 43 years old and it will be such a waste of resources if it comes down.
KSI is making a choice to demolish but they should recognize how much more impressive this building will be over time. It’s worth having a great example of New Formalism in our downtown. It’s a kind of architecture that people will be pleased to discover and it has very impressive cousins across the country. I’m hoping that the economic downturn will save this building because we might not need the 290 dwelling units. If there’s an opportunity to preserve it, Rockville should take it.
Do you think it’s worth saving or do you want to press the button to bring it down?
6/24/08 Here’s a picture showing North Washington Street with the “Pink Bank” way down at the end of the buildings. I like the way the new buildings mirror its architecture and roofline.
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SAVE THE PINK BANK!>
What a great essay.
i say that diversity is really what makes a place a community. the pink building is a part of rockville history, like so many other structures.>
i don’t want all of the buildings to look the same here anymore than i want all the people to look the same.
keep it. work with it.
I appreciate what everyone is saying about the pink bank, but in my opinion, it’s not worth saving. I personally think it and the old Giant are eyesores and I wouldn’t miss either building if they were gone. I remember there were those who wanted to keep the old Magruder’s shopping center for “nostalgic” reasons and look what we have now. I hate that the old, old downtown Rockville was demolished in the 60′s, but this doesn’t have the visual appeal that the old downtown had. I say tear them down (Bank of America and Giant) and continue to add to our current downtown with its attractive architecture, diverse facades and wonderful streetscapes.
I don’t think it should be torn down because it doesn’t look like the rest of the new Town Center, but if we can’t get the space leased out and it’s just an empty shell, better to tear it down and get some use out of the land.
Diversity for diversity’s sake makes little sense to me. I now live in Rockville Town Square and had the choice of two units: one that looked out over the “pink bank” and another that has a reasonable view of the Square (but cost a *lot* more). I decided to pony up the extra money for the Square view rather than look at that hideous building.>
To me, that BofA building ranks right up there with the prison-like wall along E. Middle Lane where Gibbs starts. The wall defines architectural brutalism and the BofA building the (deservedly) short-lived international style of 60′s. Architects today can do much better, even if they’re just copying the style of RTS.
The Pink Bank does need to be fixed up and it could be a shining part of our City. I’ve added a picture of the North Washington Streetscape to this post. I would never advocate saving a building just because it is old. >
Rockville Town Square is a development. It looks good from the street but the towering walls of siding behind show how it is just a development. I want a City with real buildings. I don’t want them to all be the same, especially when they grow old and turn into an eyesore too.
They were just starting to tear down all those ugly Victorians when suddenly they appreciated them and stopped.
Say, glroman, thanks for posting. It’s nice to hear from a Town Square resident!>
What is it like living right there, “square in the middle of it all?” I have been planning a profile on teh apartments and condos for some time, as I imagine that others, like me, are curious.
–Brad
On a similar note, I just learned that Burbank’s won’t be designated as historic, so it’ll probably be gone soon. The city acted without much public involvement, so Peerless is asking that the designation process be modified.