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The City Council stirred up controversy in 2011 when it approved the demolition of the WPA Building in a 3-2 vote. In its place, there has been a proposal to create a "History Plaza." The irony of destroying an actual historic structure in order to create a site to honor history has not gone unnoticed. The town's most well-known local historian, John Lofland, has referred to the proposed development as "Hypocrisy Plaza."
Council members Joe Krovoza and Sue Greenwald voted to keep the building standing. Stephen Souza, Dan Wolk, and Rochelle Swanson voted to destroy it.
Local writers Bob Dunning and Rich Rifkin have expressed support for keeping the building. The folks at the Hattie Weber Museum also recognize its historical importance and would like to use the space for storage rather than see it go.
Watch Mayor Krovoza discuss his position on the issue. (YouTube)
*Historic Potholes, a Toad Tunnel, arrests for snoring and now historic bathroom sites? I love Davis :) — jsbmeb
- Unlike a pothole, it's an attractive stucco and shingle structure that serves a legitimate purpose. Unlike the toad tunnel, it's effective in its purpose. Actually, it is somewhat similar to the snoring example, however, in that the demolition is mainly due to anal-retentive attitudes that involve over-sensitivity shown by a certain segment of the Davis population (people afraid of transients using a bathroom for drug deals late at night; yet simply eradicating a building will not solve such problems). At first glance, it may seem like a stereotypically eccentric Davis issue, but being that our town has little left in the way of historical structures compared to some others, I would say that people interested in structural history tend to try to save whatever they have left. —ScottMeehleib
- Historic or not, I think there is just nothing wrong with the bathroom as is. —NickSchmalenberger
