One of the things that really concerns me is the demolition of One Temple Street.

One Temple Street was one of the brick buildings that was built after the fire of 1811. It was restored in the 1970’s as part of restoration of Newburyport’s historic downtown. Where it once stood is now a huge hole beside the Five Cents Savings Bank. The Five Cents Savings Bank decided to demolish the building, rather than restore it or even move it, even with a great deal of input from various City Boards and Committees and over the protests of many concerned citizens.

This historic building was destroyed by one of our own. This is very worrisome.

Only a few of the buildings in Newburyport’s historic downtown are protected, everything else could be torn down, and we have a new landlord in town–Mr. Karp. His intentions may be good, but he is an outsider and it’s too early to tell. Do we really want to take a chance?

It is up to the City Council and the new Mayor to do something quickly. Newburyport has resisted a Local Historic District for years. We could protect just the buildings that were built after the fire of 1811, the heart of our economic prosperity. The work has already been done by the Newburyport Historic Commission (so it would cost us nothing) and we as a City can write a loose ordinance that protects the historic downtown, but also honors the rights of Newburyport property owners.

Mary Eaton, Newburyport