As part of coverage of the ongoing fight to save the Justice William Smith House, we present more discussion by Tim McCown in the Philadelphia Progressive Examiner :
“Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory is when both sides of an argument allow emotion to trump common sense. In the case of the Justice William Smith House, the birthplace of the American Revolution, this means the choice to demolish the house without considering any other options.
No one is arguing that MMP&W Fire Company, the current owners of the property, do not have the right if they so choose to do so, to demolish the property. What a prudent person would ask is given the historical value of the property whether this is the most fiscally responsible decision the local fire board could make.
The local preservationist group, Save the Justice William Smith House, Inc., has offered the fire department three other possibe options all of which would not only meet the fire company’s needs but would save the house as well.
The first option is to advertise on national historic websites for the sale of historic properties. The price to be determined by the fire company.  In this particular instance they would recoup their $125,000 loan leaving them the difference as a profit to use as they see fit.  Another option offered was through Congressman Bill Shuster’s (R-PA) office.
This offer involves getting the house on the National Historic Register. When this occurs Congressman Shuster is willing to help save the house and meet the fire board’s needs.  Another option was grants through historic preservation and the state transportation department. Any one of these options would meet the fire department’s needs and save the house as well.”
The article goes on to detail why preserving historic buildings such as the Smith House benefits the community far more than the short term gains realized by something like a parking lot. We applaud the author, Tim McCown and the Philadelphia Progressive Examiner for supporting such a worthy preservation effort.
For more information on the Justice William Smith House or to make a donation go to http://savesmithhouse.com.
To read Tim McCown’s entire article, see:
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