.jpg)
Groups Urge School To Rethink Its Plans To Demolish Buildings
The Lexington Architectural Review Board voted last Thursday to approve a letter to be sent to the Virginia Military Institute’s board of visitors expressing its disapproval of a plan to demolish Cabell House and Neikirk Hall, historic buildings on VMI’s campus. They join the Historic Lexington Foundation, which sent a similar letter dated Nov. 20.
The buildings, known historically as Archer House and Blair House, are scheduled to come down next year to make room for a large alumni center that will match the style of the other large VMI buildings.
At the ARB meeting, board members discussed the idea that as neither they nor the HLF have authority to put a stop to the demolition, their last resort is to appeal to the public and to organizations dedicated to preserving history.
Board member Barbara Crawford said she believes the demolition plan is “a violation of the history, the heritage” of Lexington.
“You want to move a statue, and the whole world comes out,” she said. “You want to take down two buildings and it’s done in silence.”
She was referencing the statue of Confederate Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson that was relocated from in front of VMI’s barracks to the New Market battlefield park.
Crawford said she thinks that these buildings being demolished “will open the door for more after this.
“There are so many historic buildings … on the grounds,” she said. “Whatever happens with this will influence what happens down the road.”
A host of possible letter recipients who could potentially add fuel to their cause were proposed, including the Garden Club of Virginia and the Virginia Department of General Services.
In the meantime, in addition to the VMI board of visitors, the ARB’s letter has been sent to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, the Historic Lexington Foundation, Governor Youngkin’s office, and VMI Superintendent Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins.
The full letter from the ARB is as follows: “Dear Members of the Board of Visitors, “We, the Lexington Architectural Review Board, are writing to express our profound disappointment with Virginia Military Institute’s proposal to demolish the historic Cabell House (1880) and Neikirk Hall (1870) (historically known as Archer House and Blair House) - an action which the Department of Historic Resources has concluded would be an adverse impact to not only the VMI Historic District, but also to the Historic District of the City of Lexington.
“We are among the many members of the local community who share VMI’s professed values of ‘preserving the VMI heritage’ while ‘supporting the operation and maintenance of the Institute’s historic buildings ...’ These houses, part of the Letcher Hyphen, have witnessed 150 years of VMI history and continue to provide an important visual transition between the campuses of VMI and Washington and Lee and the City of Lexington generally. We believe that choosing to address a master plan challenge with the demolition of these buildings, rather than with their relocation or adaptive reuse, is a design shortcut and a significant violation of the history, heritage and tradition the VMI post represents to our city, and our state.
“We, the Architectural Review Board, representing the citizens of Lexington, challenge the Institute and its planning and design partners to reconsider their approach to and to solve for programmatic needs in a manner that enhances and improves the longevity of the historic and culturally significant elements of both the VMI Post and those structures that contribute to the City of Lexington’s historic designation.”
- The Historic Lexington Foundation drafted a similar letter and sent it to VMI’s board of visitors last week. It reads as follows: “Dear Members of the Board of Visitors: “I am writing to call to your attention a matter of great importance to the Historic Lexington Foundation and the Lexington community it represents. As a preface to my reason for writing, let me assure you that VMI is, and has always been, a source of pride for Lexington. It is a major part of the special history of Lexington, and we at HLF view it with respect and admiration.
It was deeply disappointing, therefore, to learn of the Institute’s plan to demolish two of the 19th century houses that form part of the gracious entrance to the Post. For well over a century, the dignified and historic line of houses on either side of Letcher Avenue, of which these houses are a part, has welcomed cadets and visitors to VMI.
“We recognize that VMI is not a museum. It must grow and change in order to continue its vital mission of educating and training future generations of leaders. It is not at all clear, however, that the totality of the plan for the replacement of Moody Hall serves that mission appropriately. Is it really necessary to destroy part of the beauty and history of the Institute in order to accommodate the understandable desire to provide your alumni with a larger and more serviceable building to which they can return to enjoy each other and their memories of cadet life, and appreciate the future of the Institute?
“The architectural and historic value of the two houses is so significant that descriptions and pictures of them are included in ‘The Architecture of Historic Lexington,’ published nearly 50 years ago. In support of our strong belief that these houses are worthy of being saved, enclosed are copies of HLF’s letter to the Department of Historic Resources, as well as the recent front page article in the Lexington News-Gazette in which the City’s Architectural Review Board also expresses its dismay at the Institute’s plan.
“Thank you for considering the Lexington community’s perspective on this matter. HLF, along with other community leaders, stands ready to meet with representatives of the Institute to discuss possible alternatives to the destruction of these beautiful houses and the heritage that they represent.”
