NRCA Collaboration Area
Historic designation for Stratford (current H-B) building

This topic can be found at:
https://community.northrosslyn.org/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/7016064271/m/16620675373

December 04, 2015, 11:09 AM
Terri Prell
Historic designation for Stratford (current H-B) building
The Arlington County Civic Federation will be voting on this resolution at their January 5 meeting.
http://www.civfed.org/newConte...15-10-06%20DRAFT.pdf
The ACCF Schools Committee believes that the designation would make it difficult and more expensive to increase the size of the student body in future additions as well as making the cost of maintain the building in its historic configuration much more expensive. They believe that the historic nature of the school can be preserved without the burdens brought by the official designation.
I will be representing NRCA and voting, so please let me know your thoughts. Terri Prell
December 04, 2015, 06:58 PM
Mark Antell
Terri,

Thanks for raising this question to the North Rosslyn neighborhood. I support this historic designation because ....

The Stratford School is a reminder of the very best that our community is capable of. Here, Arlington Public Schools attempted to desegregate in open opposition to VA State directives. The same vistas along Old Dominion Drive that you see in Life Magazine articles about our desegregation crisis back in 1979 can be seen today.

Utilitarians always have a reason to tear down the past. They will say, “it’s changed so it’s not historical;” OR “it’s not changed enough so it isn’t efficient.”

But if you believe that we should respect and celebrate and preserve the positive civic engagement of those before us, then this site is worth saving.

Mark Antell