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Brouhaha-ha-ha
From the East Side Monthly, Letters
Protect ALL Our Houses
To the Editor:
Regarding Kathryn Laferte's response ("The Pleasures of Plastic," in the January issue of East Side Monthly) to my original letter, l want to say that my point is not concerned with the pros and cons (aesthetic, structural, or otherwise) of aluminum siding. It is about the right to economic self-determination and free expression - the very ideals upon which Roger Williams founded our state.
All homes are "historical" by definition - the designation of a particular neighborhood as an "historical district" is merely a strategy by which a DOMINANT HISTORY for that area is established and to which all community members, regardless of their actual historical backgrounds, are expected to conform. Such thinking is, at its core, a vestige of colonialism.
A history of architecture cannot be truthfully considered without an understanding of the human dynamics that shape the ebb and flow of design, construction, renovation, adaptation, and preservation. A three-decker Fox Point aluminum-clad tenement house purchased in the 1970's by a family of immigrants from Cape Verde is as much a part of the history of this city as a well-preserved East Side Victorian. Both merit preservation. Home owners in any and all neighborhoods should stand to benefit from tax incentives for home improvement with 1no special consideration given to color choice or materials preference. To create additional tax incentives for specific types of historically-correct renovations available exclusively within selected so-called "historical neighborhoods" (where property values and incomes are typically higher) is only another means of providing ADDITIONAL tax breaks for those already in upper income brackets.
The structural frame of a building is as much shielded from the elements by aluminum or vinyl as it is by wood. The writer betrays her ignorance of construction materials and structural engineering by making the uninformed statement that people who decide to go with vinyl and aluminum siding have houses "rotting away under all that plastic". However, more distressing is the snobbery and condescension in her supposition that anyone not in sync with her sense of proper architectural fashion is negligent and incapable of responsible home ownership.
Finally, in her myopic view of the supposedly burgeoning tourism industry, Ms. Laferte has apparently confused Providence with Main Street in Disneyland. Frankly, her chilling Speilbergian vision of Providence strikes this reader more as a depressingly nostalgic shrine to les temps perdu than the vibrant city I know and love. Providence is a place with a sense of maverick spirit.
Of course we should respect the past, but we should not place the history of our art and architecture in conflict with freedom of expression and the natural creative energy that springs from the diversity of human cultural experience.
Maurice Methot
50 Summit Ave.
Posted by John Twomey
Posted at February 17, 2007 07:03 PM
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I like the parts where he says, " in her myopic view . . ." and ". . .her chilling Speilbergian vision. . ." and ". . . more distressing is the snobbery and condscension in her supposition that anyone not in sync with her . . . "
Now, that's the katie I know.
Posted by: John at February 18, 2007 02:46 AM