Sunday, April 19, 2009
Kress’ legacy is worth saving
EDITOR:
When Samuel H. Kress created the foundation that bears his name in 1926, the goal was to share Kress’ own art appreciation with the public who frequented his stores. To illustrate this benevolence, he organized a traveling exhibition of artwork from his private collection, and it was enjoyed by people nationwide. The Kress Building on West Federal Street (“Engineers to decide soon if Kress building stays,” April 1) is no less a treasure than those paintings displayed during the Depression, and it must be preserved.
Almost all of Kress’ distinctive 5- and 10-cent stores were designed by the company’s primary architect, Edward F. Sibbert, and Youngstown’s branch is just as worthy of recognition as are the dozens of other former Kress stores that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The terra cotta facade on West Federal Street presents a modern, Art Deco-inspired theme that is uncommon in current architectural practices. Across the country, buildings such as this have been repurposed as offices, shopping centers, and restaurants — and at a cost much less than that of demolition and new construction.
While it is unfortunate that the roof trusses have faltered due to years of neglect, there is much that can be done to save the building. Terra cotta buildings larger and older than Youngstown’s Kress have been very successfully rehabilitated and returned to their former glory.
I hope that the Youngstown Central Area Community Improvement Corp. looks to the National Trust as well as the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office for potential grant funding. Additionally, I would suggest to the CIC that they inquire with the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, which still provides grant monies to projects on conservation and historic preservation, and would certainly be interested in a project that preserves one of their company’s former outposts.
DIANE De FAZIO
Brooklyn, N.Y.