Saving history becomes more difficult with each passing year

There was a day when the land- mark Paramount Theater in downtown Youngstown could have been saved. And should have been saved.

But long-ago efforts, well-intentioned as they may have been, didn’t have the community or financial support equal to the task. That was 30 years ago, when the building was tattered and torn, but still structurally sound.

Today, there is new interest in trying to save at least a part of the building, its neoclassical facade, but time has not been kind to the Paramount.

Built in 1912 and converted from the Liberty to the Paramount in 1929, the theater showed its last film in 1976. Today it is not even a shell of its former self. Gone is the pipe organ, the velvet seats, the curtains, the fixtures. Even the marquee is gone, torn from its steel frame as a safety measure. That frame remains — a rusted, ugly testament to what time can do to abandoned landmarks.

Necessary calculations

Historic structures are worth saving at a reasonable cost — or if a philanthropist chooses to spend an unreasonable amount in the interest of preservation.

But no businessman is likely to invest in preservation or restoration that makes no business sense. And no government — especially in this age of fiscal challenges — can afford to take on a quixotic restoration.

At the beginning of the year there were high hopes for saving at least the front portion and facade of the Paramount, similar to successful efforts to save a historic portion of Warren G. Harding High School in Warren. But Harding High had not been left to the elements for more than three decades, as had been the Paramount.

Hope for the Paramount is fading. An engineer hired to develop a plan for demolition of most of the structure and restoration of the facade says the condition of the building is worse than had been anticipated.

Demolishing the building safely will be challenging enough. Partially demolishing it appears to be a near-impossible task.

We do not write off the saving of historic structures lightly. But there are other historic structures in the city that present greater chances for successful restoration than the Paramount or any part of it.

The lesson that should be taken here is that, to borrow a phrase, a stitch in time saves nine. The energies of preservationists might be better spent in identifying buildings with restorative potential and vowing to let none of those reach what the Paramount likely has — the point of no return.