Historic Preservation (kinda)

There's a controversy underway in Montgomery over the fate of the building that served as the location of the Alabama Supreme Court for half a century before the new Judicial Building was constructed down the street. We profiled the potential destruction of the building in an FTR segment. March of 2007. Two months later, RSA's Dr. David Bronner announced a plan to save the structure...in a way. He would build a building over the building, preserving at least the old court chambers. Sounded good at the time, but then the Montgomery Advertiser published before and after photos of the view up Dexter Avenue and historic preservation activists were up in arms over the box-like structure half a block from the Historic Capitol Building! Bronner told the Advertiser he wasn't going to let "little old ladies" upset with the view bother him. Those upset with Dr. Bronner's proposed project need to remember that the old court building sat empty and falling apart for decades...and that the Riley Administration was talking about tearing it down for a parking deck before Bronner intervened. Perhaps a sit down between Bronner and the Preservationists can find design changes that will keep everyone happy.