Editor,
I want to give my personal story of living somewhere that the city did not protect its historic homes. I loved living in Austin, Texas, and I lived in the oldest planned neighborhood in Austin, Hyde Park, for my entire 28 years.
Hyde Park had been the state fairgrounds until they moved the fair to Dallas in 1875.
Austin did not form any system to protect this beautiful old neighborhood and as Austin’s economy boomed some people liked the central location but the not historic homes, so they would buy an existing historic home and demolish it and build a modern style McMansion that would fill up the lot.
The entire neighborhood suffered and especially the homes on both sides of these eyesores.
I witnessed a beautiful historic neighborhood, in just a few years, transform into “what used to be” a historic community.
The historic homes and buildings in Eureka Springs are one of the things that had me coming back to visit for decades before moving here eight years ago and becoming part of this welcoming wonderful little town. Without the Historic District Commission there can be no Historic District, and that was verified in the Town Hall meeting by the Arkansas State Preservation Director. Please don’t let Eureka Springs become another Hyde Park.
Steve Holfield