New York University is considering tearing down one of the writer's former homes, at 85 West Third Street. The four-story brick building is owned by the university's law school, which uses it for offices and classrooms. Preservationists and Poe fans are panning the plan. Tearing it down would mean that we'd lose a piece of American literary history. Mr. Deas and more than 60 other Poe scholars are circulating a petition asking the university to restore the building, not raze it.
Nothing is set in stone yet, and officials are discussing their options.