In addition to praising the building's art deco design, the critics say New York has dusted off a piece of its soul. Certain buildings are inextricably linked with certain places. Caesar's Palace, for example, epitomizes Las Vegas. That is where it belongs. Fredericksburg's vacant Maury School an object of long and continuing debate is part of Fredericksburg's architectural heritage.
People are committed to finding a way to reuse the structure in one form or another.
Not all architectural landmarks are preserved. Montfort Academy was recently reduced to a pile of rubble and hauled away. Also doomed are the silos and barn incorporated as part of the Sheraton, built in the 1960s on what had been a farm. It can distress people when certain familiar buildings are swept away by changes beyond their control. As someone who has lived in the Fredericksburg area all my life, I count myself among those who welcome change but wish that it was not coming at the expense of so much of the past.