Downtown update puts historic character at risk

As I was walking by the hospital one afternoon, I stopped to look at downtown Kirksville. Our "skyline" is composed of Traveler's Hotel, the Adair County Courthouse, the Downtown Movie Theater, a water tower and a Baptist church. It's not much. There's no uniformity, no real rhythm. Really, it's just a few buildings thrown together. But it's Kirksville, and it has a character all its own.

On Jan. 12, the Historic Preservation Committee approved an ordinance to update many of the buildings that compose Kirksville's downtown district, which could include the same buildings I previously mentioned. The plan is to give the buildings a more natural look and ensure  the historical integrity of the town (see story, page 3).

But let's be honest: Kirksville is a hodgepodge.  Our roads are a hodgepodge of pavement, cobblestone and potholes. Our shopping is a hodgepodge of struggling chains, thrift stores and local eclectics.

The hodgepodge of Kirksville might be what we should try to preserve, not change. For instance, I'm from a bright piece of America called St. Charles, Mo. More than 200 years ago, that town was probably a hodgepodge of granaries, general stores and housing units. Then two guys by the name of Lewis and Clark camped out on the beach there, starting their journey to "discover" the rest of North America. And everything changed.

Fast forward to 2011 and — to my amazement — retirees, antique collectors and others obsessed with all old things flock to the one-mile stretch of river that has been dubbed "Historic Downtown St. Charles." Maybe you've been there, too. Or maybe you've been somewhere much worse, like Dodge City, Kan., an iconic Old West town that seems to have been frozen like a sepia photograph, tumbleweed and all.

In both cases, city planning committees have preserved what's economical — not historical. If Wyatt Earp returned to Dodge City today, he might arrest someone for trying to sell him a cheap pop-gun, rather than for starting a bar fight. Similarly, if Lewis and Clark went on a journey to modern St. Charles, the only thing they'd have to explore would be the endless trinket shops.

Tragically, the true character — and even history — of these two towns have been auctioned off to the highest bidder.

While Kirksville might never be an economically important tourist town, measures to artificially manipulate the downtown's appearance run the risk of selling out the town's true character.

Yes, our city is a hodgepodge, but what a beautiful hodgepodge it is. Kirksville is the place where the slightly nerdy, academic community meets the hard-working, agricultural community. Somehow, we get along. Somehow, we thrive. Somehow, we manage to put together a city. The hodgepodge of people that call Kirksville home find a place in this hodgepodge of a city.

As a result, we have a few buildings that might seem out of place. We might have minimalist architecture on one structure and an outrageous mural on the adjacent one. We might have a local barber shop next to a college bar. It might seem a little unorthodox and it might not make a very good postcard, but that variety is the essence of Kirksville. As the Historic Preservation Committee moves forward, that hodgepodge character is exactly the character that must be preserved.