Historic preservation is important in communities with the long histories of Brookfield and Riverside. But it’s also important to pick your battles, as preservation often collides with current needs, including new housing and economic development.
That’s why the nostalgic tug to preserve Brookfield’s Theater Building is a fleeting feeling. A century ago, it was a destination on Grand Boulevard as a movie house. The reality though, as pointed out by Kit Ketchmark, who doubles as a village trustee and president of the Brookfield Historical Society, is that in the actual lifetimes of current residents this building has been deteriorating through half-lives as a manufacturing site or a car storage warehouse.
Honestly, until the village bought the building last year, we were only half aware of it as a blot on an improving streetscape.
Interesting discussion at the board table asking staff to seek bids not only from demolition firms but from “deconstruction” firms which will salvage the building materials and keep much of the wreckage out of landfill. Depending on the upside cost, this is the sort of action local governments ought to seriously consider.