You might think that the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance is laser focused on saving the iconic Brewster Memorial Hall.  After all, they have it on their seven-to-save list, right?  Not exactly.  You see, every year they add seven more to the list, and now it is forty two, soon to be forty nine.

It’s great that these people have dedicated their time and energy to sort through the old stuff in New Hampshire to tell us which they think are in need of preservation.  Would be a little more helpful if they could develop a program that actually does something to help with the huge cost.

Six years ago, we gave a group of like minded local preservationists half a million dollars and asked them to come up with a plan to fix the place.  They hired an award winning Boston Architect and came up with a $6.8 million “all or nothing” plan to restore the place.  So now they want to come here and tell us again why we should spend a lot of money to save the place.  Because it’s really really really significant and historic.  As if we don’t get it.

We get it.  The place is really really really historic.  What they don’t seem to get is that we have already been asked a few times to pay the huge cost of restoring it and said no.  It’s not about convincing us to vote millions for restoration, it’s about coming up with a credible plan that includes realistic goals, realistic cost estimates, and some serious private money consistent with their perceived importance.