The Salvation Army Building

Two nights ago I was driving home from parent teacher conferences and got a call. A friend wanted to let me know that the Salvation Army building in Ashland had been torn down.
Over the summer I worked with a few people in town to complete a National Register of Historic Places nomination for Historic Downtown Ashland. There were literally hours that went into this nomination with hopes that it will be officially listed on the Register in the spring of 2011. When coming up with the boundary of Historic Downtown Ashland, I wanted to stretch a bit to include the Salvation Army building, a classic example of 1920's and 30's architecture. It has now gone the way of the Dodo bird.
I'm frustrated because many of us have spent hours to research and prepare the nomination. I'm aggrivated because people seem not to care about our heritage. I'm discouraged that individuals, businesses, and institutions would rather tear down buildings than let someone else attempt to restore and/or rehabilitate the building. You can't tell me that an empty lot is worth more than the actual Salvation Army building.
Millions of dollars were donated for the Salvation Army to build a new facility and yet, they couldn't wait for their old building to sell. Rediculous! What many people don't know is that the home the Salvation Army tore down to build the driveway to the new Crock Center was the home of General William Slocum of the Civil War.
I'll have to think whether or not I will be throwing any money in the red kettles this Christmas.