Can preservationists sell history in pieces?
Is time running out for the Meason House? The owners of the historic Georgian Palladium mansion along Route 119 in Dunbar Township have options before them and decisions to make. Not one of the options under consideration by Terry and Diane Kriss entails leaving the home as is. The mansion, listed on the National Historic Register, belongs to the Krisses and it is theirs to do with as they wish. But this isn’t an ordinary split-level home. It is an important Fayette County landmark. Once altered or removed from our landscape a linkage to our history will be gone.
The Krisses listed the Meason House on the Internet auction site E-bay with the intention of selling it to the highest bidder who was willing to dismantle and move it elsewhere. As of Monday afternoon, with just 19 hours remaining for the auction, the Krisses’ undisclosed reserve price had yet to be met. But the couple said they would consider other offers, including – to the dismay of those with even an inkling of historical preservation – selling it off bit by bit.
The Krisses who for many years have fought commercial encroachment circling their property said they had given up. The unusual E-bay listing was an attempt, they said, to preserve the house by finding a buyer willing to move it to a protected parcel. Even if that were to occur, the house would lose its historic designation and there would be little the Krisses could do to ensure its protection.
If protecting and preserving the home’s historical character is what the Krisses are all about – and that’s what they have always maintained – why would they consider selling fireplace mantles to some, doors to another and windows to yet more customers? Were these statements made for the shock value or are they seriously considering an option to ravage the house?
The Krisses said that not one local or state official has approached them since they listed the property to ask what could be done to keep it intact. We had hoped that a dialogue would have occurred. That it hasn’t leaves the Krisses with one less option – turning the house over to preservationists.
Options remaining are dreadful. If the Krisses move ahead with their plan to dismantle the house or sell it piecemeal they will have done what all the surrounding commercialization has failed to do. They will have destroyed the Meason House. It is their choice to make.