Fond adieu to Murphy building
The impending demolition of the G.C. Murphy Co. Building, a venerable landmark, represents a lamentable but worthwhile step in the revitalization of downtown Uniontown. The 70-year-old edifice is being wiped from Main Street in order to make way for small retail shops and an expansion of Storey Square, including erection of an amphitheater stage. It’s part of the makeover being carried out by Joseph A. Hardy III, whose real estate company owns the property along with much of downtown.
No change comes without controversy, and this one’s no exception. Preservationists are bemoaning the building’s date with the wrecking ball. They point out that the Murphy building sits along “historic” Route 40 and is part of the Uniontown Downtown Historical District, a designation that dates to 1989. And don’t forget that the Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh cited the building as its top preservation priority back in 2003.
It’s all well and good that some people view the Murphy building as worthy of recognition and even of saving. But that admirable goal doesn’t – and for quite some time hasn’t – meshed with modern economic reality.
What has the historic designation done to make the building more attractive, marketable or useful in the past 16 years? Not much. Holding out for more government grants to fund renovation, as some advocate, isn’t the answer. They may never materialize. And projects funded that way too often move at a snail’s pace, or the money is frittered away with little or nothing to show except yet another study for the shelf or a mere cosmetic alteration.
If Hardy, the billionaire founder of the 84 Lumber Co. chain and current Fayette County commissioner, couldn’t find a current viable use for the building, it’s doubtful anyone could have. Hardy is an impatient man who likes to get things done. He disdains the practice of studying things to death, or watching improvements trickle in like a leaky faucet.
Instead, Hardy’s approach is to open a floodgate and complete the project quickly – overnight if possible. Even the most diehard preservationist would have to admit that downtown looks a heck of a lot better since this facelift began, even if he or she had to drive here from Pittsburgh to see it.
Unfortunately, a vibrant Murphy building exists only in certain people’s distant memories or current pipe dreams. If progress comes at a price, the cost of this ticket seems reasonable.