Cindy Stone, Director
Office of Community Programs
Maryland Dept. of Housing
and Community Development
100 Community Place
Crownsville MD 21032
"Ms. Stone.
Please do not be taken in by a scam by our mayor to pour grant money into a building that is neither historic nor in an historic district. I am president of the Wicomico Historical Society and have done a lot of research about Salisbury's older structures. While it was contructed in a most unusal manner/style in 1912 as an American Store (Acme), it has had a rather sordid life since. It has been a bar, a brothel and is now run-down apartments. The mayor herself owns quite a bit of rental property in that area and it would financially benefit her to "brighten-up" the neighborhood. In these times of economic stress, I think the money could be spent much wiser elsewhere. After all a grant is not free money from a money tree. It is our taxpayers dollars and I hope whomever is in charge of doling it out has some sense of fiscal responsibility. This is only a ploy of the real estate establishment to benefit themselves without regard to the common taxpayer. Thank you for your time.
George Chevallier
1033 E. Main St.
Salisbury, MD 21804"
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
George , I agree , the mayor has been doing these things for so long , she thinks it's OK.
ReplyDeleteI have made some calls to point this out to some federal people.
I think the public is tired of this nonsense . I look at it as if she is stealing our tax paying dollars! She has mental health problems!
I also wrote in to express my concerns as to the application of this money to "The Bricks"--however, mine was not as eloquent or well-written as Mr. Chevallier's. His prospective and knowledge as to our City is amazing--and much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteGOD this place is beautiful!!
ReplyDelete(Nanticoke)
George, You are a great contributor to this sight.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy your articles
and have much respect for your
opinions.
GOD this place is beautiful too!
ReplyDelete(Quantico)
George, I agree that it would be ridiculous to apply grant money to this building.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to know the history of that "hotel" that is near the Hershey Store down the street. When I moved here 25 years ago, the building was rundown but very unique looking. Over the years, a lot of the building has been remodeled or modernized and I just wondered what it was in the beginning. Thanks!
Can anyone find out if this property in insured thru a certain insurance agency?
ReplyDeleteYou go George!
ReplyDeleteGeorge better watch his back now. Barrie Tilghman will have every department under her power crawling up his back. Expect a visit from Tom Stevenson soon George, he'll be there to site you for leaves falling from the trees.
ReplyDeleteGood job George I agree with you 100%.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know the Mare & Co. were slum lords in the area. Can someone prove that.
what is the address of this building, im not sure where it is
ReplyDeleteGo George, nice letter. And for all the rest of the people who have also called or written, thank you. We CAN take this town back!
ReplyDeleteGood Job!
ReplyDeleteMORE of this needs to happen!
LLC to cover your arse
ReplyDeleteThat means you can only sue for the cost of a run down house if you loose a leg in a slumhole. not the perps personal assests, ought to be a law against them.
George u da man
ReplyDeleteGeorge: Remember when it was Willie's Fair or some sort of thing after Acme. Heck I was a kid then!!! I guess was driving a car by that time..
ReplyDeleteWhat i would love to know is what FOB is going to profit hideously from this? Does anyone know?
ReplyDeleteMr Chevalier Thanks for your knowledge and your willingness to correct the improper impression of some of our political people.
ReplyDeleteThe mare is probably about 3 sheets in the wind by now. Taking a million bucks out of her greedy hands to pass off to her developer buds is a huge no no. I'd love to be a fly on the wall in her office when she read this.
ReplyDeleteGeorge, I know that you are quite an expert in Wicomico County history. However, I do question your statement that this building is not historic. A day or two ago, I wrote a comment to another posting at this site about this building. I referred to Paul Touart's just-published book At the Crossroads: The Architectural History of Wicomico County, Maryland. Mr.Touart is an authority on architecture and has written three volumes about the history and buildings of the three Lower Shore counties. If you haven't seen this book yet, it may be purchased from the Nabb Center at SU.
ReplyDeleteMr. Touart does not mention anything about the building being erected as an Acme store. It was built by Lloyd Richardson in 1912. Mr. Touart cites an article from the Wicomico News (April 25, 1912) thast the building under construction "will contain a storeroom in the centre [sic] with apartments for families on each side and above the storeroom." Perhaps the "storeroom" was, indeed, an Acme.
I should think that this structure was, as Touart points out, unique both for its design and for its intended use. Apartment buildings were rather uncommon in 1912, were they not, especially for Salisbury. Additionally, while the Church St.-Isabella area is now rundown, it was once a respected area. I am a friend of a lady just down the street on Isabella who was reciting a list of all the well-known (and prosperous) people who lived in the area. She has held on despite the changes in the community because it has been her home for so long.
As I wrote in my other posting about the Richardson Apartment House, renovating this building might just be the catalyst to doing much more for the Church St. area.
10:31 asked about another distinctive building on Church St. It is known as the Hotel Esther, but it was the Dr. Robert Naylor house, built in 1896. It later became the John B. Parsons Home for the Aged until the present Parsons Home was built around 1930.
Thanks for clarifying that for me-I had heard from older relatives that it used to be a grocery store but I was not sure.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an interesting building. I work with investors that refurbish buildings along this line. Would any one have some concrete info on this that I could pursue further, address, owner buildings use at this time?
ReplyDeleteDrop me a line at cegerken@charter.net
Thanks