Sign of decline, sign of the times

The laurel on Aug. 22 about the Elks Lodge demolition was one of the most mind-blowing things that I have ever read.

Saving the Elks Lodge building is not just about saving some old building; it is about saving infrastructure. Well-built and well-maintained buildings are an important segment of our infrastructure.

Just as it is a travesty to permit sound residential structures to deteriorate or structurally sound, aesthetically significant religious buildings within Johns-town’s neighborhoods to be demolished, it is also problematic to allow structurally sound commercial-institutional buildings, without a smidgen of regret, to be demolished for a parking lot.

The destruction of sound infrastructure for a parking lot is a sign of decline that sets a bleak precedent for the future of downtown Johnstown and its neighborhoods. There is no such thing as a future without a past.