Architectural Art

Expert: Downtown has potential

By David Bowser
Correspondent

It is with more than nostalgia that Guy Giersch returns to his native Amarillo.

Photo by Ralph Duke Amarillo native: Guy Giersch, historic preservation officer for McKinney, speaks in McKinney about possibilities for Amarillo's downtown.

"I hate to see it," Giersch said, "but every time I come home another building is missing. They've put up some metal building next to a beautiful piece of architecture, and that concerns me."

Born and reared in Amarillo, Giersch is the historic preservation officer for McKinney, Texas, one of the fastest growing communities in the United States. He's been there for seven years come April.

"The population in the last seven years grew from something like 55,000," Giersch said, "to something like 123,000 today."

But sitting in Hastings coffee shop on Georgia, he said he loves Amarillo.

"I love this place," Giersch said. "To me, there's such a rich history.

With a background in historic preservation, he sees a city's architecture embodying its history.

"It tells us a lot about who we were," he said. "From that perspective, it may give us some ideas about who we are and who we might become."

He said he understands property rights issues, but the community also has to consider that their rights end at the end of his nose, Giersch said.

"When I do something that affects other people, and it's been tested time and time again against the Constitution, that it's OK to have rules and regulations and expectations," he said.

Giersch said he remembers going downtown as a kid at Christmas and Santa's Workshop was set up on the grounds of what was then the Mary E. Bivins Library at 10th and Polk.

"I remember going to all the stores that were decorated," Giersch said.

Downtown was a special place. Research indicates, he said, that the quality of the community can be measured in the quality of its downtown.

"When you think of great cities," Giersch said, "you think of downtowns."

People wanting to go vacation, generally don't think about Dallas or Houston.

They think about Santa Fe, San Francisco, New York City, Rome or Paris.

"It's not just because they're older cities," Giersch said.

"It's because they have maintained a character. They have a thriving downtown. People are out and about."

People tend to be around other people.

"They like to see and be seen," Giersch said.

"That's a very critical issue."

He said that since he's been back in Amarillo to check on his mother, he's heard that there is a move to build a hotel downtown.

"What a great opportunity," Giersch said. "They have a great opportunity."

He said he thinks the Herring Hotel ought to fill that role.

"I remember my senior year that's where we had our senior dinner and dance in the Old Tascosa Room," Giersch said.

"What a great hotel. It needs to be restored back to its greatness."

He said there is no reason not to, with some good planning and with various tax programs available to benefit the restoration.

"It may require establishing building and getting it on the national register of historic places," Giersch said.

"These are things that can all be accomplished and help qualify that building for various tax benefits."

Giersch said he thinks it could be the crown jewel of downtown Amarillo.

"I would love to come to Amarillo and stay in that hotel and go to a cutting horse event or go to the performing arts center."

He points out that a premier dance company from New York City comes to Amarillo this month.

"What a great opportunity to have a great hotel," he said. "There's no reason you couldn't include residences in it, shopping in the bottom, great restaurants."

He said when more people move into downtown, and lofts become more prevalent, the city needs to think about its architectural standards.

"There are a lot of buildings that have been bulldozed where parking lots now exist," Giersch said, "but we all know that as downtown real estate becomes more valuable, it makes more sense to put a building on it, but you've got to be careful about the type of building that you put there."

He said he wouldn't go for signature architecture, but rather quality, well thought out, buildings that pay homage to the rich architectural past.

When downtown Amarillo was built, it featured a Pueblo Deco style with some neoclassical treatments.

"Why not build on that motif of the agriculture industry and oil and gas industry that has been so critical for this community," Giersch said.

He said another area he thinks the community should explore is looking at some historic preservation regulations so places like the Paramount Theater wouldn't have become office buildings.

"Can you imagine now that if Amarillo Little Theater had that as a performance hall?" Giersch said. "What if they still had the Wurlitzer organ in there?"

Giersch said McKinney restored its old courthouse, first built in the 1870s and remodeled in 1927.

A state theatrical association came to McKinney and said it wanted to put a theater organ in the courthouse.

"It's now one of just a handful of theatrical organs that are functional and available for use," Giersch said.

"They had that at one time at the Paramount. Now, it's lost."

The courthouse in McKinney is now a performing arts multi-use facility.

The first play performed in the McKinney courthouse was "To Kill a Mockingbird," Giersch said.

"There's gallery space," Giersch said.

"They lease office space to non-profits."

He said it's similar to the Mary E. Bivins house now being used by the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce and a number of nonprofit groups.

"That's why historical preservation can be critical in terms of maintaining existing great architecture," Giersch said.

Giersch said it always pains him to hear people say they drove through Amarillo when he tells them where he's from.

"I'm proud to be from here," Giersch said.

But he said that driving into Amarillo doesn't give a good impression.

"There's a lot of visual clutter like billboards," he said.

"I think part of being a great city is creating an atmosphere where people come into your city, and there's something there they want to see."

Giersch said heritage tourism is a multibillion dollar business in the United States.

"There's no reason Amarillo can't take advantage of a lot more of that if people could just figure out a way to capitalize on it," Giersch said.

He said Amarillo needs to decide who it is as a city.

"I believe that 85 percent of the gross national product is generated by companies with 20 or fewer employees," Giersch said.

He said he believes in putting the creative class to work in Amarillo, referencing Richard Florida's books "The Rise of the Creative Class" and "The Flight of the Creative Class."

"It literally is the creative capital of people that makes your economy rich and vibrant," Giersch said.

That type of economy, he says, is extremely diverse and is not subject to market fluctuations.

"You can't be a monolithic economy based on one item," Giersch said.

"You need a rich, diverse economy. That's just critical to maintaining your stability and steady growth."

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Posted: January 31, 2008