Board of Trustees 2011-2012 Jerald R.

Merriman President h Daron Tapscott h Vice Presidenth Preservation Issues l Steve Whitcraft h Vice PresidentDevelopment Marsha Prior Vice PresidentHeritage Programs Claudia Worme Secretary Andrew J. McRoberts Treasurer Tom Bakewell Immediate Past President Wade Andres Jonathan Bull Daniel Huerta Yolanda Lawson, MD Nancy McCoy, FAIA Maribeth Peters Scott Potter Lisa Ricci Rofsky Katherine Seale Willis Winters, FAIA Carol Roark Interim Executive Director

June 18, 2012 Re: Implosion and/or use of explosives to demolish the Praetorian Building Dear Mayor Rawlings, Dallas City Councilmembers, Dallas City Manager, and Assistant City Managers: Preservation Dallas is concerned about the probable implosion and/or use of explosives to demolish the Praetorian Building at 1607 Main Street. We are not seeking to prevent the demolition of the Praetorian or the other low-rise buildings in the center of the National Downtown Historic District. Preservation Dallas hopes that the developer will utilize the space to construct buildings that have a strong positive impact on the redevelopment of the central business district. However, if the Praetorian Building is to be demolished, as appears almost certain at this point, we ask the City of Dallas to require that the building be dismantled in the traditional, top-down deconstruction method outlined in the Citys demolition ordinance. There are three significant reasons we oppose implosion or the use of explosives to demolish the Praetorian Building: damage to nearby historic buildings - several significant landmark buildings, part of the local Stone Street Historic District, are located only 40 to 80 feet from the site; it is one of the most congested in the Central Business District in terms of the proximity of nearby historic buildings potentially hazardous dust, including lead, that will settle over the citys center our Central Business District is no longer an 8 to 5 area people live and work downtown on a 24/7 basis the economic impact of shutting down the area around the building not only for the implosion but for the sustained cleanup needed later will cost many businesses and employees lost revenue and wages

Our investigation into the use of implosion as a means of demolition in other major cities tells us that most, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. New York and Philadelphia, banned demolition by implosion in their downtown areas ten or more years ago. Dallas needs to do the same. We ask that the City of Dallas forbid the implosion of the Praetorian and consider a permanent ban. Sincerely,

Interim Executive Director

PRESERVATION DALLAS 2922 SWISS AVENUE DALLAS, TEXAS 75204-5928 Interim TELEPHONE 214.821.3573 FAX WWW.PRESERVATIONDALLAS.ORG 214.821.3290 Executive Director

Carol Roark