ustxtxb_obs_1976_10_15_50_00013-00000_000.pdf

:$C , EARTH SHOE STORE 474-1895 1610 Lavaca Austin, Texas 78701 THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST ORGANIZING COMMITTEE OF TEXAS Presents its National Chair, America’s most notable Democratic Socialist MICHAEL HARRINGTON Speaking at Texas A&M University Thursday; October 21, 8 p.m. Room 601, Rudder Tower College Station For more information, contact: Austin DSOC Dallas DSOC Houston DSOC 209 West 20th 4924 N. Hall P.O. Box 7296 Austin 78705 Dallas 75235 Houston 77008 478-2095 522-6107 777-4470 La Fonda de la Noche Southwestern Cuisine Liberal FoodConservative Prices 2405 Nueces at a 474-7562 Good books in every field JENKINS PUBLISHING CO. The Pemberton Press John H. Jenkins, Publisher cP Box 2085 Austin 78768 Given a remaining construction budget of $3.4 million, this means a cost to the taxpayer of $100 per square foot. \(The figure distributed by the college district varies from $57 to $63, leaving a discrepancy As regards the old buildings, Mr. Thornton and Dr. Priest, supported by their architects and their general contractor, Robert E. McKee, have claimed that restoration would cost between $6 million and $11 million. What they have in mind here is restoration of the entire 140,000 square feet enclosed by the buildings. This would mean a cost per square foot of up to $82. \(James Grieves found the college district’s figures a little hard to swallow: he recently restored a much older building in Delaware for $43.40 per square foot and another in Baltimore for Mr. Thornton and Dr. Priest have not warmed at all to a suggestion by the HPL that they restore only 34,000 square feet of the interior of the Sanger buildings, “mothballing” the rest for future expansion, or using it for storage, or leasing it out, or whatever. \(In response to that suggestion concerning expansion, the DCCCD has stated that there won’t be a future expansion of El Centro. Once it reaches a fulltime equivalent enrollment of 4,000 students, it will accept no moredespite the fact that El Centro is the only campus in the college district which is easily accessible to minority students who must travel by bus There are still other curiosities in the college district’s fight for its patch of grass and its cigar-box link. One is that during the meeting of the board of trustees, back in 1966, when the Oglesby Group were awarded their contract, it was specified that the three older buildings in the Sanger complex would be destroyed. Another is that for all its claims not to need that 140,000 square feet in the historic structures, the district felt obliged in 1974 to purchase a new administration building, across Elm Street, for something like a million dollars. The question now is why? Why have Mr. Thornton and Dr. Priest fought such a bitter and costly battle to destroy three of Dallas’ five remaining downtown buildings constructed prior to 1900? And why, apart from possible financial considerations, have so many decent, intelligent people tucked their tails in obeisant support of such a scheme? On the other side, what has inspired the titantic efforts of the HPL and its supporters, virtually none of whom has received a dime in remuneration and most of whom have encountered some degree of risk to jobs, friendships, reputations? Part of the answer, in my opinion, is that the battle has long since transcended the issue of this or that particular building to a level of principleperhaps experienced un consciously. The old brick buildings, in addition to their obvious historic value, are symbols, really, of something else, as is the new slab of windowless concrete bearing down upon them. You’d have to visit the site to know what I mean. The newer building is monumental, a thing of straight lines and angles, of mathematics, technology, of power, efficiency, controla source of pride, no doubt, for the men behind the building of it, who identify with it, who expect to propel Dallas into the jetstream of the 21st century, who expect to grow richer and more powerful from that propulsion. Then you bump into the older buildings. They are messy. They don’t exactly match. They have windows that open and funky decorations, raw wooden floors, and old clanky lifts whose cables are exposed. They do not suggest power. They do not suggest supersonic propulsion. They suggest steamy summer days and lemonade and woven straw fans powered only by the human hand. They are definitely in the way of progress. IF YOU ARE an occasional reader and would like to receive the Texas Observer regularly or if you are a subscriber and would like to have a free sample copy or a one year gift subscription sent to a friend here’s the order form: SEND THE OBSERVER TO name street city state zip this subscription is for myself gift subscription; send card in my name 1=1 sample copy only; you may use my name $10.00 enclosed for a one year sub bill me for $10.00 % MY NAME & ADDRESS gOBSERVER E 600 WEST 7TH, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78701 October 15, 1976 13 HALF RECORDS M. A.G AZ IN E . .4 STeitts ATOM: 1514 LA.V.ACA. WACO: 251114 COLUME:1/g DAUM: 4536 iticlatiNTY AVk 105 Z.Ltt s219 w..ovERS 14. BIG a ax a./ t 205 S. ZANG PRIM. ri II 11 4:4 I,’.