Since it has been mentioned elsewhere in the discussions, if you would like to see the real fate of NYC #16, demolished to make more vacant space adjacent to a CVS pharmacy parking lot, click this link and view the pictures in the middle of the page. You can make your own judgement about the press releases and media hype about the tug being moved to New York State. Compare the size of the pile of scrap with the original tug and you can see how much of the tug got scrapped (probably about 98%). All that was "saved" was the stack, the top level of the pilothouse, and some deck fittings:

http://www.tugboatenthusiastsociety.org ... oad-01.htm

Drugstore chains seem to be wanting to take all available land. Last I heard, Walgreens was hot to tear down the historic stone Midland roundhouse in Colorado City for a new store. This expansionism is a bit strange as besides a CVS, Rite Aid or Walgreens on every corner, every supermarket and department store already has a pharmacy. How many do we need? Sort of like the 1950s and '60s, when each intersection had four gas stations, cutting each others throats to stay in business.

Baby Boomers are starting to be senior citizens. Senior Citizens take the most prescription drug. Supply and demand.

A day doesn't go by that there isn't an editorial about this very subject in our local paper. And yes as the boomers get older, we do need more medications but if you check pricing, you will find that it is the very rare occasion where you can find a big difference. I agree with a writer just this morning that said the local governments have to be more cautious about giving out building permits. There was an old movie theatre torn down in Audubon NJ, for and Eckerds. The Eckerds lasted three months and is now vacant.

Later!
Mr. Ed

I really don't think this is about prescriptions. It's about real estate development and real sale. The tug boat wasn't a money maker, therefore, buy it and replace it with a structure for resale. A developer saw an opportunity and grabbed it. Real estate which remains unsold is a tax write-off. This will be true with roundhouses, shops and other once essential railroad structures which have survived into the era of a new economy. Unless you can insert a viable museum or restaurant, be prepared to see this happen over and over and over. I think it's worth the fight, but it's a losing battle.

As I see it, the problem with NYC 16 was the inability to move it by sea. I read somewhere that the underside of the hull had been scrapped when the boat was first erected.

Whether or not this is true, my point is that one of the new trends in maritime preservation is to get vessels out of water. While it no doubt preserves them in the short term it makes them vulnerable. The same goes with railroad equipment. If the connection of a railroad museum to the national system is abandoned, getting the equipment moved is many times more difficult. The increase in real estate prices will also put many marginal "museums' vulnerable when a developer wants to put a Walmart in its place.

I saw in the news today that the "cab kabob" in Berwyn, Illinois is to be the latest victim of pharmacy construction, it will be removed to make way for a new Walgreen's Pharmacy.

MX

Here a link:

http://my.earthlink.net/article/nat?guid=20070710/46930440_3ca6_1552620070710490481039

I guess what has happened to LA is now happening to the rest of the country.
Landmarks are being sacrificed in the name of "convenience"

Chris Allan

these drugstores are a menace..

(not railroad related, but preservation related.)
here in Rochester, NY we are about to lose a historic, 1920's era Art Deco movie theatre..being torn down for a new Rite Aid store..

and oh yes..a Rite Aid already exists ACROSS THE STREET! :(
they will be closing that one and moving to the new one..
unreal...

Walmarts all over Western NY are also abandoning their original stores for new "super center" stores built a mile or less away..has happened in 4 or 5 nearby towns I can think of. the old stores just sit empty.

Scot

Wal-Mart frequently stipulates the 'big-box' properties they vacate for even 'bigger box' superstore locations nearby cannot be occupied by retail competitors similar in size and/or scope of services. They'd rather hang onto an empty property than let a competitor move in. Old Wal-Marts often sit vacant for years before they are finally subdivided into smaller stores, or torn down and redeveloped. It's one of the undesirable side effects of having Wal-Mart come into a community that's becoming more and more apparent.

Gentlemen,

I've seen enough about drug stores and WalMart. Let's get back to preservation.

Thanks,
Kevin