I agree strongly with A.N. Didron when he stated that "It is better to preserve than to restore and better to restore than to reconstruct." That being said I feel that by keeping the facade of the old buildings along Wisconsin Avenue we are more so reconstructing than preserving.
The damage done to the original facade of the building has been severe and no longer resembles the original surface that used make Wisconsin Avenue what it was in that era. It is obvious that no efforts were made to preserve the facade when previous merchants occupied the location, so what is the big deal now? Is it it because the entire building is being threatened to be torn down, what good does it do to preserve the facade if the interior is no longer there to support it?
It does not make sense to spend the extensive time and money that would have to be put into updating, or rather, reconstructing the original facade when the Marriot would add a fresh look to Wisconsin Avenue; and more so when the Johnson Bank building on the corner, which is very well preserved, is going to still be standing in that location, offering a glimpse of both Milwaukee's past at its future.
Facadism is becoming a "easy" way out for businesses that want to show that they are friendly to the past, but really what is the point of the facade without the building behind it. Does it become a theme park? Where the facade is just a covering? How is that different from the facade of a big box store like Home Depot? Should that be worth saving in 40 years?
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