Lubbock Left

Thanks to LubbockOnline.com forums regular El Alacran, I found some news that I would have otherwise missed:

The downtown gazebo near the Mahon Library will be torn down today, city officials said last week.

The gazebo, on an island off the right-of-way between avenues K and L at Ninth Street, has been there for more than 20 years. But city officials say it’s rarely used. In the past few years, it’s been a makeshift shelter for the homeless, whose belongings were removed by the city about two months ago. And its wooden frame is deteriorating to a point the city considers it a liability, said Mark Yearwood, an assistant city manager.

“No one is really over there using it,” Yearwood said.

I used to eat lunch there and read a book now and then. I know a few other downtown workers who did the same.

I suspect that the demolition of this gazebo has more to do with trying to remove the homeless from downtown than with safety or aesthetics.

In the A-J article, I also learned that the gazebo was built along with the Civic Center and Library to commemorate the 1970 tornado. We should not tear down our history so quickly.

Worst of all, the demolition of the gazebo seems hurried and under-publicized — announced in the paper the morning it is scheduled to be demolished. As El Alacran wonders, was the City (or the A-J) trying to avoid any complaints about the gazebo being torn down?

Hmm.