Why would an institution of higher education embark on this course of action when the past record would indicate a more benevolent approach to historic buildings.
In 1983, the old Parsons College campus was named a Historic District and placed on the National Register of Historic Places. According to Will Page, Maharishi University instigated the nomination procedure by hiring him as project historian.
In the 1980s, Ewing Hall was in a deplorable state of repair; exterior walls were literally crumbling. Yet, the university procured grant monies and put considerable effort into rehabilitating a historic structure on the verge of collapse.
When Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment expanded its facility, every effort was made to echo the proportions and materials of Foster Hall's Georgian-Revival design.
I am baffled by this change in priorities. I am confused as to why the material legacy of Parsons College cannot be adapted to meet the changing needs of today's university. I am puzzled as to why two dozen or so of the "pods" can't be razed to make way for new construction. They possess neither the nobility nor significance of the architecture in the historic central campus.
- Mark Shafer, Fairfield, Chairman
Jefferson County Historic Preservation Commission.
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