Atwater House RIP

I spend yesterday at a family funeral, so I was unaware of the demise of the Atwater House until I got home and tuned into the late news. 

Now, I’m not officially a preservationist, nor do I have any great steak in this demo debate as a Pano’s regular.  What I am is a descendant of grandparents who lived on Ashland Avenue, just a few blocks from the Atwater House. 

I grew up walking to the corner drug store for a bottled coke, passing by that house. 

I grew up carrying bags of groceries from Scinta’s Market in the shadow of that house. 

I grew up learning to define my community and myself surrounded by beautiful and eclectic West Side residences like that house.

 Did the Atwater House need to be demolished?  I have no idea.  Is its demolition a historic loss to the WNY Community?  It would appear so to me.  Is the owner of Pano’s going to replace the distinctive abode with an equally attractive and highly more serviceable building?  At this point, the architectural renderings are impressive but really, who knows?

 What I do know is that no matter how perfectly planned and financially successful that new corner of the Elmwood Village may become in the future, that spot nestled in along the Elmwood strip will always hold a reminder of my past…

 ….and I will miss it.