Destruction of the Reagan apartment last month |
As Ronald Reagan told the National Catholic Educational Association in 1982, "The immigrants who came to Chicago, the poor in our inner cities, the middle classes struggling to make ends meet—these Americans still believe the American dream." The Reagans believed in the American dream and themselves struggled to make ends meet in Chicago. It represents the ordinariness of one of our most extraordinary presidents.Related posts:
There are many rather ordinary presidential sites that have been saved. A home in Buffalo where Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office is a National Historic Site. The home in Vermont where Calvin Coolidge took his oath is also a Historic Site.
An apartment where our 40th president lived and almost died was worthy of similar protection. But as a Hyde Park Historical Society board member told the Chicago Sun-Times, "Whatever you think of Reagan—once the building's gone, it's gone forever."
Reagan’s legacy is not gone, however. It lives in the town squares of Eastern Europe where statues and plaques and road signs continue to be erected in Reagan's honor. The University meanwhile promises to adorn the new hospital facility with an inscription noting Reagan's association with the site, but for a president who won the Cold War without a shot, that simply won't do.
- Proposed Tampico Reagan statue only $10K short of fundraising goal
- (Exclusive photos) Mourning in America: Univ. of Chicago completes demolition of Reagan home
- Marathon Pundit's Ronald Reagan Trail
Ronald Reagan: From Sports to (Google Affiliate Ad)
2 comments:
Was there even a reason given as
to the home had to be demolished?
The U of C wants to put a parking lot there for its new hospital wing across the street. They could have kept the Reagan home standing and still had their lot. They are very shortsighted, Jim.
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