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Unfortunately, Winona’s love of history might cloud the public discussion of what could be — in other words, Winona’s vibrant future.
Now, we certainly don’t think Winona is going to fold up and become a sort of ghost town. Just the opposite. Winona’s future and potential seem absolutely limitless, even in these sobering economic times.
But sometimes, its inability to escape the past causes a sort of visionary rigormortis.
Take the Wilkie.
Even after plans to demolish the crumbling structure were settled, a task force charged with envisioning a new plan for the Levee was only able to see another boat. Where two boats had been and failed, this new task force sees another.
But with a downtown faced with the same challenges of almost every other downtown in America, isn’t it time we tried something new? While some look at empty storefronts in the downtown and see the end of a once-grand era, it’s easier to see heritage, gorgeous architecture and the one thing few other downtowns can boast: The Mississippi River running right along side it.
In the case of a new Wilkie, a boat by any other name may still be just a boat that no one will visit.
And this isn’t Iowa — if you build it, they (the tourists) might not come. That’s because the best indicator of the future ironically lies in the past. While a new group looks at a bright future, they forget the dismal past of the Wilkie.
The Wilkie had a grand salon. It had a museum. It had spectacular views. It had all the things that a new boat or structure would have. And no one came.
Some have attributed that to the financial mismanagement of a now defunct board and leaders. But a great attraction would have continued to draw folks from out of town and most importantly, public support.
But support for restoring, saving and even building a new structure seems fleeting save for a few dedicated people. The plans to restore or even rebuild the Wilkie (or a boat by another name) have been embraced by the community with such a tepid response, we can’t help but wonder how in the world tourists would support a structure with such phenomenally poor local buy-in.
Now, after months — bordering on years — of talk, the city council has sent the Wilkie issue back to committee for a cataloging of all the things that could be done on the Wilkie site. More talk, no more action.
We’d like to chime in with our solution because the city seems to be expanding its field of options, rather than coming to any conclusion.
Tear down the Wilkie. Tear it down soon.
We will not be able to see beyond the boat both literally and figuratively until it’s gone. Tear it down and keep the utility hook-ups in tact so that if and when another structure is built there, taxpayers aren’t out the money to restore services.
While the levee wall isn’t going anywhere and while the view of the river from that point may be impeded, let’s not rush to put anything new on the site.
Instead, let’s have the site sit vacant — put a moratorium on it for one year.
During that time, we can dream and talk informally as a community of what should be put in its place. It seems the more we talk about what’s next for the site, the farther away we get from action.
After a year, let’s come back to the drawing board, let’s start dreaming a new.
Rebuilding another Wilkie and then deeding it to the city seems like more of a problem than a solution. The city didn’t want the original Wilkie and giving a new one to the taxpayers to support is nothing more than an albatross with a paddlewheel.
If we’re not careful — if we rush to embrace a new boat with a different name, history might have a very unfortunate way of repeating itself.
The Winona Daily News editorial board also includes publisher Rusty Cunningham and online editor Jerome Christenson.To comment, call 453-3507 or send e-mail to letters@winonadailynews.com.
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