For those who haven’t heard, the Lake Champlain Bridge is scheduled to be demolished on Wednesday December 23, 2009 at 10am. (Talk about a terrible Christmas present for preservationists, huh?)
See this NYSDOT Press Release. The public may view the demolition at specific areas, such as on Vermont 125 (read this release from VTrans). If you are unable to attend the demolition, it will also be available online via live streaming – see the NYSDOT website on Wednesday morning.
How do preservationists feel about watching the demolition of a bridge they fought to save? Is it a once-in-a-lifetime type of situation or more of an I-can’t-bear-to-watch issue or more like I-will-not-dignify-this-decision-by-watching-it? What lessons could preservationists learn from watching it? Please share your thoughts.
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UPDATE: NYSDOT has issued a press release stating that the bridge demolition will be on December 28, not December 23. Read it here.
Preservation in Pink 
hey hey hey!!!!!! http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/24/us/24bridge.html?_r=1&th&emc=th
I agree that it’s totally heart breaking that more was not done to save this historic structure and I will not dignify the decision by watching it, either. It’s like if Paris decided to bomb the Eiffel Tower. Thank god I live in Germany now where preservation is a priority. I grew up on the banks of Champlain looking at that bridge every day and driving across it to Vermont on a weekly basis, at least. Sad, sad news that they did not even try to preserve it as a pedestrian bridge.