The Provo Municipal Council will consider the fate of a city landmark tonight as it weighs whether to remove St. Francis of Assisi Church from the city's landmarks registry.

The Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake is seeking to strip the 70-year-old building of its historic designation to make it easier to sell. And a sale could then lead to the demolition of the structure.

The church itself moved to Orem in 2000 and needs to sell the Provo edifice to raise money to finish the work on its new home.

While we sympathize with the diocese's need to sell a building that it no longer uses and which has been shamefully attacked by vandals, we must add that tearing it down would be a loss to the Provo community. Demolition would remove an irreplaceable, if sometimes under-appreciated, piece of the city's heritage.

Once demolished, the building will only exist in photographs, drawings and people's memories. But memories and pictures do little to enhance a neighborhood or preserve history.

The city's made this mistake once before, when it allowed the Hotel Roberts, once considered one of the finest lodgings in the city, to be bulldozed into oblivion. It was one of the oldest buildings of its kind, and when it went down one early morning a bit of Provo's spirit went down with it.

It was not valuable simply because it was old but because of what it represented.

While it may be impractical to save every old building, there are some that represent key elements of community history, and demolishing these in the name of "progress" erases something important.

With the destruction of Hotel Roberts, St. Francis became the last remaining example of mission-style architecture in Provo. It adds a degree of southwestern charm to 500 West. It also is a reminder that Spanish priests, not Mormon pioneers, were the first white men to set foot in this valley. Fathers Dominguez and Escalante visited the area in 1776 during their exploration of the Great Basin.

Protecting St. Francis from demolition does not mean depriving the diocese of the money it needs. It just means finding a way to sell the property while preserving its history. It has been done before with other buildings. It should be done again.

Provo's First Church of Christ, Scientist became the home of the Provo Community Theater in the heart of downtown.

The old Brigham Young Academy on University Ave. came very near to being destroyed as officials and developers sought "progress." Residents got together to save the structure as the new public library. Today, it is an architectural jewel, hosting community events and creating an environment for learning.

The historic storefronts on the corners of University Avenue and Center Street have found new life hosting restaurants and offices while giving the downtown area a unique character.

The same general idea should be adopted with the old St. Francis church. The edifice could be used for a reception hall, a bookstore, a community center or anything else that preserves the original exterior architecture.

There is already a group working to find a way to spare it from the wrecking ball. The Historic Provo Preservation Foundation, led by Monroe and Shirley Paxman, is leading the way. They need to find a tenant who respects community heritage.

The city needs not only needs to keep this building on the historic registry but should play an active role in finding a tenant.

This piece of Provo's history must not be trampled in the march of progress.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A8.

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