The City of Fresno wants to demolish a 63-year-old air traffic control tower at Fresno Yosemite International Airport and replace it with a modern version. Yay!
The Fresno Historic Preservation Commission wants to save the 80-foot tower because it is a historical artifact that should join other important pieces of the city’s past like the William Saroyan residence, the Old St. Agnes Hospital and the Calwa Rocket. Yawn!
Should we care? Yes, but let’s first take a look at the quarrel between those who want to modernize a vital component of the airport and those who value the building’s history…