City Hall: Pride of Plattsburgh

What impression does a city present to first-time visitors?

Travelers judge the quality of a community by its institutions, especially the physical symbols of those institutions.

Let’s take a look at Plattsburgh’s City Hall. The devil is in the details.



Obviously these doors have been neglected for too long. Worn down by weather and people. Maybe time for a new finish on the wood? Dab of varnish or whatever it takes? Preventative maintenance will help these doors last longer. That will save the city money. Unless it thinks replacing them would be cheaper – a dubious proposition.




Take either side entrance, Cornelia or Trinity. Protective globes over the decorative lights are missing, probably busted by vandals. Leaves the light bulbs exposed to the elements. Is this safe, especially with rain leaking into the fixture? Would a building inspector let this pass if these were on private property?

Of course, Plattsburgh whines it has no money. At some point these details will have to be addressed. Too bad previous leaders spent money on nonsense like building a parking lot for a hotel by the lake that was never built.