Truly sad to outlive the places and buildings of your youth

Another Portales landmark is falling by the wayside this week and strangely enough I’m not as disturbed by it as maybe I should be.

Portales City Hall hasn’t been at First and Main all of my life, but it’s been there long enough that I don’t remember it being anywhere else. The low-profile red brick building was directly across the street from another one of those landmark buildings for me, the Portales News-Tribune office so I passed it on my bike every day as I took off on my paper routes.

Later, when I moved back to Portales, and worked as managing editor, it was convenient to be able to stroll across the street for interviews or to attend city council meetings.

After I first got my driver’s license, all the town hellions and I knew the building as the “Cop Shop.” That’s right, the entire city police force operated out of the west side of the building, including the local dispatchers’ station.

A quick spin around the square told you exactly how many cop cars were at the station and how many might be on the prowl. I remember filling out police reports there when I had stuff stolen, but fortunately I never came through that door with handcuffs on my wrists. To my knowledge the thieves I made out the police report on never wore stainless steel bracelets either.

We paid our water and garbage bills there on the other side for years and heard lots of politicians report goings-on in Santa Fe or Washington in the seemingly spacious council chambers.

But like we all outgrew our two-bedroom frame and stucco houses, our city government has outgrown our modest city hall. The rumor is that the plumbing and electrical systems were shot. I’m quite sure the old flat roof had seen its best days decades ago.

City Hall has moved to 1028 W. Community Way.

The prospect of losing the old building really doesn’t distress me much. I guess if I wanted to become despondent it would be over the idea of having a vacant lot or public parking lot around our square; or maybe the fact that the symbol of our city government is no longer in the heart of our city.

The half block walk to that future parking lot is a little farther than I care to walk to my office, so I suspect I’ll never use it.

Fewer and fewer people are stopping in at our WPA-era post office, so chances are they won’t use much of the parking.

It’s truly sad to outlive the grain elevators, historic homes, work places and government buildings of your youth.

Karl Terry writes for Clovis Media Inc. Contact him at:

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