Robin Hood Inn, Love it or Leave it

Folks around Kent began to lament the loss of an iconic Kent bar when we broke the news Sunday that the owner of the Robin Hood Inn is planning to .

Mostly, people shared their of a place they cherished in their youth.

But a small movement — mostly through online conversations — started to advocate saving the old building. Membership in a Facebook page, "Save the Robin Hood," climbed from 14 before we broke the news to 50 at last count. The page had seen little activity since its creation last summer when the bar closed.

Proponents of saving the tavern point to a loss of similar historic landmarks in Kent. There are myriad such examples: the John Brown Tannery, the First Christian Science Church, the Erie Railroad shops, the Kent Opera House, perhaps even the Kent Hardware building. I'll admit Kent has lost quite a bit of its historic architectural landscape throughout its 205 years.

Yet for every building lost, Kent has maintained quite a bit of its historic structures.

One of the most obvious examples is the Silk Mill Apartments on River Street. Owner Jim Arthur spent millions to renovate what started as a mill and was once a box factory into arguably Kent's most luxurious loft apartments. And he did so while maintaining the building's historic silhouette.

Rockton Masonic Lodge No. 316 has proven a fantastic steward for the Marvin Kent homestead, otherwise known as the Masonic Temple, on West Main Street. Thanks to the Masons, the home of Kent's namesake lives on.

John Steinert can be credited with restoring the old Kent water works, which briefly housed glass artisans and today is home to Looking Glass Learning Center at . Another Kent business, Davey Drill, has maintained the remnants of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad car shops off Mogadore Road.

And perhaps the largest example is the front campus of , where the school's first academic buildings were constructed nearly 100 years ago.

The movement to "Save the Robin Hood" has its merits. If you went to Kent State, had a friend who did or grew up in the area, you've probably got more than one memory from that place. It's been a popular fine-dining restaurant, a grunge bar and solid live music venue in its day.

But the movement has manifested little other than derogatory remarks about the property owner. In this discussion, let's keep in mind we live in a free country, and private property rights should not be taken lightly.

Unfortunately, for whatever reason, owner Christine Coven has declined to talk publicly about her reasoning for wanting to demolish the Robin Hood. That means no one really knows her thought process. For all we know, this was a wrenching personal decision based on financial feasibility.

As we first reported, we know the building has some structural issues, so it's not a matter of simply tapping the kegs and opening the doors again. And as many have pointed out, the building lacks parking, which today is crucial to the success of any business.

I fully support saving historic landmarks wherever they may stand — as long as saving those landmarks is within reason. Leaving a building stand just because we want to keep looking at its interesting architectural style is not a fair argument.

I encourage those who truly want to save the Robin Hood to do so. Work together and develop a business plan and buy the building, or help arrange its sale to a nonprofit or third party. Pleading for the city or Kent State or the Kent Historical Society — which is in the midst of saving the historic — or some other entity to buy it is not productive. And blasting the owner for making a call on their own property has the same result.

Granted, Kent has lost some of its history through the years. But skylines and landscapes will always change with time, so cherish what still remains — your memories.