I write to offer a coda to Lauren Fenterstock’s highly persuasive and beautifully written opinion piece (“To move forward, Portland must loosen its grasp on history,” Jan. 10 ) supporting the Portland Museum of Art’s plans to redevelop the site of a historically preserved building once redesigned by John Calvin Stevens.

Stevens’ “Examples of American Domestic Architecture,” a text that won him international standing, primarily concerned itself with the same ideal the PMA seeks to achieve: art for all. In its preliminary pages, he and his co-author state their purpose was to counter what they saw as the “idolatry” of “wondrous works of architecture,” arguing: “Architecture, instead of acting as a hindrance, may act as a powerful helping agent in the process of sharing the fruits of labor equitably among all, and so promoting public health and happiness,” (page 10).

Nancy DellaMattera
Cape Elizabeth