From today’s Times Dispatch…

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

It was with great interest that I recently read the news story about the protest by Oregon Hill residents over the planned development of the Paragon property on Cary Street.

Being a native of Richmond, Oregon Hill and the 600 block of Cary Street both hold a special place in my heart because my great-grandfather, Lewis Jacob, was born in the Jacob House in 1828. He lived with his brothers at various places in and around Oregon Hill and the early Fan during the 19th century.

Understandably, I was most disturbed — as were many others — to see the Jacob House moved in 1995 to its present location. However, in retrospect, the carefully planned addition of modern townhouses which developed behind it tastefully complemented its setting and today stands as a testament to a blending of the old with the new.

I sincerely hope that the developers of the Paragon property will take note that these buildings are living monuments to the people who made Richmond and that they have an opportunity to prove that the past can live with the present.

Robert J. Crouch.

Richmond.