It’s high time Lewiston does something to remove or repair the hulking eyesore that sits in the central downtown park named for President John F. Kennedy.

The rusted gazebo has been blocked off and its staircase removed since March of 2010.

Built in 1868, the gazebo in Kennedy Park is of significant historical value to the city for a number of reasons.

Kennedy spoke there just before his 1960 election to the White House. Three years later the young president would be dead and the park, like many around the nation, would be named for him.

The first Roman Catholic president’s faith, and his dedication to issues of poverty and justice, made him especially admired in the community.

And while the gazebo was there long before JFK ever visited the city, to leave it in its current rusty and dilapidated condition is disrespectful to his memory and our sense of history.

Leaving this scar on the downtown also detracts from both the public and private investment that has gone into the park and surrounding areas.

A new skateboard park, playgrounds, renovated pool and basketball courts have all made the place a more welcoming and fun place for residents and visitors alike.

Perhaps replacing the gazebo with a garden or a monument would be a more appropriate and less costly expense than the estimated $150,000 it would take to restore it to current codes for access to public places.

Lewiston’s Public Works Department does an excellent job caring for the city’s parks and flower beds and other public places.

It seems an insult not only to the city’s citizens and taxpayers but also to those hard-working employees who try to make our city cleaner, greener and more hospitable year-round.

The Lewiston City Council will discuss the gazebo’s fate during its regularly schedule meeting tonight at City Hall. 

If councilors are determined to keep the gazebo and vote to restore it, we would also urge them to consider setting up a long-term maintenance fund so that 40 years from now we are not facing the same.

If the gazebo is to be saved, the city should also move to ensure it is regularly used. Many towns in Maine, notably Farmington, feature weekly concerts on their bandstands in the summertime. Popular with young and old, the shows at Meetinghouse Park are well attended as we suspect any public music event in downtown Lewiston would be.

Many towns in Maine have managed, via historical preservation grants and local funding, to keep their gazebos and bandstands intact and active.

We hope Lewiston will do the same.

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The opinions expressed in this column reflect the views of the ownership and editorial board.