By Mark Cowling | Florence Reminder
The town’s historic Francisco Cuen House isn’t too far gone, and the State Historic Preservation Office wants to be a resource for Tom and Lynn Smith as they attempt to save it, a top SHPO official said.
Chris Cody, deputy state historic preservation officer, and other SHPO representatives were in town to tour the Cuen House and other key historic sites along with Florence’s Historic District Advisory commissioners and others on April 24.
“Absolutely it’s saveable,” Cody said after touring the badly-rundown little adobe at 11th and Main streets. “It’s a big project though, there’s no doubt about that. It can be saved. But how much of it can be saved, vs. how much of it has to be replaced, really we need an updated report from a structural engineer to understand it. The fact that an entire corner failed since the last engineering report is pretty scary, but I’ve seen buildings in much worse shape be brought back.”
