We certainly hope Eric Bowman has a definite plan for the People’s Theater; otherwise he’s just going to be another person who has come to Roanoke Rapids and duped the people in the name of entertainment.

What makes us dubious is it has taken six years for Mr. Bowman, a real estate attorney in Arizona, to state his plans for reviving the iconic theater and plenty of ignored warnings and false starts.

To us, the People’s Theater is among a handful of icons in the city that are worth saving.

This week we have attended two meetings that made us think of historical preservation and just how lightly it has been taken in the city.

The first meeting dealt with the school system’s plans for the Patterson Mill. There’s not much to do there but turn it into an athletic field, which is fine with us. We would, however, like to see the tower saved as a memorial to the rich textile history here.

We would also like to see a vigorous effort made to save the office of the Rosemary Mill before it falls victim to the wrecking ball and leaves yet another piece of scorched landscape in that area.

Back to Mr. Bowman. We would urge him by any means necessary to save the People’s Theater because it is just that — a people’s theater in the avenue business district.

Mr. Bowman’s past track record doesn’t sound promising as he tied the initial inaction to the failure of Carolina Crossroads and had investors back out because of that failure.

That may be the case, but perhaps if Mr. Bowman tied the venture to his own initiative instead of hitching his wagon to Randy Parton’s blemished star he could have had a jazz and blues club up and running by now.

In his letter to the city asking officials to not go through with taking the matter to court for a ruling that would either require him to repair the building or tear it down, he says he wants to go back to a cinema format and we wholeheartedly support that idea.

The People’s Theater is a throwback and to see neon glowing along the avenue would make us smile.

We realize this is a huge undertaking but we think it needs to be done now that Mr. Bowman has put his plans in writing.

The city had to do what was in the best interest of the safety of the citizens in taking this matter to court after six years of inactivity.

Now Mr. Bowman needs to deliver on his promise to a city that has been stung by not only by Parton and Lafayette Gatling but in many ways the city itself with its musical chairs version of who’s going to run the theater now.

We believe it is time to take historic preservation seriously in Roanoke Rapids. Whether you like the story of Norma Rae or not, it is part of our history. Whether you never set foot in the People’s Theater when and if it is rehabilitated is your decision.

It remains obvious to us, however, we would like to have an opportunity to choose to go or not go rather than staring at a dilapidated icon or an empty lot where an iconic piece of history used to be — Editor