A piece of the past; Ideas needed for reusing former public health lab.

COLUMN: IN OUR OPINION

There is a surprising entry at the top of this year's Preservation Worcester "wish list" - the former Worcester Public Health Laboratory off Skyline Drive. While rather unprepossessing compared with some structures on the list, this small piece of Worcester history is a worthy choice.

The nonprofit group releases a list of the city's eyesores and problem spots every year in hopes of attracting attention to what it considers architectural treasures that have fallen into disrepair.

The one-story brick building, near the new Worcester Technical High School, certainly does not look like a landmark. However, it housed what is believed to be the nation's oldest municipal health laboratory operation, established elsewhere in the city in 1894.

The existing 1936 building was named after Dr. Frederick H. Baker, medical examiner in Worcester for 42 years, who was considered to be a pioneer in the field of forensics. The lab equipment is long gone and the building has been unoccupied for decades.

Other new entries on the 2007 list, besides the health laboratory, are: 15 Midland St., a Craftsman-style bungalow, and 41 Queen St., the Henry and Walter Mellon Double House. Both houses are privately owned and were nominated because they are in disrepair. All are worthy additions as Preservation Worcester leads the charge in suggesting they deserve to be brought back into the fold.

Also on the list are four repeat entries from previous years: the Capitol Theater (former Paris Cinema) on Franklin Street; the Dewey Carriage House, 71 Elm St.; the Frank Waite House, 251 Salisbury St.; and the Clock Tower Building on the grounds of Worcester State Hospital.

The buildings on this year's list are just a few examples of the wealth of architecture and history that can be found in Worcester.

As for the old public health laboratory building, it is unlikely the city will be able to finance a preservation effort now, considering the budget constraints it faces.

Nonetheless, it is useful to at least begin a discussion of its future - beginning with ideas for a new use that would make preservation and renovation feasible. (Dr. Leonard J. Morse, the city's public health commissioner, thinks it might be turned into a museum to highlight the early work done there, for instance.)

With financial backing and in the right hands, neglected structures such as the public health lab could be brought back to life.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED: The key to saving the Worcester Public Health Laboratory is to come up with the right idea for its productive reuse - along with a workable plan for financing the renovations. Send us your suggestions in a letter to the editor, and we'll get them into print.