Neighbors rally against the demolition of historic Lincoln home

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Wednesday afternoon, the Preservation Association of Lincoln rallied outside the historic Miller home near 27th Street and Sheridan Boulevard.

“It’s just a travesty to see something this gorgeous and this beautiful in the neighborhood destroyed,” said neighbor Mark Daharsh. “It has so much wonderful history, and the architecture is just unsurpassed.”

The property in the Woodscrest area is over 100 years old and lays on 1.1 acres of land.

Originally home to the son of the founder of Miller and Paine department stores, the property has plenty of rich history.

The current owners, John and Ella Wirtz, bought the property in late September for $1.4 million and plan to demolish it on Monday.

Many in the neighborhood are upset about the decision and want people to know the importance of maintaining and renovating historic buildings.

“It’s a historic property,” said Kay Logan-Peters, President of the Preservation Association of Lincoln. “It’s part of a beautiful neighborhood, and it will be demolished and replaced with a new home, and we would rather see historic neighborhoods full of historic houses.”

The association set up the rally and was joined by others in the neighborhood and surrounding communities.

“We’re just trying to make everyone aware of this beautiful house that we’re losing here,” said association member Eileen Bergt. “It’s an important house for the history of Lincoln.”

But some, like neighbor and friend Mark Whitehead, are in support of what the owners are doing.

“He [John Wirtz] is developing his legacy in this community,” said Whitehead. “He’s proud of Lincoln. He’s proud of this neighborhood. What he builds here is going to be a credit to Lincoln in this overall neighborhood.”

Channel 8 reached out to John Wirtz, who said his family is taking the process very seriously and has been working with experts to build a home that will fit the character of the neighborhood.

Wirtz wants the community to know how much they care about the Lincoln community and that they just want to build a house they can call their forever home.