It is troubling to see what changes are envisioned for the soon to be demolished Boys and Girls Club facilities. The current structure is an historic icon on 6th Ave. N. that clearly needs help. The replacement building is totally out of character for its replacement. If the design team were to have had an historic architect on board, this 50s Safeway design would have never come this far. In historic preservation we talk about character-defining features, those elements that make a structure what it is. For the Safeway example the sweeping curvature of the roof is identifiable from any distance. For most McDonald’s buildings it is the golden arches. While not asking for an identical replacement for the existing building, I would suggest that the team identify the character-defining features that make the current Boya and Girls Club building so remarkable and incorporate some or all of those features in the replacement building. Safeways of the last century won’t cut it.