A building on Greenwich Avenue that was once a Howard Johnson before becoming a series of other restaurants, has been razed by the Carpionato Group. Most recently the property was the site of Conte’s Restaurant, which has been closed at least 10 years.

Roberta Mudge-Humble, an English professor at the Community College of Rhode Island and a lecturer on the state’s historic structures, said she regrets the building’s loss.

The orange and blue color scheme that represented roadside dining, a dizzying array of nearly 30 flavors of ice cream and comfort food at its finest, was a distinctive chapter in American culture. It was a time when families sat down to share a meal without the need for cell phones or baseball caps. The building had previously been altered to remove the distinctive sharp peaks of the distinctive Howard Johnson style and made into a more conventional style.

“It’s disconcerting that we’re losing all the Howard Johnsons,” she said, noting there formerly was a HoJo’s across from Garden City before it became Duncan Fyffe. “I’m interested in historic architecture, and I wish they had kept the structure and restored it then remodeled it. The outside could have been returned to a Howard Johnson and the inside could have been anything you want.”

Humble, author of a book on Rhode Island’s historic armories, said many of them have been reclaimed from the rubble and given new life. She would like to have seen that done in this instance. The recent sale of the Pontiac Mills to a Baltimore developer promises to be that kind of re-purposing.

“Rhode Island is home to more than 19,000 historic sites,” she said. “We’re losing things that mark our history. People will tear almost anything down – look at Rocky Point. Once it’s down you can’t bring it back. People are so sad when they see pictures of things that aren’t there anymore. We’re losing our heritage; everything is being plasticized.”

Since Conte’s Restaurant closed more than a decade ago, the building became an eyesore and remained that way, as it stood empty, falling into profound disrepair. It took only about one day to raze it.

Located across the street from the Stop & Shop plaza at 575 Greenwich Ave. and next to the Salvation Army resale shop at 558 Greenwich Ave., it had been earmarked for demolition for some time. Initially, the plan called for a Stop & Shop gas station to be built, but the planning department received no application and it steadily grew more dilapidated.

Kelly Coates, the Carpionato Group’s senior vice president for development and commercial leasing, said plans for the gas station are on hold.

“We’re knocking it down and clearing the site because it’s a nuisance for the neighbors. It will be developed as a commercial site.” He said an announcement is forthcoming.

Deborah Hafferty, a generalist in the zoning office, said she felt nostalgia for Conte’s, which was always popular. “It was good Italian food.”