historic preservation

Historic preservation is the theory and practice of creatively maintaining the historic built environment and controlling the landscape component of which it is an integral part. The Secretary of the Interior of the U.S. government defines the historic environment as districts, sites, buildings, structures, objects, and landscapes which are significant in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture.People practice preservation for many reasons. Preservation helps maintain identity, educates people about history, is an economic tool for planners and governments, and creates dialogues about shared values.The creative reuse of obsolete structures dates to the end of the 4th century in Europe, when the Theodosius ITheodosian decrees had rendered pagan temples obsolete, and Christian basilicas began to be built within those that were not demolished. Sacred wells became Baptisterybaptisteries from the 5th century. Creative resuse of historic structures remains at issue today.In England, AntiquaryAntiquarian interests had been a familiar gentleman's pursuit since the mid 17th century, developing in tandem with the rise in scientific curiosity: Fellows of the Royal Society were often also Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries (Summerson). The UK's Ancient Monuments Act of 1912 officially preserved certain decayed and obsolete structures of intrinsic historical and associative interest, just as Modernism was lending moral authority to destruction of the built heritage in the name of progress. The UK's National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural BeautyNational Trust began with the preservation of historic houses and has steadily increased its scope. In the UK's subsequent Town and Planning Act (1944) steps were undertaken towards historic preservation on an unprecedented scale.In the United States, cultural resistance towards any kind of zoning as a form of intrusive interference, slowed the formation of preservation trusts with a government connection. Though a Ladies' Association had already taken responsibility for the preservation of Washington's Mount Vernon in 1889, the Richmond, Virginia-based Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities was the United States' first statewide historic preservation group. The US National Trust for Historic Preservation, another privately funded non-profit organization, began in 1949 with a handful of privileged structures and has developed goals that provide "leadership, education, advocacy, and resources to save America's diverse historic places and revitalize our communities" according to the Trust's mission statement nationaltrust.org. In 1951 the Trust assumed responsibility for its first museum property, Woodlawn Plantation in northern Virginia. Twenty houses in all have subsequently become part of the National Trust, most of them architecturally elite. Under the direction of James Marston Fitch, the first university historic preservation program was begun at Columbia University in 1964.In his 1947 essay "The past in the future" Sir John Summerson gave a rough weighted listing of types of buiulding that in certain circumstances may deserve protection. In retrospect they seem self-evident, almost axiomatic, mixing values that were esthetic and "literary" (historic or associative), and they bear quoting, to which a one-word criterion is added to sum each up::#The building which is a work of art: the product of a distinct and outstanding creative mind. Esthetic - value:#The building which... possesses in a pronounced form the characteristic virtues of the school of design which produced it.Contextual - value:#The building which, of no great artistic merit, is either of significant antiquity or a composition of fragmentary beauties welded together in the course of time. Picturesque - value:#The building which has been the scene of great events or the labours of great men. Asoociative - value:#The building whose only virtue is that in a bleak tract of modernity it alone gives depth of time. Memorial - value

Historic Districts - While the preservation movement has initially focused on buildings, many cities have expanded the scope of historic preservation to entire neighborhoods where certain architectural styles predominate. In a challenge to its reputation as a city with no respect for history, Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles is perhaps the nation's leader in this movement by means of its Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ) program. Beginning in the Highland Park, Los Angeles, CaliforniaHighland Park district in the 1980s, the HPOZ program has spread across the city to encompass districts built in styles ranging from Victorian architectureVictorian and Arts and Crafts movementCraftsman (Highland Park, West Adams, Los Angeles, CaliforniaWest Adams) to Spanish Colonial Revival Style architectureSpanish Colonial Revival and Art Deco (Carthay, Los Angeles, CaliforniaCarthay); one Mid-century modernMid-Century Modernist neighborhood (on the West Los Angeles (region)West Side) has also been so designated, and one in the San Fernando Valley is pending.Other cities with district-wide preservation areas include New York, New YorkNew York, Boston, and St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis.

Preserving historic landscapes - The United States led the world in the creation of National Parks, areas of unspoiled natural wilderness, where the intrusion of civilization and the apparent hand of history are intentionally minimal.

Sources:development of historic preservation movements - Murtagh, William J. ''Keeping Time: The History and Theory of Preservation in America''. New York: Sterling Publishing, Co., 1990.

John SummersonSummerson, Sir John, 1947. "The past in the future" essay collected in ''Heavenly Mansions'' 1963.

Sources: historic preservation today -

preservationdirectory.com - PreservationDirectory.com: A resource for historic preservation, building restoration and cultural resource management in the US and Canada

worldheritage-forum.net - Worldheritage-Forum - Weblog and Information on World Heritage IssuesCategory:Urban studies and planningCategory:Architectural history

West Virginia Division of Culture and History
Agency presenting the arts, history, culture and folklife of West Virginia through the State Museum, State Archives, the Arts Commission and the State Historic Preservation Office.
http://www.wvculture.org/

Merchant's House Museum
New York City's only family home preserved intact -- inside and out -- from the 19th century.
http://www.merchantshouse.org/

Shultz Refinishing
Shultz Refinishing provides stripping and refinishing services to homeowners, businesses and institutions. We strip and refinish church pews, furniture, doors, shutters, windows and trim in our large shop. We also sell refinished furniture, antiques and refinishing supplies.
http://www.shultzrefinishing.com/

Greater Houston Preservation Alliance
A private, not-for-profit, membership organization founded in 1978 to promote the preservation and appreciation of the architectural and cultural historic resources of Houston, Texas.
http://www.ghpa.org/

Bohl Architects
Architecture & Interior Design Firm specializing in custom residential design and historic preservation with offices in Annapolis, Maryland, Los Angeles, California, and New York.
http://www.bohlarchitects.com/

National Trust for Historic Preservation
Preservation information, features, events and activism for America's historic places.
http://www.nationaltrust.org

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
Promotes protection and enhancement of America's historical resources.
http://www.achp.gov/

State of Illinois
Official site. Comprehensive source of information about the state and the state government.
http://www.state.il.us/

North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office
State government agency responsible for assisting in the protection of historic properties and sites in North Carolina.
http://www.hpo.dcr.state.nc.us/