I know our reading this week dealt mostly with buildings and environmental sites but I was reminded of this botched fresco restoration that I’m sure all of us recognize from a few years ago.
Here is the link to an article showing how they made the most out a terrible situation. I thought you might enjoy it.
Botched Restoration of Jesus Fresco Miraculously Saves Spanish Town
I am not quite sure if we are supposed to post links regarding public history, historic preservation, or history in general, so here is an odd selection of history-related links that I have found interesting lately (or for a while):
1) Preservation Nation’s Places That Matter
–> This is not really a reading, but the National Trust for Historic Preservation website has a map where you can plug in your location and find local preservation projects that are ongoing or in need of being started. A drawback is that even though you may plug in a specific zip code, the lists seem to be clustered around more general geographic areas, so you have to really search to find city-specific projects. (Here is one I found for Boise: http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/story-of-the-week/2006/what-the-basques-left.html)
2) “A Summary View”: Blog of the Jefferson Library
–> I will admit that I am a bit obsessed with Thomas Jefferson (I may or may not have an historical crush on him…) so I find this blog administered by Monticello’s Jefferson Library interesting. The contributors do things such as comment on current Jefferson-related topics of interest and debunk the rampantly circulating myths about our third president (http://jeffersonlibrary.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/eternal-vigilance/). Monticello of course has vast resources to be able to support all types of projects, but I think that a blog is a great idea that other historical associations could adopt to add to their current projects and increase their publicity.
3) “Times to Remember, Places to Forget” by Daniel Gilbert of the NewYork Times
–> Finally, here is a short article that I love which reminds me why I care about remembering history and preserving places. It laments the rise of the shopping mall and simultaneous demise of unique localities in classic “grumpy-old-woman” fashion, of which I find myself increasingly supportive.
I just wanted to share a few (admittedly disconnected) bits of public history I’ve stumbled across around the web:
Remember the Triangle Fire may not in itself be a particularly stunning or easy to navigate website, but it offers a wealth of links to organizations marking the centennial of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory tragedy. (The factory burned 100 years ago this Friday, March 25.) Women’s historians, fire safety organizations, and labor unions are but a few of the groups marking the event in their own ways. It makes for a nice case study in the ways the public and the academy shape and participate in public history.
Here’s something to brighten your day (as seen at Retroist):
You can read a brief history of the Oregon Trail game–it started out as a board game 40 years ago and has sold over 65 million copies. (It’s still a fun game, but some days I can’t get the mobile version’s damn soundtrack out of my head.)
Scripto allows members of the public to volunteer as transcribers of analog documents. It’s an interesting crowdsourcing model. (And–surprise!–it’s a project of the Center for History and New Media.)
Place Matters offers a toolkit to help the public “identify, promote, and protect” places people care about.
What public history resources or projects have you discovered lately?
I just wanted to point out a couple of things that have made me laugh as I’ve watched you all develop the Boise Wiki.
1. The first three people profiled on the wiki are an assassinated governor (or, rather, his statue), Shawn the Baptist, and Todd Shallat. What a crew!
2. The most active page right now is about Canada Geese. (Bob Barker makes a cameo appearance.)
As long as you have permission to post it, you should feel free to share images related to public history on this blog. It doesn’t matter if it’s poignant, puzzling, or fun. Not sure if you have permission? Just share a link.
Here’s my latest favorite:
If you click on the image to enlarge it, you’ll see his gun is labeled “The Emancipator.”
You can see more Lincoln art at deviantART.
