Applied History

Historic Preservation

I had no idea that historic preservation efforts had to jump through so many hoops to get places of historic significance placed on a registry of some kind. I am continually surprised at the blase attitude the government seems to have toward preserving sites that are powerful reminders of our history. It seems to me that more emphasis should be placed on protecting these important landmarks. I was also not aware that being on a national registry for historic places did not offer protection from private or government projects that would impact the site in some way. It does not make much sense to force preservationists to go through months of paperwork only to have their registered site impacted negatively by someone else’s project.

I had not given much thought to why houses and other buildings tended to be described by their architectural style. Giving a historic building several layers of context is extremely important for understanding why it should be preserved. Knowing that a building is an original colonial style home helps to demonstrate the changes in architecture over time. I feel like the more important contextualization method is that of place. Regardless of what style each building in a particular neighborhood or city block happens to be, there is much to be learned from how those buildings interact with one another. How a city is planned and developed can tell you a lot about its people.

The threatened sites page on the Preservation Idaho site brought home some of these principles in a way that simply reading about them could not. Even if a building is not demolished for the sake of additional parking lots, covering it over with a facade or allowing it to simply fall apart though neglect does the same amount of damage to historic places. I imagine that it is difficult to provide the capital and man-power to maintain these sites when the city itself is actively working against a preservation effort.

Privatized preservation

During the reading of Historic Preservation, I found myself thinking about the ideal of Private efforts to preserve historical sites. Although I prefer the idea that our federal government would not allow our local history to be demolished, I believe that only the local people who actually know and care about it are likely to save a larger number of sites. That being said, I find that there are some companies and groups that are taking this preservation into their own hands. I recently ran into an article that proves this.In the article http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-mcdonalds-has-cool-design-element-ancient-roman-road-180962289/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=socialmedia, , Smithsonian Magazine shows that even businesses such as McDonald’s are taking some sense of historical responsibility. This idea fills me with a sense of relief. The “George Washington slept here” technique as the book calls it, is one of the few ways that we can actually work to save our history on a local level.(42) I wish that there were better avenues for this but unfortunately all too many people just really could not care less.

The other thing that really intrigued me was the talk about Seattle’s Pike Place Market. It did so because I found myself in awe of the idea that a historical area or landmark could become so popular that “its character would change into that of a boutique center and lose its original character as a somewhat scruffy everyday market run by local farmers and small entrepreneurs.” (23) Not only the fact that a historical site could be so popular but also the idea that someone actually recognized saving it for what it originally was took me back. I wonder how many times that this has actually happened throughout history. Do we truly remember historical sites as they were or simply as what we wanted them to be? Does history tell us more about the people who lived it or those of us that choose to look back at it?

If You Build It, They Will Come… If It’s Preserved

Reading about historic preservation prompted me to think about how relevant the topic is in society today. This chapter brought to mind many different articles and news stories that have popped up recently within the last few years and serves as a reminder that this topic is deeply important. One such example is the Colosseum restoration project to clean the grime off the façade, that I saw on a 60 Minutes segment.

I agreed with many of the points brought up in the book, one of which is that by preserving different sites, we have the ability to go beyond static representation of artifacts and to present history as a complete environment (pg 18). Context is a major player within the world of preservation. I loved the discussion of Charleston’s implementation of historic district zoning ordinance policies in 1931 that made it illegal to build anything that would detract from the architectural and historical setting. We can see that those same policies have been adopted in many varied places.

I also agreed with the notion that the local level is where historic preservation is the most powerful. Communities are the driving force behind many efforts to protect historic sites and buildings. I love the idea that communities deem what is significant, but as with our discussion on museums, I worry about that in the long run. The pitfalls of relying on communities are in their failure to think long term and concerns about demographics, along with people in power. Talking of demographics, it makes me think of communities with a small percentage of ethnic diversity. The larger group could be gung-ho about preservation, but only so far as it applies to their own history, and not the sites of minorities. Addressing my other concern of longevity, I was reminded of efforts in my hometown of Winnemucca, NV to save a crumbling building. Last fall the Winnemucca Hotel was demolished and there was an outcry to save it. Built in 1863, the hotel was a noted Basque landmark as a boarding house and restaurant. It was left vacant for years to decay. Only when it was slated for demolition, did people pay attention to it. A group tried to raise money to buy the property and restore it, but their efforts fell short because they had no plan for the building after they bought the land. While the demolition is unfortunate, I think that had their efforts been successful, they would have started restoring the hotel, ran out of money, and the building would continue to sit without a purpose. Maybe I’m being cynical, but I fear that this scenario is an all too common one in other small towns that lack funding and sustained interest/effort in keeping these sites from deteriorating.

I’ll leave off with a few last thoughts. I think it’s important to note that these restoration and preservation projects can even add previously unknown information to our understanding, for instance, the fact that by cleaning cathedral façades people realized that they used to be brightly painted. This changes how people look at gothic architecture. I was also surprised at how short the list of Idaho Threatened Sites was. I expected a higher number in different places around the state rather than only 6 sites, 4 of which are in Boise.

Historical Preservation Part 1

I found the reading of Norman Tyler’s Historical Preservation to be enjoyable and educational, as it speaks about the interesting historical sites, and how many organizations have been set up to keep these places intact from construction and/or demolition. With people becoming more aware and participatory in historic preservation during the past century, the importance of buildings and a building’s historical contribution has come to the forefront of society. “Preservationists need to recognize that the preservation of historic buildings should include not only the physical structure but also the history of the place.” (Tyler, 15). According to one passage that I read in Historical Preservation, the practice of “Historic preservation should be seen as more than the protection of older buildings.” The end result in preservation is to preserve buildings not as “inanimate structures . . .”. (15-16) Therefore, some buildings become seen as obsolete in the business of construction and development, but it does not mean that historic buildings and items are seen as worthless. Another aspect to be aware of is the practice of “facadism,” which only preserves the front or the facade of a building. With the bulk of the building destroyed, any historical significance of the building itself is lost. There are many lessons and facts of interest that ancient buildings and artifacts can teach, such as museums that store historic items, or preservation offices that study old documents and building sites.

Besides preserving artifacts and historic sites, many people have begun experimenting with different technologies, in an attempt to educate the public, as described by Tyler’s passage from Historic Preservation, “Some exhibits have blurred the line between education and entertainment, leading to a new term, ‘edutainment,’ which combines the two into one presentation.” (16) This form of entertainment can be both useful to amuse and excite, as well as educate individuals on different academic subjects. A perfect example that Tyler describes is the use of animation technology at Disney World’s Hall of Presidents. Holograph technology is another example of these types of exhibits and “edutainment.” Certainly new technologies and various methods will continue to help historians to not only preserve but to exhibit and share information in the future.

In Chapter two, Tyler describes the two distinct paths that preservation has taken since its earliest beginnings. He notes that “Private-sector activities tended to revolve around important historical figures and associated landmark structures, whereas government [preserves] natural features and [establishes] national parks.” (27) The National Trust brought those two paths together with the establishment of the Trust in 1949. In choosing sites for preservation, the Trust has been very selective over the years, with only “twenty-nine historic sites of exceptional significance that it administers completely.” (43) The Woodlawn Plantation in Virginia was the first site taken on by the National Trust. Other buildings are the Gothic Revival mansion in Tarrytown, New York and the Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York City. The Trust also commits its resources to lobbying efforts in Congress as well as “publicizes its Endangered Properties List . . .” (44). The federal government’s push for economic stimulation following the two world wars provided yet another challenge to preservation. Urban renewal programs literally left many cities with blocks of emptiness having had many historic buildings demolished to make way for new. After the publication of Jane Jacobs’ influential book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, and the involvement of the National Historic Trust, the National Historic Preservation Act was passed in 1966, which helped with funding and listing of historical places in the United States and allowed for the development of historic district within our cities. State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs) as well as Section 106 procedures now help to protect historical properties. Thanks to the efforts of preservationists, buildings of such immense historic significance as Independence Hall have been saved for future generations.

Preservation

Americans had and still have a hard time to keeping historic houses due to urban renewal. “The Housing Act of 1949 and Urban Renewal Act of 1954 were meant to provide such a stimulus by making available federal funds to purchase and clear deteriorated urban neighborhoods.”[1] The federal government at this time felt that the first step to updating a dilapidated area was to tear it down. The government did not realize the historical significance of the buildings. The state and federal government felt that in order to improve an area they had to demolish dilapidated areas. The federal government called these places “blighted” areas. Old was not good therefor needed to be demolished. “The goal of urban renewal funding was to encourage investors to purchase the cleared sites at low cost and launch redevelopment projects.”[2] Destroying history of a certain area takes away from the overall embodiment of the community. The historical value and history of the community and how it developed is eliminated.

Historic preservation allows for the future of a community to understand how their town and city formed from diversity and immigrants. It is an actualization of the American dream being shown through community and historical involvement. “The National Trust, inspired by its English namesake, was created with the purpose of linking preservation efforts of the NPS and the federal government with activities of the private sector.”[3] It does not matter whether it is post-modern or colonialism type houses or property they need to be protected. The communities should see this as a high priority. The only obstacles I see in preservation of historic places and areas is federal funding. The other issue is whether the community finds it worth saving and historically significant. So many groups and federal regulations to work through also causes issues on whether a site become historic or not. The Federal government does not live in the areas or know the historical significances of places in small or medium sized towns. So, judgement made could be against the saving of historical local sites due to minor populations. Ghost towns, mining towns, and other minor places seem insignificant, but could be a major point of pride and significance to local communities.

[1] Norman Tyler, Ted J. Ligibel, and Ilene R. Tyler. Historic preservation: An introduction to its history, principles, and practice. WW Norton & Company, 2009. Pg. 44.

[2] Norman Tyler, Ted J. Ligibel, and Ilene R. Tyler. Historic preservation: An introduction to its history, principles, and practice. WW Norton & Company, 2009. Pg. 44.

[3] Norman Tyler, Ted J. Ligibel, and Ilene R. Tyler. Historic preservation: An introduction to its history, principles, and practice. WW Norton & Company, 2009. Pg. 42.

The Un-American Historic Preservation

The opening pages to Historic Preservation really struck a cord with me. By calling historic preservation un-American because it is going against the American way of using up space and then moving on really intrigued me. By preserving these houses, these towns, and these buildings, we can breathe life into old spaces and make them live again. This idea on the surface really excites me. “This maturation is evident when we recognize that we must preserve our built heritage because it is part of what we are as a people and as a community.” (Historic Preservation, pg. 14) This to me, is extremely true. To get rid of our built heritage is like ripping up pieces of ourselves. It’s like erasing the past and history of the city. This book really made me think of Todd Shallat’s book, Ethnic Landmarks. In this book he describes the various ethnic landmarks throughout Boise and how a lot of them have been torn down. The histories of the founders of the city has been erased with those buildings. By writing this book, Shallat echoes the sentiment expressed in Historic Preservation about how the preservation of historic buildings should also include the history of the place. By writing his book about the significance of each building, he showcases the history surrounding the building. He provides a more active role for the historic buildings within our community through his book. As seen in the Threatened Sites page on the Preservation Idaho website, many buildings in Idaho have a rich history but are close to being torn down. With the destruction of those sites, we lose the full extent and power of the history surrounding them.

While preserving property can be precarious and hard to maintain, I think it is important because it really does preserve the physical history of towns and cities. Just having photographs or descriptions of the buildings isn’t enough. To truly get the full history and experience of a place, you have to be able to see it and feel it. As talked about in Historic Preservation, having artifacts in a museum is one experience, but seeing the artifact in it’s original home is a totally different experience.

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church that has been preserved as a reminder of World War II- showing that historic preservation can be used as a warning and reminder of history:

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church Photo by Alisha Graefe

It costs less to knock it down than to keep it up…

This is an extremely sensitive topic for me, because the focus of my research (masonry fortifications dating from the colonial period) are something that serve no purpose today. Clem Levine was quoted as saying that preservation was un-American because “America was built on the concept of the frontier. Land was limitless. Resources were never ending. The pioneer way was to use it up, throw it away and move west”(12). This seems to be even worse out here in the West. That list of endangered places in Boise, Lewiston, and Minidoka was heart breaking.
The part of this reading that I found the most thought provoking concerned the different preservation philosophies. A close reading of the ideas of Viollet-de-Duc and Ruskin’s ideas shows problems with both ideas. For one, I like the idea of restoration. I’ve been to “Colonial Williamsburg” and I liked it. That being said, I don’t think it is a model that should be followed everywhere. On the other hand, I can see why Ruskin, writing in the 19th century thought that ruins were “romantic” and “sublime.” It’s how people thought back then, but if nothing’s done about them, ruins tend to stay ruins. And said ruins, by their ruinous nature, are dangerous. And to be fair, some ruins are beautiful and sublime, like mountain ghost towns, or Fort Stevens on the Oregon coast. But it is prohibitively expensive to repair, renovate, restore, or even stabilize some of these sites.
Personally the hardest part of this reading was the portion about urban renewal and historic districts. Urban renewal has a place. When I was younger my father used to call downtown Boise “downtown Beruit” because of how sketchy it was. Then they opened the 8th Street Market place, and I would challenge anyone to compare Boise to Beruit now. And I think Boise did a good job mixing façadomy with new construction, but I think some of the neighboring communities (mostly Nampa) in trying to follow Boise’s lead fell short of the mark.
This talk of Nampa leads to the title of this post. Nampa had a beautiful old city hall. They tore it down and put a fountain where it was. That fountain has since been torn out and there is a library very nearly on the spot of the old city hall. The city hall is very nearly the same size as the library building which begs the question, why not have just used the old building? The answer, it costs less to knock it down than it does to keep it up.

I’m including this collage form my trip to old Fort Niagra because it represents a good compromise between the two discussed preservational styles. I hope you enjoy.

Black Lives Matter

I found the website pages that spoke of “Black Lives Matter” to be an inspiration for writing about the injustices directed at immigrants and refugees and minorities throughout the United States, most specifically African Americans. Focusing on these issues and thoroughly discussing them is a good way for the next generation to understand the immorality of discrimination, and hope that they will make better, fair choices for a bright future for everyone. The first issue to discuss would be the issues of the Museum Bloggers who spoke of the events that transpired in Ferguson, Missouri. The information I reviewed in the blogs describes how the town of Ferguson is the center for issues involving past racial tensions, and attempted resolution to these problems following years of problems and certainly exacerbated by a police shooting by a white police officer of a black young man. Throughout the United States; colleges, schools, and other facilities dedicated to educating the public should be helping to advocate about the issues in Ferguson to many students. “Institutions designated for public benefit should promote greater social justice.” (Joint Statement from Museum Bloggers and Colleagues on Ferguson and Related Events.) I share that conviction. I believe American museums that have exhibits dealing with racial inequality or injustice are helping to educate and inform. It is crucial that citizens are ensured of the ability to become aware so they can, in turn, influence younger generations. Such institutions such as libraries and museums often will have conference rooms or auditoriums that are available to various community organizations for meetings and informative seminars.

Ferguson has caught the attention of the museums and historic centers that are helping to bring awareness in African American history and culture. The Association of African American Museums (AAAM) have noticed many bloggers and other groups of individuals who are forming collaborative responses to new occurrences. From the Northwest African American Museum (NAAM), Chieko Phillips and Leilani Lewis wrote in the AAAM newsletter detailing their institution’s response to the shooting of Mike Brown. Both Phillips and Lewis have worked for many years to ensure the success of collaboration ensuring the sharing of accurate information. I find this kind of news influential in getting the public to become aware of what sort of racial injustices are occurring within the U.S. It is of crucial importance that museums respond to their communities, as they are “dependent on their audiences and the communities that support their staff.”

Alicia Garza wrote her opinions on the Black Lives matter campaign. Garza wrote, “Black Lives Matter is a unique contribution that goes beyond extrajudicial killings of Black people by police and vigilantes” The growth of what began as a social media hashtag has become part of our social vernacular. And, according to Garza, “goes beyond the narrow nationalism that can be prevalent within some Black communities . . .”. The Black Lives matter campaign brings to light not only the unjust killings and mistreatmentd that have occurred in communities throughout the United States, but the injustice in regards to human rights of all kinds from the judicial system to housing and beyond. She notes that “half of all people in prisons or jails” are black. The National Museum of African American History and Culture in their effort to exhibit and document the Black Lives Matter campaign have collected “artifacts and ephemera of the campaign, which was founded online by three black women in 2012.” Working on the hope that awareness can bring change, these dedicated historians and archivists are recoding history and hopefully bringing change. Throughout history, people like Denmark Vesey during the early nineteenth century organized and fought for “freedom and civil rights.” It is an ongoing struggle as racism still exists today and one that museums can play an important role in being “physically and virtually relevant.”

Trustee Zachary Aarons, of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, describes their museum as one trying to demonstrate the commonality of Americans. After all, we are almost all immigrants and there is much to celebrate in America with what our country has become with the contributions of so many. Aarons notes that even in their museum, there are “Jewish, Italian, Irish, Latino and Chinese, among others.” Of particular interest is the utilization of immigrants working within museums. Two museums have implemented such programs such as the “Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark and ROMU the Danish museum in Roskilde, Lejre.” At the Pergamon Museum, the Bode Museum and the German Historical Museum, Germany is experimenting with Syrian and Iraqi refugees working as tour guides that enables the participant and tourists to experience different cultures and to be able to familiarize themselves with their new homeland. “We believe that our strength lies in our diversity among the broad range of people and museums we represent.” That is the belief of the American Alliance of Museums. The core values followed by the Alliance will help to provide resources that will enrich the lives of their communities and future generations.

Against the Grain

I will preface my comments by saying that I recently had an argument with a family member that may be coloring my perspective of this material. In reading these articles I found myself wanting to go against the grain, to question some of the assumptions I think are being made. In particular the ones surrounding Black Lives Matter. I accept the premise that the issue isn’t one only for African American Museums and African Americans to address. I also accept the premise that museums should challenge the status quo. Having said that I need to ask, “Are the limits to museum’s responsibilities?” Should all museums spend time looking for ways to address issues of race, or other discriminated groups such as LBGT? If I go the Historic Roseberry Museum in Donnelly, Idaho, should I expect something on Black Lives Matter? Should there be exhibits at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West about sexual identity and gender-related issues? My point is that not all museums have materials with which to connect to current events and, outside of major metropolitan areas, most museums don’t have a clientele interested in these topics. Should they be presented anyway?

Of the articles I read, the LaBlond article resonated with me the most. Museum Island has amazing collections and to have refugees from the origin sites of some of their collection provides a perspective that would be informative and amazing. For those from the worn torn regions, this is clearly a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with their heritage. As Kefah Ali Deeb notes in the UNHCR video, there is also an opportunity to see a community that was rebuilt after an all-out war destroyed it. If the guides make that connection for museum visitors it could indeed give them hope for the future of their own countries. As an American, I would love to have an English-language tour of the museums with the same presenters. That would give me an opportunity to connect with their homelands and their heritage in a way that would be unique and very meaningful.

In closing, I want to ask the question I posed at the beginning, “What are the limits to museum’s responsibilities?” As a follow up to that question, who is responsible for determining those limits? Curators? Directors? Donors? Visitors?

Inclusiveness in Museums

This week’s readings pointed out a sad reality to me– that inclusiveness in museums requires a directive, that diversity is somehow frightening, and that those who have been forced to flee their homes in other places feel shut out from the few places that contain pieces of their heritage. It was not something I’ve ever had to consider, since the vast majority (7/8) of my own heritage comes from European immigrants, and I’m not arrogant enough to claim much knowledge of the Cherokee/Creek cultures that make up the rest of it. It just seems that something so common sense as “These people make up part of the population, therefore their stories should be told” shouldn’t have to be a mandate. I understand that it is this way, and why it is this way, but I’m still sad that it ever came to that.

It also bothers me that people would attend the Immigration Museum looking for a fight. The museum exists to celebrate the contributions that immigrants make, all of which were vital in the construction and achievement of America and its famous Dream. Looking to pick a fight with curators surrounded by the evidence of immigrant excellence is defeatist at best. It’s a shame that these people don’t take a hard look at their own logic before blindly acting on misdirected rage.

I do think it is important that the conversation about artifacts brought from war-torn places is being re-evaluated. The article about immigrants from Syria to Germany put this many-faceted issue into better context. Is it unfortunate that these artifacts were taken from their country of origin? Yes. Is it important that these artifacts are protected from malicious destruction? Also yes. With organizations like ISIS targeting ancient sites and ephemera I can’t help but be grateful for those early archaeologists (tomb raiders?) and their light fingers. It is good that these museums are seeking volunteers from these regions to better contextualize their collections; I had not considered that such exhibitions would aid in the integration process. Hopefully more aspects of American society begin to better understand why representation matters so much to under-represented groups.