Tennessee's Shiloh Battlefield attracted curious visitors almost immediately.
What Do Preservationists Do?
Christine G. O’Malley
At first glance, George Washington's Mount Vernon, Miami's pastel Art Deco buildings on Ocean Drive, and the Civil War Shiloh battlefield in Tennessee appear to have little in common, but each site owes its survival today to the dedicated work of preservationists. Without these historic sites, we would understand less about Washington's life, Miami's growth as a tourist destination in the 1930s, and the history of the American Civil War.
Preservation of a site, whether it is a building, an archeological site, or even a landscape, allows us to understand and reflect upon history in a very tangible way. But preservation is not always easy or straight-forward.
Often communities disagree, strongly, about whether to save a building or site. In the 1960s, for example, the destruction of New York City’s Pennsylvania Station sparked a firestorm. When the Pennsylvania Railroad argued that the station was under-used and therefore too expensive to maintain, many people agreed, seeing the old building as one that should be replaced by a modern and more functional building. But others, including the fictional Don Draper on Mad Men, saw the station, which had been designed by the famous architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White, as a crucial part of America’s history.
Christine G. O’Malley
At first glance, George Washington's Mount Vernon, Miami's pastel Art Deco buildings on Ocean Drive, and the Civil War Shiloh battlefield in Tennessee appear to have little in common, but each site owes its survival today to the dedicated work of preservationists. Without these historic sites, we would understand less about Washington's life, Miami's growth as a tourist destination in the 1930s, and the history of the American Civil War.
Preservation of a site, whether it is a building, an archeological site, or even a landscape, allows us to understand and reflect upon history in a very tangible way. But preservation is not always easy or straight-forward.
Often communities disagree, strongly, about whether to save a building or site. In the 1960s, for example, the destruction of New York City’s Pennsylvania Station sparked a firestorm. When the Pennsylvania Railroad argued that the station was under-used and therefore too expensive to maintain, many people agreed, seeing the old building as one that should be replaced by a modern and more functional building. But others, including the fictional Don Draper on Mad Men, saw the station, which had been designed by the famous architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White, as a crucial part of America’s history.
Penn Station was torn down despite an outcry by the public.
The preservationists lost that battle but the loss of Pennsylvania Station motivated many to see the value and importance of preserving America’s historic buildings, archeological sites, and landscapes. And since the 1960s, a dedicated group of professionals has fought to preserve and protect the nation’s historic sites.
In most towns and cities, at least one preservation planner is associated with the city or town’s building or planning departments. These local preservationists are often the first point of contact for homeowners or property owners seeking assistance with their historic buildings.
Lynn Truame, the Historic Preservation Planner for the city of Ithaca, New York, spends at least half her time helping property owners navigate the Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission process. This commission is responsible for upholding the local landmark ordinance, which requires owners making exterior alterations to locally designated historic properties to follow the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.
Truame also answers inquiries from the general public or other city departments about historic preservation in Ithaca; she conducts surveys and completes nominations for historic properties as local, State, or National landmarks, and is currently preparing a set of design guidelines that will assist owners of locally designated properties in understanding how (and how not) to approach their renovation project. Truame is also responsible for keeping the local landmarks ordinance up to date and in step with current preservation practice. While many who visit Ithaca remark on the city’s attractive historic core, Truame says that “explaining why the preservation of historic properties is important enough that the city requires compliance with additional levels of regulation” presents one of her biggest challenges.
In most towns and cities, at least one preservation planner is associated with the city or town’s building or planning departments. These local preservationists are often the first point of contact for homeowners or property owners seeking assistance with their historic buildings.
Lynn Truame, the Historic Preservation Planner for the city of Ithaca, New York, spends at least half her time helping property owners navigate the Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission process. This commission is responsible for upholding the local landmark ordinance, which requires owners making exterior alterations to locally designated historic properties to follow the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.
Truame also answers inquiries from the general public or other city departments about historic preservation in Ithaca; she conducts surveys and completes nominations for historic properties as local, State, or National landmarks, and is currently preparing a set of design guidelines that will assist owners of locally designated properties in understanding how (and how not) to approach their renovation project. Truame is also responsible for keeping the local landmarks ordinance up to date and in step with current preservation practice. While many who visit Ithaca remark on the city’s attractive historic core, Truame says that “explaining why the preservation of historic properties is important enough that the city requires compliance with additional levels of regulation” presents one of her biggest challenges.
Plaques identify sites on the National Register of Historic Places
It isn’t simply at the local level that properties are protected; every state also has a State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). The SHPO helps identify and nominate sites for the National Register of Historic Places, the nation’s official list of properties that are worthy of preservation.
Because preservationists working for state governments are responsible for the historic properties within their state, community outreach, on a state-wide scale, is an essential component of their work. Typically, Paula Mohr, an architectural historian with the Iowa State Historic Preservation Office, spends about eighty per cent of her time doing outreach with city and county historic preservation commissions across her state.
Mohr works with local commissions, advising them on how to protect specific buildings or assisting them in developing larger projects, such as surveys of historic downtowns or overseeing citywide preservation plans or design guidelines. More than 100 communities in Iowa participate in the National Park Service’s Certified Local Government program (a National Park Service program that promotes preservation at the grassroots level) so Mohr spends a great deal of time assisting people who have specific questions about the historic properties in their communities. Traveling extensively to attend community meetings or consult with others about a particular building or site, Mohr is in touch with preservation needs at a grassroots level.
Because preservationists working for state governments are responsible for the historic properties within their state, community outreach, on a state-wide scale, is an essential component of their work. Typically, Paula Mohr, an architectural historian with the Iowa State Historic Preservation Office, spends about eighty per cent of her time doing outreach with city and county historic preservation commissions across her state.
Mohr works with local commissions, advising them on how to protect specific buildings or assisting them in developing larger projects, such as surveys of historic downtowns or overseeing citywide preservation plans or design guidelines. More than 100 communities in Iowa participate in the National Park Service’s Certified Local Government program (a National Park Service program that promotes preservation at the grassroots level) so Mohr spends a great deal of time assisting people who have specific questions about the historic properties in their communities. Traveling extensively to attend community meetings or consult with others about a particular building or site, Mohr is in touch with preservation needs at a grassroots level.
Because educating the public on the value of preservation is at the heart of her work, Mohr also develops educational opportunities for preservation commissioners in Iowa and each year her office helps sponsor a statewide preservation conference attended by historic preservation commission members, property owners, and the general public.
At the federal level, the National Park Service oversees the oldest preservation program, the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), as well as the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), the Historic American Landscape Survey (HALS), the National Register of Historic Places, the National Historic Landmarks (NHL) program and a variety of other programs.
At the federal level, the National Park Service oversees the oldest preservation program, the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), as well as the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), the Historic American Landscape Survey (HALS), the National Register of Historic Places, the National Historic Landmarks (NHL) program and a variety of other programs.
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George Washington's House in Philadelphia, shown in the drawing at the left, was torn down in the 19th century. Only the shell, evocatively restored at the right, remains.
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Miami's Art Deco District conjures the past.
Historians like Lisa Davidson, who works in the HABS/HAER/HALS Division of the Heritage Documentation Programs in the National Park Service, seek to understand and document a historic site and its importance through historical research.
Speaking about her research, Davidson says, “It depends on the historic resource I am documenting. Most often I tend to rely on historic drawings and photographs in combination with primary documentary evidence such as correspondence or reports. It is also critical to examine the secondary literature on many topics in order to explain the significance of any historic structure, site or landscape.”
Outside of local, state, and federal government offices, preservationists also find employment working for firms that assist local governments dealing with a range of local, state, and federal regulations or working with private non-profit groups. They also work for private developers and property owners restoring a historic structure who are also interested in the cost benefits of tax credits, grants, or benefits from the LEED certification process.
Laura Trieschmann, a preservationist and project director with EHT Traceries, a research and consulting firm specializing in architectural history and historic preservation, primarily directs her attention to projects in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. She works for residents, property owners or communities by surveying and documenting buildings, and often guides people through the process for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (tribal governments, state governments, and federal agencies submit a nomination for this to the National Park Service).
Trieschmann sometimes works with developers to document a property they have purchased, and she conducts research to indicate what is original and what is altered along with what is historically significant so the developers can pursue LEED or tax credits. When developers own a property within a historic district, Trieschmann may work with her clients to ensure that any alterations comply with regulations and pass the muster of review boards.
Since the 1960s, people have been motivated to save historic buildings and sites for a number of reasons. A desire to maintain the historical integrity of a district or community motivates many.
But increasingly, preservationists have pointed out that the greenest building out there is usually one that has been recycled; preservation is, in other words, often the greenest choice.
Christine O'Malley received her B.A. and M.A. degrees from Queen's University in Kingston, Canada as wel as an M.A. and Ph.D. in Architectural History from the University of Virginia. Dr. O'Malley has taught at Ithaca College, Carleton College, and St. Olaf College. She is currently Assistant Director of the Tatkon Center at Cornell University. Dr. O'Malley also serves on the Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Speaking about her research, Davidson says, “It depends on the historic resource I am documenting. Most often I tend to rely on historic drawings and photographs in combination with primary documentary evidence such as correspondence or reports. It is also critical to examine the secondary literature on many topics in order to explain the significance of any historic structure, site or landscape.”
Outside of local, state, and federal government offices, preservationists also find employment working for firms that assist local governments dealing with a range of local, state, and federal regulations or working with private non-profit groups. They also work for private developers and property owners restoring a historic structure who are also interested in the cost benefits of tax credits, grants, or benefits from the LEED certification process.
Laura Trieschmann, a preservationist and project director with EHT Traceries, a research and consulting firm specializing in architectural history and historic preservation, primarily directs her attention to projects in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. She works for residents, property owners or communities by surveying and documenting buildings, and often guides people through the process for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (tribal governments, state governments, and federal agencies submit a nomination for this to the National Park Service).
Trieschmann sometimes works with developers to document a property they have purchased, and she conducts research to indicate what is original and what is altered along with what is historically significant so the developers can pursue LEED or tax credits. When developers own a property within a historic district, Trieschmann may work with her clients to ensure that any alterations comply with regulations and pass the muster of review boards.
Since the 1960s, people have been motivated to save historic buildings and sites for a number of reasons. A desire to maintain the historical integrity of a district or community motivates many.
But increasingly, preservationists have pointed out that the greenest building out there is usually one that has been recycled; preservation is, in other words, often the greenest choice.
Christine O'Malley received her B.A. and M.A. degrees from Queen's University in Kingston, Canada as wel as an M.A. and Ph.D. in Architectural History from the University of Virginia. Dr. O'Malley has taught at Ithaca College, Carleton College, and St. Olaf College. She is currently Assistant Director of the Tatkon Center at Cornell University. Dr. O'Malley also serves on the Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission.