Hi Everyone,
Historic Preservation is one of those terms that can bring out strong opinions either in favor or against. Over the course of my career as a preservationist I have taken note of the most common things people on both sides of the coin often get wrong (and right) about the subject. No matter where you sit on the fence, In the next few issues I will share with you two of the most common misconceptions about preservation.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that preservationists want to keep things frozen in time. True preservation, however, wants communities to grow and change. Sometimes this means the loss or updated use of existing older buildings and the addition of new ones. No preservationist worth their salt believes that a historic building’s purpose is to stay frozen in time with no real use for the community. The healthiest communities are those that change and grow while also holding on to some of its past. But those buildings must also be realistically functional for them to “earn their keep”.
The second major misconception is that a building must be fancy to be “historic”. No way! To be honest, this belief does come from somewhere. Preservation has definitely earned a reputation of being the realm of wealthy older people obsessed with a rose-colored-glasses past who only want to protect extravagant buildings that no one can relate to or feels comfortable in. This kind of exclusivity has no place in modern preservation! That cool gas station from the 30s in your town that sits in the memories of generations is often way more important to a community than the fancy mansion on the hill. It’s those everyday buildings that most often create a sense of place and that people feel the loss of most.
Michelle
