The Federal Historic Preservation
Program Task Force, which was convened by Preservation Action and the
Preservation Action Foundation recently released a report titled: “Aligned for
Success: Recommendations for Increasing the Effectiveness of the Federal
Historic Preservation Program” (http://www.preservationaction.org/Task%20Force/AlignedForSuccess.pdf).
It appears to me that it is a good
prescriptive document for policy and such.
However, in my opinion, proper education needs to immediately occur at
the grassroots level not high up. This
is because, recently, I have seen the historic fabric of many local historic
resources being adversely affected by the actions of foot soldiers (Public Work
Directors, Presidents of Historic Society, Maintenance Staff, Town Council
Members, Historic Park/Museum Directors, etc.) charged with stewardship of these
resources.
Some of these ill-advised decisions are
made out either out of a) pure ignorance (e.g., not knowing about the “Secretary
of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with
Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring, and Reconstructing
Historic Buildings,” not understanding how choose an appropriate treatment, or how
to engage trained professionals), or b) knee-jerk reaction to save local tax
dollars.
For sure, I get the need to have a
strong and all encompassing federal preservation policy, but an important focus
should be strengthening the "Community Assistance" component of the
policy. Right now the local foot
soldiers are not visible or even held accountable to anyone, for their actions,
not even the SHPO or the CLG, if one exists.
We are all taught in Intro to
Historic Preservation classes that the strength in policy is at the local
level. If the proposed realignment of
federal preservation policy will be focused at the local level, I will be in
full support, if not, I cannot support it.
So, if long-term proper care of historic resources is the desired
outcome of policy, it is urgent that foot soldiers and their engaged consultants / contractors
receive proper education and hands-on training.
This guidance will aid in reducing the continual damage
of historic fabric. Bottom line is that
the local foot soldiers must be held accountable for their actions and proper
decisions are vital for appropriately maintaining, thus conserving many local historic
resources over the long-term.
When you say "local foot soldiers," how low do you go? (Not meant to sound derogatory.) The reason I ask is that at one time in my life I was the owner of a beautiful historic home in Denver. It required quite a bit of maintenance just to keep it standing. At every turn, however, I hit unexpected challenges because of the historic designation. I appreciated the guidelines that were in place to protect the legacy, but they all came to me as a surprise.
ReplyDeleteSo, when you say "grassroots foot soldiers," I relate as a homeowner. Although I'm no longer the owner of that house, I think of the opportunity that was missed by 1) not being educated or even knowing what resources were available to me to become educated, and 2) not being encouraged and leveraged by the experts who could have benefited from my personal interest in and ownership of a historic landmark home.
I'm sure you have some great ideas for how to strengthen the community assistance component. If that ever becomes a conversation topic, I could add a few points based on my own experience.
Well yes, in my opinion, the local foot soldiers are all of those I mentioned and, most importantly, the privates in the Army of the Conservation of the Built Environment are each and every building owner. Yes, agree 100% with your observations. A question I hear from building owners often is “where do I find a ” fill in the blank with any consultant, trade, or craft (e.g., historic preservation specialist, architect, planner, roofer, plasterer, interior decorative finisher, horticulturist, metal smith, master painter, heavy timber, guilder, stain glass, steam / pipe fitter, boilermaker, millworker, carpenter, electrician, etc.) when I meet with them during the conceptualization phase of most preservation / conservation projects. Education at the local level is key, however, it is a two way street. For the most part, in the USA, old is bad and new is better. Of course, when conservation becomes part of mainstream building owners’ values, I ask that you please share many of personal experiences here.
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