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| Kake Cannery Kake, Alaska visitkake.com |
Since we're on the subject of historic preservation, I thought it would be a good idea to post some reasons why we should save old buildings. Julia Rocchi, the associate director for digital content at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, offers six very good reasons why we should save old places. Ms. Rocchi's post, "Six Practical Reasons to Save Old Buildings," is adopted from the Jack Neely Metropulse article, "What's Historic-And Who Says? Nine Practical Reasons To Save Old Buildings" (http://www.metropulse.com/staff/jack-neely/). Truthfully, what is historic and preservation-worthy is subjective but it requires some definition. Just because a place is old doesn't mean it's historic and just because you think it's historic doesn't necessarily mean it worth saving. Ms. Rocchi defines historic as, "old and worth the trouble." This applies to places that are part of a community's tangible past and can offer opportunities for the future. Ms. Rocchi's article analyzes the issue from both the cultural and practice value of a old buildings and discusses why preservation is not only worth it but beneficial to a community's culture and economy.
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| Kennedy-Baker-Walker-Sherrill House West Knoxville, TN livinghistoryknox.wordpress.com |
Buildings of days gone, particularly the pre-World War II period, have a tendency to be built with higher quality material such as hardwoods and wood from old-growth forests no longer in existence. The prewar buildings were also built using different building standards. A hundred year-old build might have a longer life than a it's newer counterpart. For example, the Kennedy-Baker-Walker Sherrill House (1849) in West Knoxville, Tennessee and one of the few remaining examples of Federalist design in Knox. Until the City Council approved a zoning deal the house was threatened by encroaching interests. Nevertheless, following its designation as a historic site, the house will be repurposed as an office building that can withstand whatever mother nature has to throw at it.
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| The Daylight Building Knoxville, TN metropulse.com |
I like to think of historic preservation as a little bit of a treasure hunt. When you start rehabilitation a property, you sometimes uncover new and valuable artifacts. Conversely, when you demolish an older building, you never what really great things are being destroyed. This was the case ten years ago in the city of Knoxville, Tennessee. The Daylight Building was an vacant eyesore upon the urban landscape. A developer purchased the property with the intention of razing the 1927 building in order to make way for new construction. As the universe would have it, multiple deals to demolish the building failed and Daylight went back on the market. Dewhirst Properties bought and began to make renovations. To their surprise and, no doubt delight, the uncovered all sorts of architectural treasures. Contractors found drop-ceilings made with heart-pine wood, a large clerestory, front awning decorated with unusual "opalescent" glass, and a façade lined with bright copper. Other than surviving demolition and yielding these architectural gems, the Daylight Building reminds that even an eyesore can be a valuable community asset.
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| Once again, Jane Jacobs futureofnyc.org |
Starting a new business is fraught with so many obstacles, the least of which, is finding a suitable and affordable location. In Jane Jacobs 1961 urban planning classic The Death and Life of Great American Cities, the late Ms. Jacobs dedicated a chapter to the economic advantages that certain types of businesses have when they set up shop in older buildings. She argued that new construction are better suited for major chain stores. Whereas, businesses such as non-chain bookstores, ethnic restaurants, antique stores, local bars, and especially small start-ups thrive in older places. Ms. Jacobs writes, "As really new ideas of any kind-no matter how profitable or otherwise successful some them might prove to be-there is no leeway for such chancy trial, error, and experimentation in the high-overhead economy of new construction." (Jacobs, 1961). Further, "Old ideas can sometimes use new buildings. New ideas must use old buildings." (Ibid)
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| The Bradbury Building (1893) George Wyman Los Angeles, CA en.wikipedia.org |
New buildings are pretty. They're clean and bright. They're full of possibilities. However, older buildings can offer so much more than a pretty face. What is it that makes older buildings so attractive? Is the warmth of materials such as: heart pine, marble, or ancient brick, the ghosts of people and activities past, or the comforting architectural reassurance of times gone by? It could be that older buildings offer something sui generis to the boring blandness that seems to populate the urban landscape. However a person spends their time, Americans seem to prefer living around old buildings. This is certainly the case in the revival of American downtowns suggests people prefer like older buildings. Some of you may get glazed over expressions when preservationist speak of "historic building stock," but really what we mean is an inventory of older buildings ready to be repurposed.
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| Mariachi Plaza Pavilion Boyle Heights, CA youarehere.com |
Old buildings are reminders of city's culture and complexity.
One of the things I vigorously advocate is buildings are a record of a culture at a particularly moment in time. Let me clarify this by saying that buildings are a large-scale, three-dimensional historic record. That being said, encountering a historic building, whether it's related to a famous person or event, and like longtime community residents, they are witnesses to the aesthetic and cultural history of a place. Old buildings also reflect the image a community wishes to reflect out into the world. The analogy that Jack Neely uses is bank buildings. Mr. Neely writes, "Just as banks prefer to build stately old fashion facades, even when located in commercial malls, a city needs old buildings to maintain a sense of permanency and heritage." I could not agree with that statement more.
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| TWA Worldport John F. Kennedy Airport, NY archpaper.com |
The great singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell famously sang, "Don't it always seems to go/That you don't what you've got/Till it's gone..."© ("Big Yellow Taxi," Joni Mitchell, 1970) Even though the song was written in reference to the ecology, the line "Don't know what you've/Till it's gone..." ring true for older buildings. Historic preservation only goes in one direction. If a building can't be repurposed or rehabilitated, there's no chance of saving it. This means there's no way to find out what future value it holds for the community. This harsh reality brings to the forefront the necessity of locating and saving buildings of historic significance. Fortunately, we have the technological means to make this work possible. Still, not every building can be found using Geographical Information Systems, therefore, grass roots advocacy is still an important part of historic preservation because once it's gone, it's gone.
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