Historic Preservation – It’s Worth The Effort

Historic Preservation. When I was the commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, I also served as the state’s Historic Preservation officer. Talk about a thankless job. People who work in this area do important things. Any nation worth living in is worth preserving. Preservationists are often painted as “anti growth and development.” Nothing could be further from the truth. These good people live in the same communities we live in. They want what is absolutely best for their community just like we all do.

Their secret, if we did but know it, is they know what we want, even when we don’t.

We are a people that will bulldoze a historic site/structure for an immediate convenience – that, inevitably, we grow to regret.

Preservationists know you can have it both ways. They are working hand-in-hand with Wal Mart and other box stores around the nation.

Let me give you an example: In West Virginia, there is an amazing little town near the Green Brier Hotel called Lewisburg. Everyone loves the town and with good reason , it is beautiful, charming, comforting – a real destination. Everyone talks about the art and theaters – what really makes it pop is Historic Preservation.

Another example: In Louisville, we have one of the largest art festivals in the nation – in old Louisville; people around the country flock to it. You have tens and tens of thousands of people there. Everyone brags about the art, the event, the music, etc.

You could take that same festival and move it to strip mall. You could move it to the fair grounds – which has unlimited parking and more space. But, no, it is in Old Louisville…an extremely special Victorian neighborhood in downtown Louisville.

These historic structures serve as the picture frame and make the event special. Every destination you love, that is set in an historic setting, could easily be set somewhere else. What makes it special is that it isn’t…..it is cradled in the heart of Historic Preservation.

What I want in the future: Our government to stop apologizing for conservation. If this is a nation worth living in – dying for (and it is) – it is worth preserving.