What Exactly Does "Historic Preservation" Mean?

I consider 1966 to be a very significant year for historic preservation, for two reasons: first of all, and most importantly, the U.S. Congress passed the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA), the first federal legislation to address the growing public concern about our nation’s historic building stock being neglected and demolished without proper oversight; and significant on its own right, 1966 was also the year in which I was born. Well, maybe my birth date has nothing to do with historic preservation. But I do feel that my career as a preservation architect is in part tied to the passage of this momentous federal legislation.

A brief history of preservation in America

Before the NHPA was adopted, the historic preservation movement in America was
mostly concerned with saving “landmark” structures that had been associated
with important persons and activities of the American Revolution.

One of the first preservation groups in this country was organized to save George Washington’s home from demolition. Formed by Ann Pamela Cunningham in 1853, and called the Mount Vernon Ladies Association of the Union, this group organized a national letter-writing campaign in order to stop the demolition of Mount Vernon. And when Philadelphia’s Independence Hall (formerly known as the Old State House) was threatened with a redevelopment proposal in 1816, local citizens took action and saved the building from demolition. It might be difficult for us to imagine that these two important American structures, so tied to our country’s history, were once almost unnecessarily destroyed.

In the 1950s and 1960s, urban renewal programs were demolishing existing urban structures annually at an alarming rate. A realization about demolishing historic buildings finally came to a national spotlight when the 1910 Pennsylvania Railroad Station, considered an architectural gem, was demolished in New York City in 1963. Even before the demolition dust had settled, a national discussion about historic preservation had finally begun. Three years later, the NHPA was passed and established guidelines and standards were put into action which are still followed today.

The definitions of preservation

After the NHPA was approved, the terms “historic preservation” and “preservation” have both been used as generic terms to encompass the movement of saving and conserving historic resources. The general public may consider “preservationists” as people who chain themselves to threatened buildings in front of charging bulldozers or who dress up in period clothing and walk in historically-themed parades. Although this is partially correct, the term preservation means so much more. Preservation basically has two established definitions: 1) the normally thought of definition is a blanket term to describe an involvement with historic sites, artifacts, or buildings, be it as an advocate, a researcher, a home owner, a
local commissioner, an architect, a craftsman, or as an educator; and 2) it
also specifies one of four specific treatments established by the federal
government that can be performed on a historic building. These four treatments
include preservation, restoration, rehabilitation, and reconstruction. I will expand upon these four treatments in a future blog.

Since its beginnings in the early 19th century, American preservation has expanded its focus from only saving nationally-significant individual buildings and landscapes
into saving whole communities and even “folk” buildings, which are those common
buildings that tell the story of a more localized way of life. Preservation has not changed, however, in its passion to respect and preserve the past while still allowing sympathetic upgrades and additions.

“Laws change; people die; the land remains.”

- Abraham Lincoln

I like to think that when President Lincoln was speaking the words above, he was envisioning the term “land” to encompass more than just earth and topography. Yes, land is important as a cultural artifact, but so are buildings, objects, structures, and neighborhoods, as well as entire cities themselves. Saving and preserving these important historic treasures for future generations is what historic
preservation is all about. And that would be an almost impossible task today if
Congress had not passed legislation to govern and regulate preservation back in
1966. I am thankful that the government had the foresight to address this issue
(as a birthday present to me) before the demolition of significant buildings of
our nations’ past became an everyday act of the American public.