When Is It Time to Let Go of Historic Sites?
Posted on June 5, 2008
Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment
In a recent post, I noted that a historically significant part of the Murfreesboro battlefield had been destroyed in order to build a new road, shopping center, hospital and other things. That got me wondering, is there a time to let go of historical sites, let progress take it’s toll and move on?
One of the things about historical sites and items is that they are finite. If you destroy an 1835 antebellum home, you can’t get it back. It’s gone. And the older they are, the more scarce they become. I wouldn’t worry much about destroying a 1993 house. There are tons of them and it has little historical significance.
On the other hand, sometimes we think something is historically significant just because it’s old. In many cases, there has to be a worthy story to tell if you’re going to engage people to save and support a site. Sill’s Ridge definitely had a story to tell. It should have been a part of the battlefield park. Now it’s gone forever. But is there a forumula to determine if tearing up a historic site is of greater benefit to a community than saving it? Should it even be a consideration or should we just save everything?
What do you think?
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YES, historically significant places should be protected from development! Even a particular 1993 house may be able convey something culturally and historically significant to future generations. (NOT all 1993 homes) Was the place associated with a person or set of ideas or events. Is it exemplary of a class or style of architecture? Is is an exceptional example of its time? Are there other examples that will be able to preserve and convey the cultural, social, or historical significance better? Does it take ten thousand acres to do this, or could it be done with 1,000 acres? Will the new development/use so detract from the historic legacy as to destroy it without actually taking the building? Will the new development/use make archaelogical and historical artifacts inacessable or disturb them so that they loose their meaning? Is there a way to make the two uses compatible? (Such as remote/underground parking, underground highway, compatible architecture and landscapes.)With “green roofs” the entire mall could have become the basis for the battlefield preservation and attraction.