Ever since I was a small child I’ve loved history. Before I could even read I would look at atlases and pictures in my father’s history books. As I grew up my fascination never waivered, ultimately leading me to a career in history education. In my teens I began to enjoy historic architecture and even briefly considered a career in historical interior design. I LOVE OLD HOUSES. Ask my husband Chris, it’s very rare I see one I don’t like- he’ll tell you. We even have an inside joke; when ever we see an old house that is dilapidated and dreary I’ll usually say something like “Imagine what it could be like if it was fixed up, it’s just so stunning! Look at that porch, or the brick, or the lines!” Chris will then respond “wrecking ball!” and we laugh.
When I was recently asked to serve on a committee to help move and then preserve a historic home in our community, of course I jumped at the chance. I am finally getting the opportunity to participate in the renovation of a historic home and I’m thrilled. My husband is equally thrilled, because it’s not a home we live in- or have to pay for! Beside finding historic preservation interesting; it is something that I know is actually good for the community. If you struggle to see the value in preserving old homes and buildings in your local community it would be my honor to try to change your mind. I’d like to share 3 reasons why historic preservation matters; and specifically how it may help improve your community.
Historic Preservation helps stabilize neighborhoods and build community pride.
For a neighborhood that is depressed and run down, preservation can breathe new life into the area. A renovated historic building can become a jewel for a neighborhood. Consider an older school that is converted into new apartments. The re-purposing of the building brings in new residents, new sources of tax revenue, and the promise of future development. It goes from being a blight to a new source of community pride! It also serves to help local residents make connections to the past; which is known to increase community pride as well.
Historic Preservation is good for the local economy.
Preservation provides jobs, increases tourism revenue, enlarges the tax base, and qualifies for federal grants (saving local governments money). Historic districts and historic buildings/museums are a huge tourist draw. Heritage tourism, as this type of tourism is known, is a multi billion dollar (over four billion annually) source of revue for my home state- Florida. More than 60% of Florida tourists report that they visit a historic site or do something “historical” while visiting the state. All the extra tax revenue that preservation brings in can be used by local, state, and federal governments to address community problems and issues with better public policies.
Historic Preservation is sustainable.
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “things were just built better back in the day!” There is some truth in that statement; buildings were often constructed of better quality materials and with greater craftsmanship in the past. Preserving requires less materials than building from scratch and takes advantage of the existing well done craftsmanship. In today’s high cost building environment being able to save money on supplies is an obvious plus, not to mention the positives for the environment.
I hope you will follow along on my journey into historic preservation in my community! I plan to share details along the way. I hope that watching my journey into preservation will inspire you to get involved in local history and preservation in your community!
Sources:
https://academic.oup.com/cdj/article-abstract/54/4/581/5073299?redirectedFrom=fulltext
https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/DOC_13716.PDF
https://research.ufl.edu/publications/explore/v08n1/historic.html
https://railyards.com/blog/communities-need-to-preserve-historic-places-heres-why
http://www.slcdocs.com/historicpreservation/GuideRes/Section1.pdf
https://historichawaii.org/resource-center-2/why/
