My personal experience with preservation occurred when I visited the Grand Canyon for the first time. I was about fourteen, and visiting my older sister in Arizona. Prior to this experience I had only ever seen the Grand Canyon on postcards or TV. I had an expectation of what it was going to be like before I arrived, but when I actually saw it for the first time I was speechless. It was so vast and breathtaking; I had never seen anything like it before in my life. There appeared to be no end to the canyon, and it seemed as though shades of red, yellow, green, and brown went on forever. I was completely overwhelmed by the site and the overall experience it offered, and I still am today. Whenever I try to tell people about the site, I can never find the proper words to describe it; I usually end up telling them that the only way to understand it is to visit it for themselves.
I cannot imagine what the Grand Canyon would look like today had it not been protected. There could have been houses and shopping centers covering the top surface with bridges connecting the surfaces, thus completely destroying the landscape. Keeping this site preserved makes me realize the importance of preservation and why it is so important. Without it, we stand the risk of losing the most beautiful and natural aspects of our landscape and heritage. I would say that this experience was positive for me because I am a strong supporter of preserving natural environments. I would hate to live anywhere where I could not escape to nature, and we are lucky to have organizations set up to ensure the protection of natural places in the future.
Gender played an interesting role in the preservation movement because it was the women who were the force behind starting the movement. Women were some of the first preservationists, and often focused on single buildings with “strong historical significance” (Murtagh xviii). One of the most influential women of this task was Ann Pamela Cunningham, who helped form the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union in 1853. She realized that the government had failed to support restoration projects, so she made it her personal mission to change this (14). As a result, Cunningham paved the way for women to lead preservation efforts (15). The women chose to preserve buildings associated with political figures and the military, and decided that women should be in charge of obtaining and looking after these sites (16). However, as the preservation movement progressed, men began taking control.
While women were still involved with preservation, men began to contribute their efforts to expanding the movement. Men such as William Sumner Appleton and W.A.R. Goodwin made sure that the aesthetics and spirit of old sites and architecture were preserved (17, 20). It was another man, Ronald F. Lee, who eventually helped start the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Lee was the northeast regional director of the National Park Service, and conveyed that those associated with the preservation movement must unite in order to assure its existence in the future (26). Other preservationists realized the importance of what Lee was relaying, and decided to form an organization that was nonprofit, national, and private; this became known as the National Trust (25). In addition, the Trust was set up to unite experts and supporters of the preservation movement, while dealing with issues involving property stewardship that the government was not able to handle (25).
This organization was formed because the past needs to be protected. Its founders and other preservationists realized the importance of safeguarding the past, and ensuring its survival from which future generations may learn. Without this organization, preservation efforts may have never been unified, and we may have seen some of the most valued parts of our heritage slip away. For this reason, and many others it is important that this organization remains an important part of American culture.
Murtagh, William J. Keeping Time: The History and Theory of Preservation in America.
3rd ed. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2006. Print.
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http://www.hdwallpapers.in/grand_canyon_national_park-wallpapers.html
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