To Preserve...

Preservation is a blanket term. It can be associated with nearly anything from old cars to relationships, from thoughts and secrets, to archaeological sites. Preserving means simply to keep alive or in existence. Murtagh takes the word preservation and uses it to explore and understand the importance of America’s past through art and architecture.

Opinion is a key issue when it comes to the topic of preservation. Many people, for instance, look at preservation as a way to replicate the new. A building or structure that is dilapidated can be rebuilt out of new materials and components. On the other hand, some believe that keeping a structure in its original state, with the ravages of time, is the way to preserve. When there are such separate viewpoints arguments do arise making preservation in America an ongoing battle. Thus, preservation is a word based purely on opinion making it a difficult problem Americans face.

Looking further into Murtagh’s text, he explains that Americans have recently taken an initiative to this idea of preserving the landmarks and structures from the past, and created a larger role with government to rely on preservation. He also explains that at first, major landmarks were the single main priority to preserve but do to official involvement areas such as parks and urban environments have also become subjects of preservation. Just as the protection of single buildings and landmarks were the goal of early preservationists, government has continued this idea and branched off with preserving America’s natural resources. With preservation becoming a more important subject with urban planning and such the need to lay down building blocks such as terms to understand preservation, is a must. Murtagh explains, “Over the years, certain terminology has been established by use and common consent, even though confusion and differences of opinion over exact meaning still tend to persist in the public mind” (Murtagh 2006). To combat this, breaking preservation down into other words helps to better explain the idea. Preservation, for instance, means measures to sustain existing form. Restoration, another important term, means to recover the form. Reconstruction means reproducing by new construction, and finally, rehabilitation means returning a property to the state of utility. With preservation broken down into these terms, the public as well as preservationists have a better way to communicate the saving of America’s history.

With Preservation defined, the plans for the new Marriot hotel in Milwaukee have caused a debate on the topic. With some arguing for the Hotel and others arguing it will destroy two of Milwaukee’s oldest buildings, many meetings were arranged to come to a compromise. With the final design put forth, preserving the facades of the original buildings, the history of the Milwaukee people see will continue to live on in a new setting generating economic growth through the production of jobs and revenue. Thus an old inefficient site is being used to continue Milwaukee’s history and help the city grow. It is a win – win situation for the residents. This is just one example of how preservation is still debated on and examined today.

With examples such as the Marriot Hotel, the terms used to describe, and the many points brought forward by Murtagh, Preservation is a key issue in American society today.