History, outside of the classroom and textbook, has always been something that peaks my interest. I was a horrible history student in high-school because I didn’t understand the importance or significance of history. It wasn’t until I was given the opportunity to visit places with historical relevance that I realized history was something that I really enjoy learning about. Some of the places that I have visited with great historical significance include Mount Vernon, various museums in the Smithsonian Institution, National Archives, various monuments on the National Mall, the Royal Gorge, the Badlands, Cana Island Lighthouse, and various state parks around Wisconsin. Of all of theses wonderful adventures, I don’t think I can pick just one that impacted my perspective on preservation more than the other.
I enjoy visiting historical places whether they are national parks or historical monuments because of the glimpse of the past that each place can show us. I just think that it is miraculous to visit places that remain relatively unchanged since our world is changing so quickly around us. When I visit historical or preserved places, I feel as if I get to experience a sort of time-stopping phenomenon. I first realized this ‘phenomenon’ when I
The first major historical preservation example that is addressed in “Keeping time. The History and Theory of Preservation in America” is Mount Vernon, property of George Washington. With plans of turning the site into a hotel due to the grand property along the bank the Potomac River, public outcry disallowed the project to take place. A woman by the name of Ann Pamela Cunningham formed a group of women known as the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union, to protect and preserve the historical property.
The motives of preservationists ranged from patriotism, enthusiasm for the antique, to education. After World War II was when preservation groups began to spring up under the National Trust for Historic Preservation which is the largest single national organization representing the private citizen or a broad spectrum of preservation issues. (Murtagh, ,26) President Truman signed the charter bill on October 26, 1949 and Major General U.S. Grant III announced the creation of the National Trust for Historic Preservation on October 31, 1949. Mount Vernon became the first National Trust property in 1951.
Murtagh, William. Keeping Time, The History and Theory of Preservation in America. 3. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2005. 14-15, 26. Print.
It is interesting this concept of "time-stopping." I think that many people experience it and in some ways it is a desired effect of preserving structures. The question is, Is it producing an authentic effect that makes sense? Or is it creating something that never really existed and is based on our own understanding and nostaglia for the past? Is that problematic or a reasonable thing to expect out of a built or natural environment?
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