Preserving the Past for Future Generations
April 30, 2024 | Ben White
May is Preservation Month, the one month out of the year dedicated to the advocacy and preservation of the places that hold historic value to a community. However, why should the preservation of our most unique and significant assets be relegated to just one month of the year? Historic preservation should be a year-long activity! Starting tomorrow, let’s think of how preservation impacts peoples’ lives and their communities for Preservation Month this year.
The preservation of the historic built environment—including the buildings and its architectural details—directly ties into the identity of the community and its residents. This physical environment where people live, work, shop, and play is a way in which people connect to their community. The charm and beauty of historic buildings enamor us to the same sense of place that ties community members to them. Being connected to something bigger than oneself, which includes our heritage, has many benefits including mental health (Read more about the connection between heritage and mental health at historicenglang.org.uk). Historic buildings and surrounding elements make downtowns unique from any other in the world, just like fingerprints. The buildings’ architecture helps to tell the story of how a community came about and its development in the early years.
Further, historic preservation isn’t just about preserving the buildings themselves. While this is important, historic preservation is also about preserving places that residents and visitors can enjoy and make lasting memories. These kinds of experiences happen in our downtowns. As Dr. Steven Hoffman, Coordinator of the Historic Preservation program at Southeast Missouri State University says, “It’s not just about the buildings in our downtown historic districts; it’s what the buildings allow people to feel and connect to, creating an important emotional connection.” Whatever form preservation takes in a community, it is a worthwhile endeavor to protect places of significance for people to continue to make memories.
Engaging with historic preservation is achievable through many means in a community. As Main Street communities look to advocate and educate their community about historic preservation, those efforts do not have to be a stand-alone event or program but can be integrated into already existing projects that are being implemented. Walking tours and architectural scavenger hunts are great places to start when thinking about hosting a preservation related activity, but there are many other possible great options that allow the community to explore downtown. This is where partnership and cross-Point collaboration can elevate a Main Street organization’s preservation effort. An Economic Vitality activity, such as a vacant building tour tells the story of each space to help educate on the space and elicit an emotional response. An Organization Point activity could integrate preservation with fundraising efforts by pulling on peoples’ heart strings. A Promotion Point activity could integrate a trivia activity on historic buildings downtown. These examples illustrate how historic preservation shouldn’t just be a Design-related activity; it should touch all Four Points of Main Street.
This month allows you to learn how you will answer these questions: What does historic preservation mean to you and how will you help to preserve the fabric of your downtown? If this is not a current priority for your organization/community, there’s no time like the present to advocate and educate about the story of your historic downtown.
