[MassHistPres] Preservation Philosophies (was: our town hall)

[Aaron Marcavitch]

Phew, I guess I missed out on things when I thought it was just a conversation about Town halls!

Win, thanks for having your son weigh in.  Its good to have these perspectives.  I believe - as
well - that there must be a compromise.  BUT - that compromise must not come at the sake of losing
our legacy.  If we can find a way to upgrade and renovate without destroying tangible evidence of
our past, then lets go for it.  Can it be reversed?  Can it be removed when our kids ask us "why
did you destroy our grandparent's history?"

> > For me it boils down to a compromise, or at least a trading of values: It
> > certainly makes sense to preserve "authentic" historical structures so that we
> > may learn from them in the future. Where it becomes less clear is where we
> > have  to accept the "real world" as it is:  This project is an excellent example:
> > Is there the public will (in the form of additional tax dollars) to
> > preserve and then maintain an historical structure which must still be functional
> > and appropriate for a current public use?  

I don't necessarily buy this wholesale.  There has to be a buy in from the community - and it is
our job to create that buy in.  There isn't much of a buy in for affordable housing (my field for
the time being) - but its my job to create an understanding of what we do and why it is important.
 

> >>From my perspective it boils down to one fundamental issue:  Is the  civil
> > society willing to pony up the additional funds to:
> > A. Restore the existing structure including windows and exterior millwork
> > B. Pay a premium on the construction and finishing cost of an
> > authentic-all-wood structure

This is a question of "is it worth it?" And I dont believe there will be an answer coming forward
any time soon that will resolve the issues.  

> > C. Maintain the restored structure and the new addition, probably needing
> > paint every two years given the greater porosity of new growth wood and the
> > lower level of protection provided by modern lead-free and Low-VOC compliant
> > architectural coatings.  In my experience public buildings are NOT generally
> > maintained properly, and thus suffer deterioration, as this structure 
> > apparently has.

Very true that maintenance is a critical component of the overall process.  And I would suggest
that an addition is the place to spend money on the new style materials. 

> > D. Pay the additional amount it will cost to heat/cool a building that does
> > not have insulated glass? (Or is Mass Hist Pres suggesting wood storms -
> > another  maintenance nightmare)?

I dont buy this argument.  Spend some of that "additional amount" on checking the insulation in
the building.  Maybe it needs upgraded.  Spray in can be done pretty easily.  Then use a standard
storm window and ensure the old ones work well.  The money you save on heating should pay a
maintenance person to maintain these windows and storms.

> > E. Use the additional resources (i.e. burn the fossil fuel) required to heat
> > AND to scrape, prime, and paint the structure religiously.

Well, that is a good point - but you have saved HUGE amount of energy by keeping the OLD materials
and preserving them.  (Read the newest edition of Preservation Magazine.)

> > Is this the right way for society to spend its finite dollars?  Or  ought we
> > be educating kids better, maybe taking them on a field trip to see the
> > preserved houses in town so they gain a sense of history and value what 
> > HAS been saved.

This statement cuts both ways for me.  First - I dont know if its the RIGHT way to spend its
finite dollars, but its one of the ways.  And yes, we should be educating our kids better and
taking them on field trips.  But what about their kids kids?  If we stopped preserving now (or
showed them a building that USED to be wood, but is now steel, azek, trex, cement board, rubber,
etc - and is inherently NOT the "same ax twice") wouldn't that mean that eventually they are only
going to see one period of history?  This is the recent past issue or the issue of roadside
architecture.  Why save a diner?  It has no reuse value except as a diner.  But there is an
inherent worth to these buildings that document our history.  

Its not an easy discussion, but its worth having.
Aaron


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http://www.marcavitch.com


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