[MassHistPres] Influencing Town Politics

[Tristram Metcalfe]

Jonathan,

It is the charge and responsibility of an HC to actively work in the efforts
to preserve history. We live in a country founded on free speech which is
the main reason our country is a great one. When All political candidates
are treated in the same light it is NOT political activity if it has no
preference of a candidate. It IS historic preservation activity which is
what HC's are required to do.

That seems very valuable to have a web site for public dialogue. Every HC &
HD could use one or just a blog access. They could find the existing local
blogs to post preservation surveys and ideas to. This is best if done prior
to damage but in the case of that easily reversible dumb door decision,,
after the fact would help too.

Public dialogue IS ESSENTIAL or the built environment will continue to
devolve as it has empirically proven itself to be doing all over the place,
The ignorance from silence on the importance of historic aesthetics is
driven by the lack of dialogue on the built environment.

Even well meaning educated city directors and leaders suffer from ignorance
on historic and architectural aesthetics that reinforce human environmental
values. Too often leaders destroy their own environments due to their
ignorant lack of awareness, but it's their paid responsibility to attend to
human/environment affects and effects. Dialogue can and will enlighten all.
 
There is hope to turn this pervasive negative motion around. The down turn
of the rapacious excessive and ignorant development having slowed up
state/nation wide may allow more open dialogue and awareness. We know
recessions help preserve, but gagged HC voices from silly notions that it is
political activity won't help.

Tris Metcalfe

Tristram W. Metcalfe III,   AIA  NCARB  NY MA CT
142  Main St. Northampton, Mass. 01060
E <twm3 at metcalfe-architecture.com>
P 413.586.5775 C 413.695.8200
Alt.E < twm3 at rcn.com >
http://www.wmaia.org/firm_profiles/metcalfe_associates.html
 
 

Jonathan Feist3/27/08 9:15 AMjfeist at charter.net

> Hi all,
> 
> In an attempt to make historical preservation more of a local campaign
> issue, I sent a little survey to the five candidates running for selectmen,
> in Harvard.
> 
> I posted my results (with my own commentary) on a new blog. It went live
> yesterday. I announced it to some locals that I know, and it already seems
> to be getting some traffic beyond that group, which means that there is
> pretty good interest around here for such things. It will be interesting to
> see how it actually plays out and whether these issues get more air time as
> a result. But you might try something similar, if you have similar
> rabble-rousing tendencies to my own. I also sent ³Letters to the Editor² to
> our local newspapers announcing it, hopefully to come out tomorrow.
> 
> Here¹s the link:
> 
>> http://harvardpreservation.wordpress.com/
> 
> --Jonathan
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ===============================================
> 
> Jonathan Feist, Chair
> Harvard Historical Commission
> 978-772-4864 (home)
> 617-747-2148 (Berklee office)
> 
> Preserve Historical Harvard, MA:
> http://harvard.ma.us/histcomm.htm
> 
> 
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