Historic Preservation in St. Petersburg and other matters August 11, 2009
Posted by history in : Uncategorized , add a commentI have been lucky enough to spend much of the past month traveling in Asia, I have visited World Heritage Sites in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. One thing that is clear from my travels, people want to see old stuff. They will travel, they will pay much, they will endure long bus rides, dubious food, unpleasant temperatures and a host of other trials some small, some not to get there (wherever that may be). Watching the sunrise at Angkor Wat, wandering the streets of Luang Prabang, or traipsing through the ruins of My Son (near Hoi An, Vietnam) and seeing busloads of tourists at each site, there is little doubt that people feel compelled to connect to our collective past by actually seeing it, no mere photo will suffice.
I could write pages on the myriad challenges of heritage tourism but that’s not what this post is about. This morning, perusing my Google news alerts, I came across this commentary by Edmund Harris, on the perilous sitation of heritage conservation in St. Petersburg that left me wanting to pound my head on the desk and tear my hair and shout “WHY IS IT STILL SO DIFFICULT!!!” It’s not like historic preservation/heritage conservation, whatever you want to call it is “NEW! TRENDY!” some crazy unkown economic engine that no one knows how it will run (donkey cart or Porshe?). I am not an economist but from my experience historic preservation is usually somewhere in between, luckily I just picked up (downloaded actually a copy of The Heritage Game by Alan Peacock and Idle Rizzo which, thus far, seems like it will be a really interesting read. Here is the blurb from the publisher, Oxford University Press:
A notable feature in cultural life is the growing demand to preserve and promote public access to historical buildings and sites, and artistic treasures of the past. Governments are increasingly involved in financing and regulating private attempts to meet this growing demand as well as extending their own provision of these treasures in state and locally owned museums and galleries. These developments raise important issues about the scope, content, and relevance of heritage policies in today’s world. Written by two leading figures in the field of cultural economics, this authoritative book focuses on the impact of economic analysis on the formulation and implementation of heritage policy.
Pick up your copy today!
International Preservation Trades Workshop in Leadville August 11, 2009
Posted by history in : Uncategorized , add a commentRegister Now for the International Preservation Trades Workshop and International Trades Education Symposium
August 25-29, 2009 - Leadville, Colorado
Historic preservation experts and enthusiasts from across the United States and around the world will gather in Leadville, Colorado this summer for two events held by the Preservation Trades Network (PTN) in partnership with the Colorado Mountain College Historic Preservation program. The college’s expanding preservation program, which was started two years ago, will host the 13th annual International Preservation Trades Workshop (IPTW) and the third biannual International Trades Education Symposium (ITES) Aug. 25-29. The host partners for IPTW-ITES 2009 include the University of Colorado-Denver College of Architecture and Planning and the Colorado Historical Society State Historical Fund.
The Preservation Trades Network (PTN) is a 501(c)3 non-profit membership organization founded to provide education, networking and outreach for the traditional building trades. The International Preservation Trades Workshop is the only annual event in North American which brings the foremost practitioners of the traditional trades together in a single venue dedicated to sharing the skills and knowledge of all of the trades employed in conservation of the built environment. Since 1997, IPTWs have been held in Maryland, New York, Alabama, West Virginia, Ohio, Louisiana and Vermont. Previous International Trades Education Symposia have taken place in St. Clairsville, Ohio in 2005, and Tällberg, Sweden in 2007.
A broad range of tradespeople from the US and abroad, including stone carvers, log builders, timber framers, plasterers, painters, carpenters, blacksmiths and more, will demonstrate their trades. Workshops, symposium sessions and demonstrations of preservation techniques will take place throughout and near Leadville: at the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum, and at the college’s Timberline Campus and historic Hayden Ranch. Pre-conference workshops on cemetery preservation, masonry cleaning and log structures restoration will also be held.
The Hayden Ranch, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is an intact example of a high country ranch and agricultural operation, which operated from 1872 to 1947. Colorado Mountain College purchased the ranch for use as a laboratory, woodworking shop and classroom space for students in the preservation trades program.
For details and registration visit: www.IPTW.org