From Historic Architecture to Cultural Heritage: A Journey Through Diversity, Identity, and Community

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1 Antoinette J. Lee Future Anterior Volume 1, Number 2 Fall 2004 From Historic Architecture to Cultural Heritage: A Journey Through Diversity, Identity, and Community Many historic preservation practitioners undertake mainstream preservation work: they document historic buildings, nominate eligible properties for local, state, or national recognition, prepare preservation plans for a property s rehabilitation, and undertake studies of a building s materials. As a result, the public typically views historic preservation work as the protection of architectural landmarks that can be appreciated by owners, users, and the public. Yet, architectural significance is not the only value that drives the historic preservation field. Other preservationists are investigating such topics as places where important events happened, landforms that reflect patterns of growth and development, archeological sites where no above ground remains survive, elements of a natural landscape that are held to be sacred by nearby cultural groups, and buildings and structures constructed by or re-formed by cultural groups in the recent past. With so many extant architectural landmarks available for study in cities, towns, suburban and rural areas, why should this second group exist at all? History is a remarkably potent force not only in preservation, but other areas of human activity. History shapes national identity and allegiances. It determines the success or failure of revolutions and other dramatic transformations. It can inspire the young to take up arms to defend the nation. Most of all, history is malleable: it can be rewritten, rethought, reinterpreted, reinvigorated, and resuscitated to illuminate contemporary challenges. For this professional historic preservation practitioner, the confluence of architecture and history occurred in the 1980s. After completing the research phase of a federal government architecture project, I decided to study how municipal architecture in the District of Columbia was procured and constructed. This involved the development of a project surveying and documenting the nearly 100 public school buildings in the District of Columbia that were constructed from the late 1860s to As part of this effort, I traced the development of the District s Office of the Municipal Architect, which was responsible for the design and construction of schools and other municipal buildings, including libraries and firehouses. What began as a study in municipal architecture evolved into an extensive inquiry into the architecture of segregation 15

2 in the nation s capital. Analysis consisted of looking at schools that were historically black and those that were built for white students (Figure 1) along with the location of these schools, including the large concentrations of black high schools, technical schools, and elementary schools close to predominantly black residential areas. Other elementary schools for black students were frequently sited in the central city, sometimes only a few blocks from elementary schools for white students. This powerful story about the material legacy of the segregated school system struck a chord. In the 1987 publication, American Mosaic: Preserving a Nation s Heritage, I wrote about diversity in historic preservation at length. 1 The published essay bothered some readers in the United States because they either did not think diversity was worthy of a full chapterlength discussion or felt that it was a divisive topic that was best left alone. In any case, the essay was one of the first to focus on diversity as a topic within historic preservation and it provided a comprehensive view of how the historic preservation field had addressed the issue of cultural diversity since the mid-twentieth century. The Evolution of Diversity in Preservation Although many preservationists today believe that efforts to represent cultural diversity in historic preservation are a recent phenomenon, it was just over 60 years ago, in 1943, that the U.S. Congress established the George Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, Missouri. Designated in recognition of the significance of Carver s career and the contributions of African Americans to the second World War effort, the Carver site includes the location of his boyhood home, a sculpture of Carver, and the Carver family cemetery. In 1956, the Booker T. Washington National Monument in Hardy, Virginia, became the second unit of the National Park System associated with African-American history. The property illustrates the life of enslaved workers in piedmont Virginia. The publicity for the National Monument invites visitors to step back in time and experience firsthand the life and landscape of people who lived in an era when slavery was part of the fabric of American life. After the civil rights movement and Great Society programs of the 1960s, many additional minority-related historic properties were added to the National Park System, including Alabama s Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site in 1974, commemorating one of the nation s bestknown African-American educational institutions. Attempts to expand recognition of cultural diversity by the Federal government received a huge boost in 1966 with the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act. Although diversity was not mentioned in the legislation or in the reports 16

3 that preceded the enactment of the legislation, the expansion of the National Register of Historic Places to include properties of state and local significance set the groundwork for the identification and recognition of historic places associated with minority groups. Once historical studies of communities commenced, the built heritage of American ethnic and minority groups emerged as a nearly universal theme. Starting in the early 1970s, using the emerging infrastructure of the national historic preservation program, state historic preservation offices, local governments, and federal agencies sponsored surveys of potential historic properties. One of the early National Register nominations that recognized properties of importance to the cultural identity of American Indians was Bear Butte in South Dakota. This natural formation is significant to a number of nearby Indian tribes and would today be classified as a traditional cultural property, or TCP. In Brooklyn, New York, in the late 1960s, a group of community leaders and archeologists coalesced around a 19thcentury African- American settlement known as Weeksville. When publicized in the early 1970s, Weeksville became one of the earliest African-American historic properties to capture the attention of preservationists. The project s leaders became nationally prominent and inspired other minority-related preservation projects throughout the country. A benchmark publication on the topic is the 1984 guide, Historic Black Resources: A Handbook for the Identification, Documentation, and Evaluation of Historic African-American Properties in Georgia, produced by the Georgia State Historic Preservation Office. 2 Another important book from the same period is Roots of American Architecture, published in 1986 as part of the Building Watchers series that the Preservation Press produced on a range of architectural topics. This volume covered the architectural heritage of approximately two dozen immigrant and native groups and remains one of the best summaries of the United States culturally rich built environment. 3 Fitting into the Mainstream Preservation Template As much as cultural diversity may have seemed a controversial topic in preservation two decades ago, today it is virtually mainstream in numerous government programs at the local, state, and national levels, as well as in nonprofit private sector organizations. One indication of the nearly universal acceptance of diversity in historic preservation is the reoccurrence of the topic at the National Trust s National Preservation Conferences. Other indicators include the larger number of nominations of ethnic historic properties being submitted for 17

4 2. The rehabilitation of historic housing in Lancaster, Pennsylvania incorporates the cultural values of the Latino residents while meeting the Secretary of Interior standards for rehabilitation. (Photo by author, 1999) recognition by local governments, in state registers, and in the National Register of Historic Places. On the treatment side of preservation work, examples are emerging of the compatibility of ethnic cultural values and established standards for the rehabilitation of historic properties. In Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for example, a large area of 19th-century historic buildings is being restored according to the Secretary of the Interior s standards for rehabilitation by the city s more-recent Puerto Rican population. At the same time, these projects have successfully incorporated the needs of the large Puerto Rican population that lives there today, including housing needs, artistic expression, and community gathering facilities. In many of the older eastern Pennsylvania cities, like Lancaster, Harrisburg, Allentown, and Reading, large Puerto Rican populations have moved from the New York City area or directly from Puerto Rico in search of new opportunities. Today, Lancaster s population is approximately one-third Latino, and many of these residents have settled in the city s older neighborhoods. In Lancaster, the Spanish American Civic Association (SACA) Development Corporation administers federal and other funds to rehabilitate housing in central Lancaster (Figure 2). Because of the use of federal dollars in a National Register-eligible area, the rehabilitation is guided by the Secretary s Standards for Rehabilitation. The SACA group has been especially successful in using the Standards, while allowing for expression of Latino culture. The local government s historic preservation program works closely with SACA to ensure conformance with the local ordinance and federal standards. Puerto Rican cultural expressions can be seen in the addition of artwork, such as sculpture, brightly painted pocket parks, and use of paint colors on buildings. 18

5 3. The market building in the Little Haiti section in Miami, Florida, was designed to replicate market buildings in Haiti and establish familiar architectural forms in the immigrant community. (Photo by author, 1992) Expanding the Preservation Footprint It is evident that many minority projects fit into the general template of historic preservation that focuses on tangible architectural and landscape forms. However, we should recognize that an enhanced understanding of cultural diversity may require an expanded or adjusted template. Published in 1990, the Keepers of the Treasures report broke new ground in suggesting alternatives to this end. 4 The Keepers report was developed to coincide with a new grant program to fund Native American tribal historic preservation programs and projects. This report was based on consultation with American Indian tribes regarding if the program should fund the usual buildings, districts, and structures of our regular programs, or if there was something more. This report was instructive on how American Indian tribes view historic preservation, concluding that to American Indian people historic preservation is no less than the perpetuation of living cultural traditions: beliefs, lifeways, languages, oral traditions, arts, crafts, and ceremonies, as well as the places and properties associated with them. 5 The report further revealed that from the tribal perspective, preservation is conceived more broadly, addressing traditional aspects of unique, living cultures, only some of which are related to places. As Native American attorney and advocate Dean Suagee has stated, We are concerned with the preservation of our distinctive way of life. 6 This broad definition of preservation formed the foundation of the regular, annual Historic Preservation Fund grants to Indian tribes, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiian organizations. Included in the categories of funding are the preservation of historic buildings and sites as well as the preparation of oral histories and the video, text, and audio recording of a wide range of intangible cultural activity. 19

6 4. The painted signs on the New Florida Bakery building in Miami, Florida, represents the kind of ephemeral culture that should be documented by preservationists. (Photo by Charles Kelley, 1992) The Keepers report concluded with the suggestion that the federal government develop a new way of looking at historic preservation. To be responsive to the needs of Indian tribes, the federal government needs to shift from a focus on specific, clearly definable historic properties to a concern for the cultural environment as a whole, including both historic properties and cultural traditions, and to adjust federal procedures, standards, and guidelines accordingly. This perspective was important not only for addressing the needs of American Indian tribes according to the report, but could form the next logical step in the evolution of the national historic preservation program as a whole. 7 The integration of intangible cultural heritage and historic preservation was explored in the 1984 report, Cultural Conservation: the Protection of the Cultural Heritage of the United States. 8 One of the first to report on the need to integrate the preservation of the intangible elements of cultural heritage with the established historic preservation programs, the report urged a closer working relationship between state historic preservation offices and state folk life offices. The potential for this kind of collaboration is everywhere in the United States. For example, a recently built market building in the Little Haiti section of Miami, Florida, a replica of a typical market building in Port-Au-Price, becomes an instant landmark because it provides a feeling of familiarity for new immigrant groups (Figure 3). It reflects the phenomenon that cultural groups bring memories and ways of life from 20

7 5. Chinatown in San Francisco is one of the most distinctly ethnic neighborhoods in the nation. Its uniqueness is created in part by banners, signage, and other impermanent features. (Photo by author, 1991) their country of origin and transplant these to their new homes regardless of the prevailing established environment. Replica buildings like the bakery in Little Haiti are significant due to their association with immigrant groups along with their role in providing familiar surroundings for new residents. The cultural importance of these buildings might compel preservationists to re-think the value of replicas and reproductions due to the strong cultural values of and meaning they carry for their constituent ethnic groups. Much of what is considered to be ethnic architecture in ethnic enclaves is not permanent, but rather ephemeral. The New Florida Bakery in the Little Haiti section of Miami, Florida, provides a example of this type of culture (Figure 4). The imprint of the Haitian community is evident in a painted sign that tells potential customers of the goods inside. By using signage like ones at home, the sign helps to maintain a sense of cultural identity for the Haitian community. The importance of ephemeral cultural expressions is evident in Chinatowns throughout the nation. What makes Chinatowns Asian is not necessarily the bricks and mortar of the buildings, but the many ephemeral banners, signage, and other decorative features, which are not permanently attached to the buildings (Figure 5). Shouldn t the preservation field document these cultural expressions? This type of documentation is important because it is not likely that these materials could be preserved in the same way that buildings and structures are preserved. 21

8 This kind of streetscape does not conform to the more uniform appearance of restored or preserved commercial enclaves. The typical preservation of historic Main Streets of America respond to the dominant culture s notions about the treatment of historic storefronts, which have successfully attracted new businesses to locate in historic commercial centers. Chinatowns do not fit into the standard Main Street image, but they are genuine expressions of the group that occupies the buildings. Who Should Do Diversity Preservation Work? Because of the longstanding demographics of the field, much of the diversity work in historic preservation to date has been done by the historic preservation establishment. Increasingly, however, preservation work is developing at the grassroots level and led by minority organizations and individuals. Does this mean that diversity preservation work can be done best by minority professionals and community leaders? Or, is preservation work so scientific and even clinical that any preservation professional should be able to identify, document, and interpret diverse historic places? The ideal long-term situation would be for the preservation profession of historical architects, historians, archeologists, and landscape historians to become much more diverse so that the field looks like America. This multi-ethnic character of the profession would provide opportunities for a broader range of cultural heritage to be addressed from a wider range of perspectives. Then, architectural landmarks, for example, could be evaluated as much for their important architectural character as for the historical significance of former occupants and for the historical trends that led to the development of the area in which the building stands. The success of the national historic preservation program depends on the interest and support of states and localities. These government entities should be encouraged to recognize important demographic trends and realize that diverse people also are tax payers and voters who value their communities as much as residents of architecturally significant historic districts. They will wish to use government tools to protect and enhance their communities. Let us hope that the preservation establishment will welcome these diverse communities, understand diverse cultural heritage from the communities point of view, and find common ground that unites community values and historic preservation standards. If this can happen, then historic preservation will truly move into the 21st century and serve the needs of the new century s population. 22

9 Author biography Antoinette J. Lee s career in historic preservation includes employment at the National Trust for Historic Preservation and as a historic preservation consultant. Since 1989, she has worked in the cultural resources programs of the National Park Service. She also is adjunct associate professor with the M.A. in Historic Preservation program at Goucher College. She has published articles and books on federal government architecture, the architecture and planning of Washington, DC, and diversity in historic preservation. Endnotes 1 Antoinette J. Lee, Discovering Old Cultures in the New World: The Role of Ethnicity, in The American Mosaic: Preserving a Nation s Heritage, ed. Robert E. Stipe and Antoinette J. Lee (Washington, DC: US/ICOMOS, 1987), Carole Merritt, Historic Black Resources: A Handbook for the Identification, Documentation, and Evaluation of Historic African-American Properties in Georgia (Atlanta: Historic Preservation Section, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, 1984). 3 Dell Upton, ed., America s Architectural Roots: Ethnic Groups that Built America (Washington, DC: The Preservation Press, 1986). 4 Patricia L. Parker, Keepers of the Treasures: Protecting Historic Properties and Cultural Traditions on Indian Lands (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1990). 5 Ibid., 1. 6 Dean Suagee, Keepers of the Native Treasures, in Past Meets Future: Saving America s Historic Environments, ed. Antoinette J. Lee (Washington, DC: Preservation Press, 1992), Parker, Ormond H. Loomis, coordinator, Cultural Conservation: The Protection of Cultural Heritage in the United States: A Study (Washington, DC: American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, in cooperation with the National Park Service, 1983). 23