> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ken Follett
> Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2002 8:29 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Historic factory now being demolished
> 
> 
> My touchiness re: using histo presto as a foil for social 
> engineering...

It's a hard thing to make aesthetic judgments in preservation, simply
because everything that is demolished is out of favor with someone. We
run the risk of becoming just like those who we vilify when we begin to
behave in this fashion. That's why documentation is so important, to
justify the relative merits of a particular resource at issue.

I am fond of saying that we need to get the aesthetics OUT of
preservation. The 30-50 year timeframe is particularly critical in the
lifespan of a resource because that's when the design aesthetic is most
out of favor with the general public...it just looks dated and dowdy. We
have to make the case for preservation on the merits, because nobody
thinks it's stylish at the time, maybe not even the preservationists.
Preserving that which we like is not an unreasonable way to behave;
preserving that which is currently out of favor is a much more
challenging prospect.

Failing to document the resource before lending your friend your support
with your contacts lead you to an aesthetic epiphany that would have
been avoided with better research. 

So a corollary to my "blaming historic resources for social ills" tenet
would be "blaming historic resources for currently out-of-fashion
aesthetics."

___________________________________________________
Dan Becker, Exec. Dir.   "Somebody blows their nose 
Raleigh Historic          and you want to keep it?"
Districts Commission            - Dr. Peter Venkman
[log in to unmask] 
919/890-3678

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