Mary Krugman wrote:
"having just returned from "the land of the 'gators" (GA and FLA). I am
troubled by thoughts of what we (preservationists) have wrought. I just
visited St. Augustine, FL -- the "oldest city in America." It has a
historic district that is wonderful -- well preserved streetscape, great
old buildings, and some interesting reconstructions underway, based on
archaeological discoveries of old building footprints and historic images.
HOWEVER, the historic [now] "walking street" is a mall-like environment of
tourist shops -- endless mugs, crystals, ersatz memoribilia, etc. that
tourists like to buy. There was one authentic historic site, which depicted
the city at a particular historic period, but for the most part it was a
historic "theme park" -- crowded with large, ice cream-slurping tourists.
Savannah, GA is much the same -- tour buses cram the streets, there is
little sense of a "normal" city rhythm, and most of the people on the
streets are tourists."
I, too, have been increasingly disturbed by what has happened to historic
downtown areas that have become popular shopping areas, and not just for
tourists. Michigan Ave. in Chicago, Boylston Street in Boston, Connecticut
Avenue here in Washington (to some extent), Santa Fe, and other places I
have visited recently seem to be essentially malls without roofs. They all
have the same national retailers--Gap, Benetton, Starbucks, etc. Even the
people walking the streets look the same! Many of them are not the kind of
tourists Mary saw, though there are plenty of stores carrying the usual
touristy souvenirs. Much of the crowd seems to be prosperous, young,
trendy, 30-somethings or maybe a little older. In Santa Fe (a really weird
place), there are NO stores in the historic area serving the locals--in
spite of an intensive local campaign to save a defunct Woolworth's just for
that reason (I suppose they may have succeeded since I was last there)
All of us preservationists seem to think this is success, and maybe it is.
After all, the buildings are still there, looking good, and occupied by
what appear to be profitable enterprises. But it's not history--except
late at night when it is wonderful!
I don't know what to do about it either. We can't hardly wish poverty on
cities that already have more than enough of that away from the historic
areas. But I do treasure those few places that do still have some sense of
their own individualized pasts--Yorktown, VA, the old Cattlemen's Exchange
(or whatever it's called) at the Fort Worth Stockyards, the squares away
from the riverfront in Savannah, and a few others (if anyone has other
places to add to this list, I would love to hear about them).
Oh well--I guess nothing is perfect.
Marilyn Harper
National Register of Historic Places
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