> -----Original Message-----
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Monday, December 07, 2009 11:35 AM

Hi Heidi...nice to hear from you again!

> would a replacement tabletop interfere with or sustain the 
> ability to utilize or interpret the object? I certainly think 
> that charring and damage would be a significant barrier to 
> utilizing the object in any sort of display. Would a 
> photograph and documentation of the original top provide 
> enough information for future scholars?
>  
> Preservation must be more than just material. It is about 
> preserving design and function, as well. The accidental 
> damage of the material should not forever compromise the 
> design or function of a structure or object.

Unless it is the fire that is being interpreted, not the table. But if it was a modern fire, then that gets into a whole new realm of the mission of the hosting organization.

I find frequently that organizations do not always pay attention to their mission statements. Best practice is to intentionally bounce every significant policy decision off the mission statement, and if it doesn't fit, you shouldn't be doing it. So if the mission is to interpret a historic site, and it has a modern fire, shouldn't there be a careful consideration of whether the modern fire should even be visually represented in the interpretation? Seems to me that it should not, but that one could have an interpretation about the fire and what was done to make its evidence go away during the restoration of the interpreted object.

The Thomas Wolfe Memorial, a state historic site in Asheville, poses an interesting example. It suffered a catastrophic fire, believed to be arson, in 1998. The restoration was exacting and exhausting. If you go to the state's website <http://www.nchistoricsites.org/wolfe/main.htm> for the memorial, the fire is not even mentioned. The companion "Friends" site <http://www.wolfememorial.com/history.html> gives it only brief mention. 

I think that is as it should be with regard to the house itself; interpret the fire in the modern visitor center <http://www.wolfememorial.com/center.html>. 

Or better yet, burn down the visitor center.

dan plays with matches becker

_______________________________________________________
Dan Becker,  Exec. Dir.     "The workman ought often to
Raleigh Historic           be thinking, and the thinker
Districts Commission              often to be working."
[log in to unmask]                         -- John Ruskin
919/516-2632 

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