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FOOD INTERPRETATION at HOUSE MUSEUMS and HISTORIC SITES: the CHARACTERISTICS of SUCCESSFUL FOOD PROGRAMS Victoria Ann-Folger Pa

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FOOD INTERPRETATION at HOUSE MUSEUMS and HISTORIC SITES: the CHARACTERISTICS of SUCCESSFUL FOOD PROGRAMS Victoria Ann-Folger Pa FOOD INTERPRETATION AT HOUSE MUSEUMS AND HISTORIC SITES: THE CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL FOOD PROGRAMS Victoria Ann-Folger Pardo Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science in Historic Preservation Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation Columbia University May 2019 ii Food Interpretation at House Museums and Historic Sites: The Characteristics of Successful Food Programs | Victoria Pardo Acknowledgements First, I would especially like to thank my thesis advisor, Paul Bentel. Without his continued guidance, patience, support, and enthusiasm for this project, I would not have explored the depths of significance that this piece holds to the field of preservation. I could not imagine having a better advisor in this process. I would like to thank Christopher Neville of GSAPP, and Michelle Moon, Chief Program Officer at the Tenement Museum, for reading my thesis and offering very important feedback. I would also like to thank Stephen Preskill at the Columbia University Writing Center, who has helped me to become a better writer. I would like to express my sincerest thanks to the faculty of the Historic Preservation program at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Preservation and Planning who have pushed me to produce my best work. Furthermore, I am grateful to everyone that allowed me to interview them as part of this thesis. Without their willingness and time, I would not have had the information or insight I needed to come to the conclusions I have reached. Finally, I must express my very profound gratitude to my parents for providing me with continued encouragement through all of my years of study, and in this challenging thesis process. I would have never been able to accomplish anything without them. Last but not least, thank you to my best friend from four years old, Blaire Townshend, and my Uncle Umit who have always edited my work. Sincerely, Victoria Pardo iii Food Interpretation at House Museums and Historic Sites: The Characteristics of Successful Food Programs | Victoria Pardo Abstract Pardo, Victoria, Food Interpretation at House Museums and Historic Sites: The Characteristics of Successful Food Programs. Master of Science (Historic Preservation), May, 2019, Columbia University, New York, New York. The main goal of this thesis was to develop criteria that identified major flaws in food programs at historic sites and house museums. Food interpretation is a valuable tool that can be utilized to enhance a site’s mission. It not only reveals conditions of the past, but also reveals important social concerns of today. House museums have the opportunity to use food interpretation to gain relevance in their communities and strengthen their site as a whole. The work I have done is observational as an outsider, visitor, and individual with a sense of the role interpretation could play, with the goal of informing sites that want to create food programs. This work is a prelude to creating an evaluation metric, but it is not a metric in itself. Four diverse case studies were used in order to analyze a variety of sites. The case studies include: Billings Farm in Woodstock Vermont, the Tenement Museum in New York City, Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, and the Gropius House in Lincoln, Massachusetts. Seven criteria were developed after careful observation, interviews, and research. These criteria are pivotal to the success of a food program. However, these criteria cannot be applied to the sites in a one-size-fits-all fashion. Rather, certain criteria can be tailored to fit a site’s unique needs. The conclusion of this thesis reveals the importance of continued growth, synergy between the mission and management of the site with the food program, setting up audience expectations, cohesive interpretive practice, the inclusion of contemporary issues in the interpretation, increased community engagement, and finally the role of authenticity. This thesis also addresses common misconceptions of what makes a good food program, as well as signs to look for that lead to a troubled one. KEY WORDS: Food, food interpretation, food ways, historic sites, house museums, criteria, food program, mission, relevance iv Food Interpretation at House Museums and Historic Sites: The Characteristics of Successful Food Programs | Victoria Pardo Table of Contents Acknowledgements………………………………………..………………. .……………………………...…………………………iii Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...………………...iv Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..v Introduction…………………………………………………..…………………………………………….…………………..…….…..1 1. Background……..………………………………………………………...…………………………………………….……..1 2. Food Interpretation………………………………………………………………………………………………………...3 Methodology………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….….….8 1. Continued Growth………………………………………...………………..……………………………………….…......10 2. Mission and Management…………………………………………..………………………………………………......11 3. Audience Expectations…………………………….……………..……………………………………………………...11 4. Cohesive Interpretive Practice………………………….……………………………………………………….……12 5. Contemporary Interpretation Approach……………..…………………………………………..………………12 6. Community Integration………….…………………...……………………………………………….………………...13 7. Authenticity……………………….…………….……………………………………………………………………………14 8. Application of Criteria……………………………………………………………………………………………………14 Case Studies………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………16 1. Billings Farm.…...……………………………..…………….………………..………...……………………………...……16 2. Tenement Museum………………………….…….……………………………………..…………………..……….......36 3. Old Sturbridge Village…………....……………….……………………………………..………………….…..……….54 4. Gropius House………………………........………….……………..……………………………………………….………75 Conclusion……………………………...………………………………………………………………………………………....……...94 Appendix A. Interview Questions……………………………………………………………………….…………………….108 Appendix B. Interview Subjects …………………………………………………………………..………………………...…110 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………111 Images ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………114 v Food Interpretation at House Museums and Historic Sites: The Characteristics of Successful Food Programs | Victoria Pardo Introduction Part 1: Background House museums are suffering due to decreased visitation and lack of relevance in contemporary society. This has been written about profusely in the field of preservation. Authors such as Graham,1 Godfrey,2 Salisbury3, Harris4, and Moe5 all discuss this issue, offering solutions to aid failing house museums. They all stress that a new look at interpretation as well as the engagement of contemporary audiences is essential for the survival of these institutions . One such way of reimagining interpretation is to look at the use of food. Currently, many house museums are inefficiently using food as a way to interpret the house.6 Most of the current food programs at sites that use food and foodways to educate the public and to carry out the mission of their institutions are poorly orchestrated. Food interpretation needs to be addressed as a way of assisting house museums in better educating the public. As an underutilized field of interpretation, it offers many advantages. Food is an entrance point that is relatable to many people, and house museums have an advantage because they were places where food existed. Many classic and current sources on interpretation are helpful resources for establishing effective food interpretation at a site. Tilden Freeman, who wrote the classic 1 Ruth Graham, "The Great Historic House Museum Debate," The Boston Globe, August 10, 2014. 2 Marian Godfrey, Barbara Silberman, and Tanya Barrientos, “What to Do With These Old Houses,” Pew Charitable Trust, Pew Charitable Trust: 30 Apr. 2008. 3 Stephan Salisbury, “House Museums deal with dwindling interest,” Philadelphia Inquirer, February 2005. 4 Donna Ann Harris, New Solutions for House Museums: Ensuring the Long-Term Preservation of America’s Historic House (Lanham, Md: Alta Mira Press, 2007). 5 Richard Moe, “Are There Too Many House Museums?” Forum Journal 27.1 (2012): 55-61. Web. JSTOR. 23 Feb. 2016. 6 Michelle Moon, “A Nourishing Past: Adapting Interpretive Planning Models to Support a More Civically Engaged Food History in Historic House Museums,” Harvard University Extension School, May 2016: 5. 1 Food Interpretation at House Museums and Historic Sites: The Characteristics of Successful Food Programs | Victoria Pardo text on interpretation, Interpreting our Heritage, in 1957, laid out six guiding principles that are essential at historic sites: 1. Any interpretation that does not somehow relate what is being displayed or described to something within the personality or experience of the visitor will be sterile. 2. Information, as such, is not interpretation. Interpretation is revelation based upon information. But they are entirely different things. However, all interpretation includes information. 3. Interpretation is an art, which combines many arts, whether the materials presented are scientific, historical, or architectural. Any art is in some degree teachable. 4. The chief aim of interpretation is not instruction but provocation. 5. Interpretation should aim to present a whole rather than a part and must address itself to the whole man rather than any phase. 6. Interpretation addressed to children (say, up to the age of twelve) should not be a dilution of the presentation to adults but should follow a fundamentally different approach. To be at its best it will require a separate program.7
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