National Treasures. PHOTO by DUNCAN KENDALL
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ForumJournal WINTER 2015 | VOL. 29 NO. 2 Strategies for Saving National Treasures ForumJournal Contents NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION WINTER 2015 | VOL. 29 NO. 2 STEPHANIE K. MEEKS President Introduction to Forum Journal— DAVID J. BROWN Executive Vice President Strategies to Save National Treasures and Chief Preservation Officer DAVID J. BROWN . 3 TABITHA ALMQUIST Chief of Staff The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and ROBERT BULL Chief Development Officer Historic Preservation: National Implications PAUL EDMONDSON WILL COOK AND JENNIFER SANDY . 8 Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel Artist Residencies at Historic Sites: MICHAEL L. FORSTER Chief Financial and Exploring a New Role for Pond Farm Administrative Officer CAITLIN STROKOSCH . 19 AMY MANIATIS Chief Marketing Officer Advocacy Lessons from the Campaign to Save Prentice PRESERVATION LEADERSHIP FORUM ELIZABETH BYRD WOOD . 29 SUSAN WEST MONTGOMERY Engaging Diverse Communities Senior Director, Preservation Resources in Our National Treasures Work RHONDA SINCAVAGE TANYA BOWERS . 39 Director, Publications and Programs Federal Designation as a Preservation Tool: ELIZABETH BYRD WOOD Senior Content Manager Benefits and Challenges KERRI RUBMAN DENISE RYAN . 49 Assistant Editor MARY BUTLER Creative Director MEAGAN LILLY Graphic Designer COVER: Volunteers participate in a clean-up day at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, New Jersey. Hinchliffe Stadium is one of the National Trust’s National Treasures. PHOTO BY DUNCAN KENDALL Forum Journal, a Journal of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, (ISSN 1536-1012) is published quarterly by the Preservation Resources Department at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, 2600 Virginia Avenue, N.W., Suite 1000, Washington, D.C. 20037 as a benefit of National Trust The National Trust for Historic Preservation works to save America’s historic places for Forum membership. Forum members also receive four issues of Preservation magazine. Annual the next generation. We take direct, on- dues are $195. Send email address changes to [email protected]. Copyright ©2015 the-ground action when historic buildings National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States. Of the total amount of base dues, and sites are threatened. Our work helps $6.00 is for a subscription for Preservation magazine for one year. Support for the National Trust is build vibrant, sustainable communities. We provided by membership dues; endowment funds; individual, corporate, and foundation contribu- advocate with governments to save Amer- tions; and grants from state and federal agencies. National Trust is a forum in which ica’s heritage. We strive to create a cultural Forum Journal legacy that is as diverse as the nation itself to express opinions, encourage debate, and convey information of importance and of general inter- so that all of us can take pride in our part est to Forum members of the National Trust. Inclusion of material or product references does not of the American story. constitute an endorsement by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Strategies to Save National Treasures DAVID J. BROWN ational Treasures. From a preservation perspective, the name quickly brings up images of iconic homes of presidents and Nbusiness titans, the hallowed ground of battlefields, and elegant established neighborhoods from Charleston to San Francisco. But what if America’s National Treasures also brought to mind the badly deteriorated studio of an internationally acclaimed potter, who moved to California to escape the madness of 1930s Europe? Or a small village that lays claim as the country’s most successful utopian community, but now faces threats from a weak- ened levee system? Or the last known Spanish-period waterworks remaining on American soil, threatened by a decades-old plan that would obliterate the historic landscape? Or a deteriorated baseball stadium that once hosted the greats of Negro League baseball. Four years ago, when the National Trust for Historic Preservation refocused in order to expand the scale and implications of its work, the National Treasures program was at the heart of a new strategic plan entitled Preservation10X. The plan was framed as a way to increase our work and influence by a factor of ten. The National Treasures portfolio was developed to guide the Trust in engage- ment at places that tell the broad story of America. The work has been focused where the preservation implications are national in scope, the threats are critical, and the National Trust can make a unique contribution to the preservation solution. The Trust built its portfolio beginning with places where it was already engaged, such as Charleston, Chimney Rock and the White Grass Dude Ranch in Grand Teton. Soon, however, the Trust staff reached out to partners and others to identify a broader collection of places that allowed us to focus on the national implications of preservation and tell a more diverse American story. Four years later, we have a revolving portfolio of more than 50 National Treasure sites that are the focus of National Trust advocacy campaigns. This issue of Forum Journal examines how ForumJournal WINTER 2015 3 Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom is an example of the National Trust’s outreach to new communities and preservation allies. This recently named National Treasure was the center of Richmond’s slave trade, which played a pivotal role during the peak years of the nation’s interstate slave trade. Much of Shockoe Bottom has been razed and paved over, nearly forgotten by mainstream historians. Nevertheless, for many descendants of the enslaved, Shockoe Bottom remains sacred ground associated with suffering, injustice and resistance to slavery. PHOTO BY DAVID HERRING the National Trust and a variety of partners have saved—and yes, occasionally failed to save—America’s National Treasures. Guided by more than 60 years of experience, we are taking direct action to protect these places and promote their history and significance, while collaborating with local preservationists to help advance the cause of preservation nationally. In this issue of Forum Journal, our authors identify strategies that have helped save these places that help define us as Americans. National Treasures represent the diversity of our nation’s built history and remind all of us of the importance of preserving the irreplaceable places that tell America’s stories. From historic buildings to cultural landscapes, National Trust National Treasures are unique, movement-defining places of action—some of them iconic, others less familiar—that will galvanize support and spark greater public under- standing of how preservation contributes to vibrant communities. Pond Farm is one such National Treasure. A modest property in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley, Pond Farm was the home and studio of a nationally prominent ceramicist, Marguerite Wilden- hain, who moved to America to escape Nazi persecution. Since Marguerite’s death in 1985, her home and barn have been unoccu- pied, and the elements and lack of routine maintenance have taken their toll. Pond Farm is located in Austin Creek State Recreation Area, and the ongoing funding crisis for California State Parks ForumJournal WINTER 2015 4 continues to pose a direct threat to Pond Farm’s survival. Across the country, similar places that tell the stories of endurance and triumph are struggling for survival as government funding for preservation evaporates. Several National Treasure campaigns are designed to explore new partnerships and alternative uses for these threatened places, such as the artist residency program envisioned at Pond Farm. Caitlin Strokosch, executive director of the Alliance of Artists Communities, explores how arts and artist residency programs can offer a path forward in re-envisioning historic sites such as Pond Farm. While federal protections for preservation have been in place for almost 50 years, many government agencies continue to avoid or dismiss their responsibilities, citing lack of funds and conflicting priorities. In the past, the National Trust and our partners have won an impressive number of court cases in support of these laws, but the fundamental behavior at the federal agencies has often not changed. As Jennifer Sandy, senior field officer in our Chicago Field Office, and Will Cook in the National Trust’s legal office outline in their article, the Trust is now exploring ways to coordinate our advocacy with agencies such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in order to push for systemic and long-term changes in behavior. Our National Treasures portfolio contains five examples of irreplaceable buildings, landscapes, engineering works, and com- munities where U.S. Army Corps involvement is critical and where protection of historic resources should be a key component for the future. Early in the life of the National Treasures program we engaged at one Corps project at the Village of Zoar in Ohio. This remarkable historic village, founded in 1817, was threatened by the possible removal of a 1930s levee, which protected the village from flooding. Fortunately, the National Treasures campaign led the Corps to take that option off the table. But it will be important to consider those successful strategies at Zoar and apply them across the agency. The Trust and its partners will have that opportunity at one of the most recently named National Treasures, the Antiguo Acueducto del Rio Piedras. ForumJournal WINTER 2015 5 The Antiguo Acueducto just outside of San Juan, Puerto Rico, is threatened