THE RECENT PAST: HOW CAN I MISS YOU IF YOU WON’T GO AWAY? by KAY SUZANNE STANTON (Under the Direction of Wayde Brown) ABSTRACT How can the importance of preserving resources from a more recent era than those typically protected be determined? The field of historic preservation must confront these resources regularly, and as time passes, will do so more frequently due to the large number of buildings that were constructed immediately after World War Two. The research methodology for this thesis includes archival research, review of articles and papers pertaining to the subject, including current debates and case studies/issues as well as two case studies in the state of Georgia. In conclusion, preservationists must learn to regard recent past resources more objectively by learning to notice ‘invisible’ resources. They should also look beyond unfamiliar materials and construction methods, generate positive attitudes about these resources, use the newness to an advantage, and take an active role in preserving the recent past. INDEX WORDS: Historic preservation, Recent past, Architecture, Modernism THE RECENT PAST: HOW CAN I MISS YOU IF YOU WON’T GO AWAY? by KAY SUZANNE STANTON B.A., Berry College, 1994 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION ATHENS, GEORGIA 2003 © 2003 Kay Suzanne Stanton All Rights Reserved THE RECENT PAST: HOW CAN I MISS YOU IF YOU WON’T GO AWAY? by KAY SUZANNE STANTON Major Professor: Wayde Brown Committee: Mark Reinberger Amy Kissane Eleonora Machado Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia December 2003 iv DEDICATION This is dedicated to H.S.T. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express gratitude to the many people who have helped me, and put up with me over the past year. First of all, thanks to Wayde Brown, who helped me make this document what it is today. Thanks to John Waters for helping me so much over the last two and a half years. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you. Thank you to my reading committee: Mark Reinberger, Amy Kissane and Eleonora Machado, and to all of my professors and teachers who have guided me, and to Donna Gabriel who manages to hold everything together. Thanks to those who contributed facts and ideas: Robin Williams, Marc Belanger, Beth Reiter, Janeen Whitney, Christo Harris, and the Recent Past Preservation Network. I would like also to thank my parents, Susan and George Stanton who offered emotional support and ideas. Last, but not least, thank you to Jason, my friend, my masseuse, my therapist, my chef and my love. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................1 Purpose of the Study .............................................................................................1 Introducing the Recent Past ..................................................................................2 Methodology.........................................................................................................7 2 PRECEDENTS FOR PRESERVING THE RECENT PAST....................................9 History of the Concept..........................................................................................9 The Current Debate.............................................................................................12 3 DESIGN CONCEPTS .............................................................................................14 Shift in Design Trends ........................................................................................14 Scale....................................................................................................................18 4 MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION METHODS.............................................26 Types of Recent Past Materials...........................................................................26 Materials and Preservation Issues.......................................................................32 Recent Past Construction Methods .....................................................................36 5 DEVELOPMENT PRESSURES.............................................................................40 6 ATTITUDE..............................................................................................................44 vii Bias Against Recent Past Architecture ...............................................................45 Lack of Awareness of Recent Past Architecture.................................................46 Nature of Recent Past Architecture.....................................................................48 Rigidity of Recent Past Guidelines.....................................................................49 7 METHODS OF PRESERVING THE RECENT PAST ..........................................51 Existing Guidelines.............................................................................................52 Identification/Inventory ......................................................................................58 Documentation....................................................................................................61 Evaluation ...........................................................................................................62 Intervention/Management...................................................................................63 Public Education and Awareness........................................................................66 Demolition ..........................................................................................................67 8 CASE STUDIES......................................................................................................69 Drayton Arms; Savannah, Georgia....................................................................70 Rio Shopping Center; Atlanta, Georgia.............................................................83 9 ANALYSIS..............................................................................................................93 Drayton Arms; Savannah, Georgia....................................................................93 Rio Shopping Center; Atlanta, Georgia.............................................................95 10 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................98 Conclusions........................................................................................................98 Recommendations............................................................................................102 WORKS CITED ..........................................................................................................................111 APPENDICES A. CRITERIA CONSIDERATION G......................................................................119 B. EXAMPLE OF STATEWIDE GUIDELINES ....................................................124 ix LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 3.1: Horizontality of recent past design: Frederick C. Robie Residence (1906, Chicago, IL), designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. (Reprinted from Terry L. Patterson, Frank Lloyd Wright and the Meaning of Materials, 80. © 1994 by Van Nostrand Reinhold.).............................................15 Figure 3.2 Contrast between the built and natural environment: Villa Savoy (1928-9, Poissy, France), designed by Le Corbusier. (Reprinted from Mark Gelernter, A History of American Architecture: Buildings in their Cultural and Technological Context, 239. © 1991 by University Press of New England.).................................................................................................. 16 Figure 3.3 Strong verticality: 860-880 Lake Shore Drive (1948-51, Chicago, IL) van der Rohe. (Reprinted from Jean-Louis Cohen, Mies van der Rohe, 103. © 1996 by E & FN Spon.) .............................................................................16 Figure 3.4 Historic significance of an event, site of Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination (April 4. 1968), Lorraine Motel (Memphis, TN). (Reprinted from Beryl Benderly, Preservation, Jan./Feb. 2003, 32.)................... 17 Figure 3.5 Adaptive reuse of King Plow Arts Center, Atlanta, GA ........................................18 Figure 3.6 Scale issues, SuperTarget, Athens, Georgia..........................................................19 Figure 3.7 Father of the modern suburb, Levittown, NY. (Reprinted from the Historic American Buildings Survey.).................................................................. 21 Figure 3.8 Lustron house number 2329, (1950, Chesterton, IN). (Reprinted from Thomas Jester, Twentieth Century Building Materials, 31. © 1995 by: McGraw-Hill.) ...................................................................................................... 22 Figure 4.1 Precast concrete in an Italian Air Force airplane hangar (1939). (Reprinted from Pier Nervi, Aesthetics and Technology in Building, 109. © 1965 by Harvard University Press.)........................................................ 28 Figure 4.2 Monel steel on the Union Trust Building (1928, Detroit). (Reprinted from Thomas Jester, Twentieth Century Building