WHEELS OF PRESERVATION: MOBILE STRUCTURES AND THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES by JOSHUA H. BAUM (Under the Direction of MARK REINBERGER) ABSTRACT This thesis was written to provide evidence and justification for the inclusion of historically significant automobiles on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). During the first half of the twentieth century, the automobile transformed American culture and reshaped America’s landscape. The NRHP includes thousands of individual listings of road-related resources which owe their significance to the automobile. Automobiles themselves, however, are not represented. Arguing for their inclusion, this thesis begins by examining the early history of automobiles in the United States and the history of the NRHP. Mobile structures listed on the NRHP, such as ships and aircraft, are then evaluated for similarities with automobiles. Finally, a privately-run register for historic automobiles is evaluated for compatibility with the NRHP. INDEX WORDS: Automobile, History, Historic Preservation, National Register of Historic Places WHEELS OF PRESERVATION: MOBILE STRUCTURES AND THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES by JOSHUA H. BAUM B.S., Fort Hays State University, 2008 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 2017 © 2017 JOSHUA H. BAUM All Rights Reserved WHEELS OF PRESERVATION: MOBILE STRUCTURES AND THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES by JOSHUA H. BAUM Major Professor: Mark Reinberger Committee: Scott Messer Scott Nesbit James K. Reap Electronic Version Approved: Suzanne Barbour Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2017 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Foremost, I owe a great deal of gratitude to Mark Reinberger, my Major Professor, for his patience in seeing this paper through. Thank you for your support and input throughout this laborious project. I would also like to thank James Reap, Scott Messer & Scott Nesbitt for agreeing to be on my reading committee. Your input was invaluable in shaping my arguments and conclusion. I would also like to thank my family and friends for their support and encouragement. A special thanks to my Mother and Brother Jacob, without you I don’t know how I would have ever been able to bring this all together. Finally, I would like to thank my Grandmother Jeanette. You always encouraged me to go further with my education and made sure I went back to school. I wish you could have been here to see me finish, though I still know you are proud. Thank you. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 2 THE EARLY AUTOMOBILE IN AMERICA .............................................................4 By Adoption: America’s Introduction to the Automobile .......................................6 A Vehicle for the Masses .......................................................................................10 Mr. Ford’s “Tin Lizzy” ..........................................................................................13 General Motors and the Invention of Planned Obsolescence ................................15 From Great Depression to Arsenal of Democracy .................................................18 3 THE ROAD TO MODERN AMERICA .....................................................................23 The Search for Better Roads ..................................................................................24 Out of the Mud and into the Suburb ......................................................................32 Auto-Leisure: Motels, Road Food, and Drive-in Theaters ....................................36 4 THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES...........................................43 Defining the National Register ..............................................................................44 Building Bedrock: Preservation and the Park Service before 1966 .......................45 The New Preservation: Preservation Challenges Outside of the Park ...................51 v The National Register Defined ..............................................................................57 5 THE NATIONAL REGISTER CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION .............................61 Property Type.........................................................................................................62 Significance............................................................................................................62 Criteria Considerations ..........................................................................................69 Integrity ..................................................................................................................70 6 MOBILE STRUCTURES ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER ..................................72 Terminology, Inventory, and Organization ...........................................................72 Historic Motor Vehicles .........................................................................................74 Historic Industrial Implements ..............................................................................85 Historic Ships .........................................................................................................86 Historic Locomotives and Rail Cars ......................................................................87 Historic Aircraft .....................................................................................................89 Conclusions ..........................................................................................................102 7 NATIONAL HISTORIC VEHICLE REGISTER .....................................................104 Comparing the National Registers: Vehicles and Places .....................................109 One National Register ..........................................................................................115 8 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................116 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................121 APPENDICES A MOBILE STRUCTURES ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER: TABLES ...............127 vi LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: National Register Criteria for Evaluation ........................................................................63 Table 2: National Register Criteria Considerations .......................................................................69 Table 3: Seven Aspects of Integrity ...............................................................................................71 Table 4: National Historic Vehicle Register List .........................................................................107 Table 5: Comparison of Criteria used by the National Register and the NHVR .........................109 vii LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1: Oruker Amphibolos ..........................................................................................................7 Figure 2: 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen ........................................................................................8 Figure 3: 1893 Duryea Motor Wagon ..............................................................................................8 Figure 4: John Jacob Astor ............................................................................................................11 Figure 5: Curved Dash Olds ..........................................................................................................12 Figure 6: Ford Assembly Line ......................................................................................................14 Figure 7: 1927 LaSalle 303 Roadster ............................................................................................16 Figure 8: Clark Gable Duesenberg ................................................................................................19 Figure 9: Arsenal of Democracy GM Trucks ................................................................................22 Figure 10: Los Angeles Wheelmen Club .......................................................................................25 Figure 11: Early Roads ..................................................................................................................26 Figure 12: Lincoln Highway Sign..................................................................................................28 Figure 13: Road Construction ........................................................................................................32 Figure 14: Suburbs .........................................................................................................................34 Figure 15: Automobiles in the National Parks ...............................................................................37 Figure 16: Motels ...........................................................................................................................38 Figure 17: Drive-in