historic preservation

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• SOURCE: Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star
  3/16/2022
  

  Montpelier Board Appoints 11 Members from Descendants Committee

  The move may finally deliver on the board's promise to grant parity in the governance of the James Madison estate to the descendants of persons enslaved at Montpelier. 

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• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  5/2/2022
  

  Is Historic Preservation Ruining American Cities?

  by Jacob Anbinder

  Historic preservation laws often have a loose relationship to the actual historic significance of buildings, and an even looser relationship to the interests of cities in meeting their residents' social needs. 

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• SOURCE: James Madison's Montpelier
  4/27/2022
  

  Montpelier Board Pushes Back Against Accusation they Excluded Descendants' Committee Leadership

  The Montpelier Foundation board argues that the organization representing the descendants of those enslaved at James Madison's estate has rejected good faith cooperation in order to score political points in the latest escalation of the battle over how the Founder's relationship to slavery should be portrayed. 

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• SOURCE: Our Towns Foundation
  4/28/2022
  

  How Powerful Stories are Rebuilding a Church

  by Deborah Fallows

  "The stories of Mt. Holly have become the sinew that could connect the town, or borough, as it is officially designated, from its past glory days, through some recent decline, to a new version of thriving."

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• SOURCE: Richmond Times-Dispatch
  4/19/2022
  

  Reversal on Power-Sharing Shows Montpelier Really Wants to Stop Talking About Slavery

  by Michael Paul Williams

  “They wanted to yank the narrative of Montpelier away from slavery, despite all of their protestations to the contrary,” said board member James French, chair of the Montpelier Descendants Committee.

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• SOURCE: NPR
  4/20/2022
  

  Montpelier Descendants Call Foul on Board over Firings

  The firing of three senior staff members who support the involvement of the Montpelier Descendants Committee in the public presentation of James Madison's estate, and the slavery practiced there, has raised questions about whether Montpelier is committed to historical honesty. 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  4/18/2022
  

  Montpelier Staffers: We Were Fired for Backing Descendants' Group

  The firings suggest that there is a backlash by members of the Montpelier board against recent changes in the presentation of James Madison's participation in slavery. 

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• SOURCE: National Trust for Historic Preservation
  4/18/2022
  

  National Trust Condemns Actions Against Staff at Montpelier

  "The National Trust strongly condemns these actions against highly regarded and nationally recognized professionals, which will impede the effective stewardship of Montpelier and diminish important public programming at this highly significant historic site."  

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  4/5/2022
  

  WaPo Editorial: Montpelier Estate Board Shredding Agreement to Include Descendants of Enslaved in Decisionmaking

  The Post Editorial Board says "Montpelier has a problem. It has gone from being a model for other such sites nationwide to being an embarrassment."

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• SOURCE: The Metropole
  3/30/2022
  

  Historic Preservation and the Erasure of Women's History in Pittsburgh

  by David S. Rotenstein

  "Preservation is a fraught, power-laden process that reinforces racial, class, and gender biases. As old places become “historic,” they frequently get new names that are then inscribed upon space."

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  3/25/2022
  

  Madison's Montpelier Board Strips Power from Enslaved Descendants' Group

  "Matt Reeves, the director of archaeology said he fears the effort to cut off the committee is aimed at undoing years of progress in conveying a more honest and complete view of history. 'They really want a narrative that’s restricted to nothing that’s negative about James Madison'.”

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• SOURCE: San Francisco Classical Voice
  3/20/2022
  

  Preserving the Past in the Digital Age Still a Headache

  "Our information and cultural history may not be as secure as we believe it to be."

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• SOURCE: Paste
  2/14/2022
  

  A Civil Rights Tour of America

  Writer Garrett Martin identifies the key sites on a tour of civil rights history institutions in Atlanta, Alabama, Memphis and Washington. 

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• SOURCE: NPR
  1/17/2022
  

  A Texas-Born Princess and Former Scandalous Washington Wife May Lose Roman Villa in Epic Inheritance Fight

  Princess Rita Boncompagni-Ludovisi, born Rita Carpenter, the former wife of Congressman John Jenrette, has worked for 19 years to make Rome's Villa Aurora accessible to scholars. 

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• SOURCE: Bloomberg CityLab
  12/13/2021
  

  Preservationists Want to Save Penn Station. Yes, That Penn Station.

  by Kriston Capps

  The one thing every New Yorker can agree on is that Penn Station is terrible. Why is this benighted hellhole being championed for historic preservation? 

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• SOURCE: Vice
  11/11/2021
  

  America's Only LGBTQ Historic District Is Falling Apart

  "Because of centuries of general anti-gay sentiment and laws punishing queerness, little queer history has been preserved, and much of it has been erased."

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• SOURCE: Wall Street Journal
  10/17/2021
  

  Phil Collins Sets Off a New Battle Over the Alamo

  The singer's gift of his artifact collection has reignited controversy about how the events of 1836 should be commemorated in the state's complex history. 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  10/16/2021
  

  Justice William O. Douglas Hiked 150 Miles to Preserve the C&O Canal as a Park

  William O. Douglas used the disused C&O Canal as a way to retreat into nature during his service on the court; he led resistance to a proposal to convert the waterway into a highway by walking its 185 miles in 1954. 

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• 10/10/2021
  

  Tracing World War 2's Impact on Sicily's Cultural Heritage Sites and Museums

  by Antonino Crisà

  World War II profoundly affected museums and antiquities in Sicily; a new research project is examining this underappreciated destructive consequence of war.

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• SOURCE: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
  10/1/2021
  

  Scientists Decipher Marie Antoinette's Redacted Love Notes

  “It’s always exciting when you discover that you can know more about the past than you thought you could,” said historian Rebecca L. Spang, who studies the French Revolution at Indiana University and was not involved in the study.