We need to reallocate our resources to the history which these monuments have attempted to silence.
Read More
All articles filed in Preservation Theory
Project Old is Gold: Family Heirlooms and Traditions
I married into a house with a white Christmas tree. I thought it was kind of… ugly. When I made fun of it, my spouse jokingly told me that he bought it because you could decorate it for every holiday. #ChallengeAccepted Little did he know this was to become a defining family tradition. Our “holiday…
Read More
Project Old is Gold: What Historic Preservation Means to Me
What is historic preservation? Is it remembering our ancestors? Revitalizing a downtown? Preserving a ruin? Practicing a tradition? In the United States, “historic preservation” has often been equated with architectural history. Specifically, preserving buildings designed by and for WWM (wealthy white men). But over the last few decades, many in our field have worked not…
Read More
Project Old is Gold: Mission Briefing
The National Trust for Historic Preservation started celebrating Preservation Month in 1973. There are likely events going on in your community. The National Trust has a really cool list of 31 ways to celebrate… would make a good monthly challenge! But this Building Hugger will be completing her Girl Scout Historic Preservation Badge. You can…
Read More
Project Old is Gold: Earning Our Preservation Patch
“Make new friends, but keep the old. One is Silver, and the other Gold.” Girl Scouts have been singing “Make New Friends” since at least 1927 when it appeared in the Girl Scout Pocket Songbook. (I know because I am a Girl Scout AND history geek and I own one.) So when SCAD and Girl…
Read More
Locks, gum and band-aids, oh my: the sticky situation for historic sites
So it turns out that being a parent to twins is, let me find the word… exhilarating, entertaining, yes, but mostly exhausting. And for that reason, I haven’t gotten out and done much trotting let alone building hugging. My one trip to downtown Tucson so far was brief and it was a nice escape from…
Read MoreIn fair Verona, where we lay our scene: Part I
It is impossible to talk about modern Verona without include the city’s most famous couple, the eternally young Romeo and Juliet. The story of the Montagues and the Capulets has almost universal appeal, because of the enduring story of young love, generational disconnect and political strife. When Shakespeare chose to bring Romeo and Giulietta to…
Read MoreThat’s Not Amore… Lucchetti dell’Amore in historic Italia
Valentine’s Day in Italia. Bellisimo! Except for the locks. But first, the day. The roots of Valentine’s Day can be found here. Valere is Latin for “feel good” and celebrations of life and marriage can be traced back to the Roman Empire. There are three different St. Valentines listed in early martyrologies (and yes, for…
Read MorePastForward 2014
Your favorite Building Hugger lives! Nothing like life getting away from you… but I am headed back to Europe with renewed energy after the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s PastForward 2014 conference in Savannah, Georgia. The Savannah College of Art and Design and Historic Savannah Foundation partnered with the National Trust to bring us a great…
Read MoreThe ICCROM Forum on Conservation Science begins in Rome tomorrow!
The ICCROM Forum on Conservation Science, hosted at the National Institute for Graphic Arts (in the Palazzo Poli at the Foutain of Trevi) is a three day event from October 16 to the 18. 80 participants from more than 25 different countries “will convene to reflect on the current role and impacts of science within cultural heritage conservation…
Read More
Globe Trotting Building Hugger 