Archive Report
Archive Report
Growing Interest in Saving the Past
A Growing interest in historic preservation, at a time when many traditional forms and institutions are falling into disrepute, is one of the more curious aspects of present-day American society. Preservation—once the province of an elitist assortment of antiquaries, patriotic societies, ladies' clubs and architecture buffs—is becoming a national movement. No mere ancestor worshippers, today's preservationists see practical benefits in saving the physical ties that bind us to our past. They are reaching out to young people, blacks, environmentalists and those concerned with urban rehabilitation in a broad-based effort to upgrade the quality of contemporary life. At the same time they are developing a hard-nosed realism that all too often eluded the preservationists of the past.
Spearheading the current campaign ...