"On our stroll through the gardens and green walks, the streets and alleys, in and out of the buildings of today's city we sense what Philadelphia was like long ago and ultimately what the roots of American history are....Here is where a country was born. The buildings, the taverns, and the cobbled walks used by the Founders of America are, in great number, preserved for all to enjoy. Come...take a tour...of the Historic District - the Most Historic Mile in America." As found on the US History.org website on historic districts.
Imagine what Philadelphia would be like today if the visionaries of the city had not made the decision many years ago to preserve its history and establish a historic district. The distinction would be lost, and more importantly, that history would have been lost. Or, take a look at a city like Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston was the first city in the country to initiate an official Historic District that in essence restricted the rights of property owners, limiting what they might do to their buildings in the interest of the welfare of the entire community. I can only imagine the backlash Charleston felt from disgruntled property owners concerned in how many more loop holes they would have to crawl through before doing a renovation. But, imagine a Charleston today without a designated Historic District; a city with no restrictions on what a property owner could do to those glorious, majestic and historic buildings. All it takes is one property owner with no regard for historic integrity but with free range to turn an architectural landmark into a suburban box, opening a huge can of worms for others to follow. Charleston took a risk and pioneered this for this country because with years, they had seen a loss of architectural integrity that was jeopardizing the local sense of the neighborhood identity. Charleston took the first leap of looking at the inventory of an entire American building stock, even with those mixed in with no architectural significance but a part of something greater, and placing a designation that would preserve that building stock for generations to come and ensure any improvements to the noncontributing structures must comply with their neighbors high architectural standards.
Put the integrity issue aside and look at the hard numbers. Between 1980 and 1996, Rome Georgia saw properties in designated historic districts increase 10% more in value than similar properties without historic designations. Columbia South Carolina's historic districts sold 26% faster than the overall market in 2000. Studies in Texas, New York, and Pennsylvania saw an overall increase of 5-20% in property values, proving that historic district designations have such a positive impact on property values. But what came first, the district or the improved property values? The district designation came first.
With so many code restrictions, what makes historic district designations a good thing? District designations distinguish an area from other areas of a community which do not have distinct qualities (such as its history or the quality of its buildings). It is about the sense of being a part of something greater. Even Bob Vila, renowned construction guru not known for historic preservation believes that owning property within an historic district offers the unique opportunity to interpret and share the history of your property, as steward of a recognized contributor to our nation's past.
What does it take? It takes three major factors:
1. Strong public leadership (i.e., a strong mayor willing to take a risk)
2. Strong private leadership
3. Solid financial resources of both government and the private citizens
When I hear of communities afraid of taking risks, afraid of stepping forward and creating historic districts, I cringe. This country has too many great examples of what can happen when government puts "nasty" restrictions on property owners in an historic district. Isn't that what being in an historic downtown is all about? Why work so hard to build your downtown yet be afraid of "restrictions" on how to build your downtown? In too many successful cases (Charleston, Philadelphia, Boston, New Orleans, Alexandria, Santa Fe) restrictions have been the reason for the successful sense of integrity that draws someone to buy property in that area in the first place. But that successful sense of integrity was not what started it: As in the case with Charleston, the loss of that integrity is what caused the city to stop and put restrictions in place in an effort to prevent further loss and begin building towards a successful future.
Too many believe that success must come first, then historic district designation comes second, if at all. Who will know other than you and your immediate neighbors that your building is in an historic area? How will you tell the world, the tourists, the visitors that your building you've worked so hard to preserve is worth a trip to see? How can you, as an historic property owner, be assured that your next door neighbor won't cover those beautiful architecturally curved brick windows with a solid concrete slab, resulting in the ripple effect loss of value in your own building? Haven't you seen that happen already? How do you reverse the trend? By starting with historic preservation NOW. By setting a district in place now, and yes, by letting your local government tell you - and that non-historic thinking neighbor of yours - what to do and what not to do to your building. And if you don't like how your local government operates the program, then run for office. Run for the Historic Commission. Run for something that can make the program do what it's supposed to do. But, by all means, do not sit back and watch your piece of the puzzle that makes up this incredible picture of our great country fall prey to non-historic approaches, losing the story that collectively tells where this country came from, simply because you don't want someone telling you what you can or can't do to your historic building. That historic district is a part of a much greater beautiful picture: it is about the historic integrity of this entire country fitting together, piece by piece, historic area by historic area. And property owners within that area should feel a sense of pride for being in that special district and being a part of something greater than a strip mall shopping district can provide.
"Change is debilitating when done to you, but exhilarating when done by you." Rosemary Moss Kanter, "World Class"
If this debate is going on in your community, find a way to make the restrictions work so that you can experience the exhilarating feeling of being a part of something that preserves the integrity of this country for generations to come.
Imagine what Philadelphia would be like today if the visionaries of the city had not made the decision many years ago to preserve its history and establish a historic district. The distinction would be lost, and more importantly, that history would have been lost. Or, take a look at a city like Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston was the first city in the country to initiate an official Historic District that in essence restricted the rights of property owners, limiting what they might do to their buildings in the interest of the welfare of the entire community. I can only imagine the backlash Charleston felt from disgruntled property owners concerned in how many more loop holes they would have to crawl through before doing a renovation. But, imagine a Charleston today without a designated Historic District; a city with no restrictions on what a property owner could do to those glorious, majestic and historic buildings. All it takes is one property owner with no regard for historic integrity but with free range to turn an architectural landmark into a suburban box, opening a huge can of worms for others to follow. Charleston took a risk and pioneered this for this country because with years, they had seen a loss of architectural integrity that was jeopardizing the local sense of the neighborhood identity. Charleston took the first leap of looking at the inventory of an entire American building stock, even with those mixed in with no architectural significance but a part of something greater, and placing a designation that would preserve that building stock for generations to come and ensure any improvements to the noncontributing structures must comply with their neighbors high architectural standards.
Put the integrity issue aside and look at the hard numbers. Between 1980 and 1996, Rome Georgia saw properties in designated historic districts increase 10% more in value than similar properties without historic designations. Columbia South Carolina's historic districts sold 26% faster than the overall market in 2000. Studies in Texas, New York, and Pennsylvania saw an overall increase of 5-20% in property values, proving that historic district designations have such a positive impact on property values. But what came first, the district or the improved property values? The district designation came first.
With so many code restrictions, what makes historic district designations a good thing? District designations distinguish an area from other areas of a community which do not have distinct qualities (such as its history or the quality of its buildings). It is about the sense of being a part of something greater. Even Bob Vila, renowned construction guru not known for historic preservation believes that owning property within an historic district offers the unique opportunity to interpret and share the history of your property, as steward of a recognized contributor to our nation's past.
What does it take? It takes three major factors:
1. Strong public leadership (i.e., a strong mayor willing to take a risk)
2. Strong private leadership
3. Solid financial resources of both government and the private citizens
When I hear of communities afraid of taking risks, afraid of stepping forward and creating historic districts, I cringe. This country has too many great examples of what can happen when government puts "nasty" restrictions on property owners in an historic district. Isn't that what being in an historic downtown is all about? Why work so hard to build your downtown yet be afraid of "restrictions" on how to build your downtown? In too many successful cases (Charleston, Philadelphia, Boston, New Orleans, Alexandria, Santa Fe) restrictions have been the reason for the successful sense of integrity that draws someone to buy property in that area in the first place. But that successful sense of integrity was not what started it: As in the case with Charleston, the loss of that integrity is what caused the city to stop and put restrictions in place in an effort to prevent further loss and begin building towards a successful future.
Too many believe that success must come first, then historic district designation comes second, if at all. Who will know other than you and your immediate neighbors that your building is in an historic area? How will you tell the world, the tourists, the visitors that your building you've worked so hard to preserve is worth a trip to see? How can you, as an historic property owner, be assured that your next door neighbor won't cover those beautiful architecturally curved brick windows with a solid concrete slab, resulting in the ripple effect loss of value in your own building? Haven't you seen that happen already? How do you reverse the trend? By starting with historic preservation NOW. By setting a district in place now, and yes, by letting your local government tell you - and that non-historic thinking neighbor of yours - what to do and what not to do to your building. And if you don't like how your local government operates the program, then run for office. Run for the Historic Commission. Run for something that can make the program do what it's supposed to do. But, by all means, do not sit back and watch your piece of the puzzle that makes up this incredible picture of our great country fall prey to non-historic approaches, losing the story that collectively tells where this country came from, simply because you don't want someone telling you what you can or can't do to your historic building. That historic district is a part of a much greater beautiful picture: it is about the historic integrity of this entire country fitting together, piece by piece, historic area by historic area. And property owners within that area should feel a sense of pride for being in that special district and being a part of something greater than a strip mall shopping district can provide.
"Change is debilitating when done to you, but exhilarating when done by you." Rosemary Moss Kanter, "World Class"
If this debate is going on in your community, find a way to make the restrictions work so that you can experience the exhilarating feeling of being a part of something that preserves the integrity of this country for generations to come.
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