Does A New Reality Threatens Historic Preservation?

Baltimore's Shot Tower (1828) may be for sale or lease

In the turmoil of the present in the United States - it's a permanent condition - the past is a wonderful anchor in time. It tells us who we were, what we accomplished both good and ill, and to a great extent what we are likely to become. As a young nation, we had a limited perspective on elements of our natural and cultural life deserving understanding, appreciation, and preservation. Bits and pieces were saved by singular groups, individuals, corporations and government.  It took the American experience well over a century to establish a national park organization - National Park Service, 1916 - to manage the existing great parks afforded to us by a magnificent wealth and excess of resources. Twenty year later, cultural resources received similar appreciation, but their protection was really not codified on a national basis until 1966 and the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act.

Today, the nation finds itself at an economic crossroad. These are hard times for government decision-makers. The "magnificent wealth and excess of resources" seems no longer with us and the decision-makers may not share the values that moved our forebears to preserve elements of their past. That is the situation today in Baltimore where city officials are considering the sale or lease of fifteen historic structures in order to reduce budget deficits. Twelve of the buildings are designated national landmarks that will requiring careful planning for maintenance and use by new owners or leasees. Still, the thought of divesting public resources that have been a part of the Baltimore landscape for two centuries is unsettling.  OTR and others who have spent a lifetime preserving and interpreting our great national experiment fear the precedent such actions establish for other officials. This is delicate surgery because future values and experiences could be at stake.

N.D. The link has a rather long and interesting comment thread. Reader alert: some content may be offensive.