Forum Blog - Preservation Leadership Forum - A Program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

Creating a Richer Visitor Experience at Drayton Hall

By Special Contributor posted yesterday

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By Trish Lowe Smith and Sarah Stroud Clarke Preserve as is, never restore—that, in a nutshell, is the preservation philosophy at Drayton Hall , a historic site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Widely believed to be the first and best Palladian house in North America, Drayton Hall—which remained in the Drayton family for seven consecutive generations—is a remarkably intact 18th-century estate on the Ashley River in Charleston, South Carolina. Because of its architectural significance ...

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Forum Webinar: Managing Photography at Historic Sites

By Forum Online posted 8 days ago

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On March 19 Preservation Leadership Forum and two of the National Trust’s Historic Sites joined forces to host the most recent Forum Webinar —a conversation about DIY photography at historic sites. Panelists Corey Heyward, Wexler Curatorial Fellow at Drayton Hall , and Christa Carr, director of communications at The Glass House , shared their expertise and answered questions from participants. They discussed everything from photographing collections, to capturing complex landscapes, to what makes ...

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Why I Created the Guide to Becoming a Historic Preservationist

By Jeremy Wells posted 9 days ago

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In the early 1990s, when I was in my 20s, I contemplated a career change from computer systems administration. It was an avocation that had found me—I had never had a desire to keep doing the work long term. I had not yet finished my undergraduate degree and was rigorously investigating various universities and colleges. This was right at the cusp of the popularization of the internet, and one day, I got the chance to use NCSA Mosaic, the world’s first web browser. I remember how excited I was ...

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Action Alert: Comment on Proposed Rule Changes to National Register of Historic Places Nominations

By Special Contributor posted 13 days ago

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By Sharee Williamson and Elizabeth S. Merritt The National Park Service (NPS) recently proposed making substantial, troubling changes to the rules that govern nominations to the National Register of Historic Places. The National Register is an important repository of information about the nation’s historic places that also serves significant regulatory purposes. Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) requires consultation for federal undertakings that could affect properties ...

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Forum Journal Seeking Articles About Enduring New Construction and Preservation Law

By Forum Online posted 21 days ago

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The Preservation Leadership Forum is soliciting submissions for two forthcoming Forum Journal issues. By seeking articles from our preservation leader community, we hope to spotlight pioneering approaches and give new voices a platform in the Journal . Enduring New Construction One of the issues will examine what role preservationists should play in inspiring, encouraging, or regulating the design and construction of enduring new buildings. The preservation conversation about new ...

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Major Cuts Proposed in President’s FY20 Budget

By Janelle DiLuccia posted 23 days ago

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Last week President Donald Trump released the full details of his FY20 budget request, proposing drastic reductions in domestic discretionary spending—including cuts to key preservation programs that impact every state and congressional district in the country. These cuts would stand in sharp contrast to the funding provided in the FY19 Interior appropriations bill signed into law just more than a month ago. The bill provided a record $102.6 million for the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) and strong ...

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Forum Webinar: Ensuring Perpetuity: Effective Easement Monitoring

By Forum Online posted 27 days ago

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On March 13 Preservation Leadership Forum hosted the most recent Forum Webinar , which focused on easement monitoring as a critical component of a preservation organization’s easement program. Regular monitoring not only ensures compliance with the property’s easement but it can also be a valuable tool to improve relationships between the property owner and the easement-holding organization. Speakers Raina Regan, senior manager of easements at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and ...

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A Preservation Look Forward

By David Brown posted 30 days ago

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This post is adapted from remarks at the February 23, 2019, National Trust for Historic Preservation Board of Trustees meeting. Board chairman Timothy Whalen invited me to speak at my last board meeting after more than two decades with the National Trust. Over the past 22 years, I made it a practice to regularly reflect on both the legacy and the promise of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. We were founded by Congressional Charter after America’s leaders had seen the destruction ...

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Two Movements, Intertwined?

By Special Contributor posted 03-15-2019

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By John H. Sprinkle Jr. The Pocantico Center Preservation Fellowship, now in its fifth year, is funded by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. This two-week residential fellowship provides preservation professionals with the opportunity to reside in the historic Marcel Breuer House in Pocantico Hills, New York, while working on a defined project with significant benefit to the preservation field. Through April 19, we are accepting applications for ...

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We Can Carry the Change in Preservation Forward—But Not Alone

By Katie Rispoli Keaotamai posted 03-14-2019

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Preservationists have made substantial progress toward a more inclusive, less restricted movement. Our practice is increasingly multifaceted—we are staffing historic sites, working in construction trades, supporting real estate and economic development, and working as advocacy professionals. And this range of preservation professionals of all ages and levels of experience is active in the conversation about the future of preservation , engaging on subjects like climate change, development, business ...

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The National Trust Community Investment Corporation’s Investments in Opportunity Zones

By Merrill Hoopengardner posted 03-11-2019

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As Opportunity Zones continue to come into focus, the National Trust Community Investment Corporation (NTCIC) is collaborating with investors, real estate developers, and community development leaders to explore how Opportunity Zone capital can best be used in underserved communities and complement successful incentives such as the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) and historic tax credits (HTCs). Since 2000 NTCIC has invested more than $1 billion in 175 transformative community development projects ...

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“The Preservation Budget”: New Advocacy Report for Federal Appropriations

By Tom Cassidy posted 03-07-2019

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The National Trust for Historic Preservation is pleased to release “ The Preservation Budget: Select Preservation Priorities for FY 2020 Appropriations .” This new report is designed to assist congressional staff and our preservation partners in appreciating—and advocating for—key federal programs that protect our nation’s legacy of historic resources and benefit all Americans. The Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) is perhaps the most prominent such program. Preservationists have long advocated ...

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Unearthing Truth: Sugar Land’s Past and Future

By Special Contributor posted 03-06-2019

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By Hanna Kim An affluent suburb of Houston, Sugar Land is lauded for its ethnic diversity, educated workforce, beautiful neighborhoods, excellent schools, and handsome town center. Recent events, however, have exposed a disturbing history, creating national and even international headlines and spurring lawsuits, emergency board meetings, and public demonstrations . In 2017 Sugar Land’s Fort Bend Independent School District (FBISD) announced plans for a state-of-the-art technology center ...

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#NPS19th: The National Park Service Prepares to Commemorate the 19th Amendment Centennial

By Special Contributor posted 03-01-2019

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By Megan E. Springate At the end of 2018, Preservation Leadership Forum published an issue of the Forum Journal called "' Every Story Told:' Centering Women's History ." Forum members can find this and other recent issues in the Forum Library . Not a member? A women's history blog series and webinar recording are available for free —or join today ! August 26, 2020, will mark the 100-year anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution. The text of ...

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Building Tomorrow’s Heritage: What Historic Structures Can Teach Us About Making a Better Future

By Special Contributor posted 02-26-2019

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By Michael W. Mehaffy and Nikos A. Salingaros This is the first post in a series about recent lessons from the sciences for historic preservation and compatible new development. The authors—a physicist and mathematician and an urban researcher and philosopher—explore emerging scientific findings about historic structures and discuss lessons for generating more sustainable and resilient human environments. For almost a century now, the mantra of architecture and urban development has been, ...

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On the Hill: Huge Wins for Historic Preservation in Senate-Passed Public Lands Package (Updated 3/12)

By Pam Bowman posted 02-22-2019

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Editor's Note: On Tuesday, March 12 the president signed the Public Lands package into law . Learn more about how the Natural Resources Management Act preserves historic resources and cultural landscapes, including the Ocmulgee National Monument in Georgia, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, nationally significant sites associated with the Reconstruction Era, as well how it allows for lasting impact on a wide range of programs, sites, and landscapes by permanently reauthorizing programs ...

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Webinar: The Rosenwald Schools GIS Mapping Project

By Forum Online posted 02-21-2019

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On January 30 Preservation Leadership Forum hosted the most recent Forum Webinar , which outlined the ongoing Rosenwald Schools GIS Mapping Project. This work, funded in part by the National Park Service, is expanding our understanding of the current status of Rosenwald Schools throughout the United States. Speakers John Hildreth, senior advisor for special projects at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Ian Spangler, Ph.D. student at the University of Kentucky, covered everything ...

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On the Hill: Final FY19 Appropriations Passes, Finally; Preview of Big Wins for Public Lands

By Janelle DiLuccia posted 02-15-2019

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Facing a Friday deadline—the current short-term funding bill expires today, February 15—congressional negotiators reached an agreement to address border security and finalize the remaining FY19 appropriations bills earlier this week. The House of Representatives and Senate approved the measure on Thursday, sending it to the President to be signed into law. ( Update : The President has signed the bill.) Credit: Architect of the Capitol Appropriations Deal Provides Record Funding for ...

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Almost Lost: Preserving Page Woodson, Past and Future

By Special Contributor posted 02-08-2019

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By Julie Dalia and Amanda Warr Oklahoma City’s 1910 Page Woodson School had been vacant and vandalized for almost 25 years when—through an astonishing collaboration between the community; the city, county, and federal governments; and an inspired developer who listened to a community and took heroic measures to save a historic icon—the badly deteriorated building was restored and adapted as affordable apartments. Now, at 109, The Douglass at Page Woodson (a recipient of the 2018 Richard ...

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Blog Series: Sarah Rovang and Storytelling at Industrial Heritage Sites

By Forum Online posted 02-06-2019

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In 2019 Preservation Leadership Forum is presenting a series of posts by Sarah Rovang , the 2017 recipient of the H. Allen Brooks Travelling Fellowship from the Society of Architectural Historians. The fellowship allows its recipients—recent graduates with advanced degrees or emerging scholars—to study by travel for one year, providing them with opportunities to see and experience architecture and landscapes firsthand; think about their profession deeply; and acquire knowledge that will be useful ...

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