I am often asked why I care so much about preserving old buildings. For some it’s a veiled challenge with no plan to listen to the answer, but some hang around long enough, without yawning, to hear my answer & some actually hear me as I pour out my soul & my passion. And for some, the light turns on.

This is why I keep picking myself up after the wrecking ball wins the battle, keep talking, keep writing. For this light.

According to the New World Encyclopedia, the word community “is derived from the Latin communitas (meaning the same), which is in turn derived from communis, which means “common, public, shared by all or many.” Communis comes from a combination of the Latin prefix con- (which means “together”) and the word munis (which has to do with performing services).”

It’s the ‘con-” part that I like the best. I spent much of my adult life (MY STORY here.) as a neighborhood activist, fighting to keep those bits of turf our own & not give them over to corporate America- to keep us & our neighborhood culture together.

WHY PRESERVE? VIDEOS

The people in the videos below say it better than I do, in fact, as I was reviewing them tonight, I was wishing that 20 years ago, I could have chained my local Eagle Rock councilman to his chair & not let him so much as wiggle until he had watched every speaker in hopes that he would understand what the building we were trying to save would do for our community, that a new chain store in a sea of parking, wouldn’t/couldn’t/hasn’t/never will.

TEDxCLE – Rhonda Sincavage – Building Community Through Historic Preservation (10:53)
TEDx Talks

There are sound quality issues at the beginning. They go away very quickly.

TEDxCLE – Jeff Siegler – Building Community Through Historic Preservation (10:03)
TEDx Talks

Historical Preservation- A Radical Conservative Liberal Concept: Wayne Wood at TEDxRiversideAvondale (15:49)
TEDx Talks

Historic Preservation 101 (44:14)
History Colorado

This video is much longer than any of the others but it fully explains the history & evolution of preservation in the U.S. It goes on to explain the different preservation organizations & programs, both public & private as well as the levels of protection afforded at each level.

It is a clear & thorough orientation to the subject. Learning all of this, bit by bit took me years!

TIP: My YouTube playlists are chock full of information vital to bungalow owners. From paint removal to the history of bungalows to stories about old growth wood, you can find a rainy afternoon’s entertainment & learn some stuff too, HERE.

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