Keeping time : the history and theory of preservation in America /

Since 1812, when architect Robert Mills drew up plans for rebuilding the steeple of Independence Hall, the impulse to preserve historic American sites and buildings has snowballed. Today tens of thousands of buildings and some 5000 historic districts are recognized by the federally coordinated National Register of Historic Places. In part an illustrated historical survey, in part a handbook for civic activists, this primer by the first Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places traces the shift in the preservation movement from the restoration of isolated landmarks and houses where ``Washington slept,'' to an emphasis on outdoor museums (Old Salem, N.C.; Sturbridge Village, Mass.) and, in recent years, a concern for the neighborhood in which a building stands. Through a case study of the Historic Savannah Foundation, which has saved some 1000 buildings in that city, Murtagh illustrates how the public can treat the built environment as a conservable national resource. (September) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

This one-volume introduction to the history and philosophy of preservation in America moves from the private sector's early concern for saving patriotic sites to extensive governmental activity and the legal and economic dimensions of a growth industry. Broad-ranging chapters treat terminology, outdoor museums, historic districts, adaptive use, landscape preservation, and case studies for successful programs; appendixes include selections of important federal legislation and the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation. A recommended short history particularly useful for introductory courses and for laypersons concerned with preservation issues in their communities. Douglas G. Birdsall, North Dakota State Univ. Lib., Fargo (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.