national register nomination for boulevard park historic
national register nomination for boulevard park historic
national register nomination for boulevard park historic
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promoted early American preservation ef<strong>for</strong>ts. Even in the 20 th century, when <strong>historic</strong><br />
preservation law created government bodies to deal with preservation, private and non-<br />
government organizations first played an important role in the stewardship and<br />
preservation of American <strong>historic</strong> buildings. Murtaugh mentions the National Trust <strong>for</strong><br />
Historic Preservation as the most significant non-government organization of this type.<br />
The reader should note that the book’s publisher Preservation Press is the publishing arm<br />
of the National Trust, and Murtaugh is their <strong>for</strong>mer vice-president.<br />
Murtaugh’s periodization of the preservation movement begins with 19 th century<br />
ef<strong>for</strong>ts to preserve <strong>national</strong>ly significant monuments associated with the early settlement<br />
and political history of the United States. It proceeds to early 20 th century <strong>historic</strong><br />
districts, both designated (like the Battery in Charleston, South Carolina) 19 and created<br />
(like Greenfield Village, Michigan.) 20<br />
Districts like Greenfield Village and Williamsburg,<br />
Virginia were paid <strong>for</strong> by philanthropic individuals who wanted to provide a tangible<br />
connection <strong>for</strong> modern Americans to the rustic past, encouraging the maintenance of their<br />
vision of the American character. Charleston’s establishment of an “Old and Historic<br />
District,” in 1931, the first municipally zoned <strong>historic</strong> district, was a significant<br />
divergence from the private <strong>historic</strong> building or district. Using city government’s recently<br />
established power to define land uses through zoning, Charleston established the idea that<br />
a neighborhood or building could be <strong>historic</strong>, and thus worthy of official protection, even<br />
though its significance was primarily at the local level.<br />
19<br />
Murtaugh, Keeping Time, p. 58-59<br />
20<br />
Murtaugh, Keeping Time, p. 36-37<br />
17