Trust Me
Inside the National Trust
By Arnold Berke | From Preservation | September/October 2007
By Arnold Berke
Credit: Richard Thompson
Flood and flames cost Grand Forks, N.D., a lot in 1997, when the Red River overran its banks and a huge fire hit downtown. Nearly a fourth of the city's National Register stock was lost, and new flood dikes would claim even more. Yet much of its past was rescued, reports Marsha Gunderson, chair of the preservation commission, who praises the Trust for abetting that victory. Soon after the flood, Gunderson writes, Trust staff members were in "constant contact" with the commission, serving as "mentors, advisers, and cheerleaders. Their help was tremendously important in the recovery of historic Grand Forks." Ten years on, she reports, the city is reborn and recognizable, "both secure and true to itself."
... The Trust was also soon on the scene, postdisaster, in Evanston, Wyo., where a fire in May nearly did in the 1917 Strand Theatre. Its walls survived, but loss of the roof and the interior led the fire department to call for the building's demolition. Uinta County Museum Director Barbara Bogart brought in the mountains/plains office, which hired an engineer to assess the structure. His verdict, that the building was salvageable, prompted the city to save it. Meanwhile, owners Kim and Kendra West are stabilizing the Strand, which prefire was a movie house, as they plan its future.
... They're coming back. Mid-20th century buildings are being rediscovered, reassessed, and—like their older brethren—razed. From prominent landmarks (office towers, apartment blocks) to everyday Americana (ranch houses, branch banks, storefronts), structures that people once loved to hate—especially when they unseated earlier architecture—are now themselves endangered. To aid their rescue, there's a new Trust guide that helps sort out the modern styles, determine which places need protection, and win over a public whose first reaction to saving such gems is all too often, "Are you kidding?" Preserving Resources from the Recent Past, by Jeanne Lambin, will also take you through historic designation, financing restoration, and saving landscapes. Order at www.preservationbooks.org or (202) 588-6296.
... The first and only director of Brucemore, a Trust historic site in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is retiring in October. For 26 years, Peggy Whitworth has run the 1886 Queen Anne mansion, home to a succession of three prominent families. In interpreting that colorful history, guiding restoration in both house and gardens, and hosting a full schedule of cultural events, Whitworth has made Brucemore an especially appealing place. Two September events will honor her service—a "Concert for Peggy" on the 9th (to include what is billed as "a few gentle roasts from area celebrities") and an open house on the 16th. "When I retire," says Whitworth, "I plan to read, write, travel, consult, and do more political work. Or I might just get a paper route."
... A lawsuit by Utah's Kane and Garfield counties against the Bureau of Land Management was dismissed in federal court in June. The counties had challenged BLM's plan for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, seeking to control the use of roads there. In 2003, Kane County had removed 31 BLM signs that curbed off-road entry to vehicles, seen by many as destructive to natural and cultural values, then in 2005 put up its own signs freeing up access ("Magnificent Possession," Preservation, May/June 2006). Joining the suit as intervenor-defendants for BLM were the Trust, the Sierra Club, the Wilderness Society, and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. The counties have appealed the ruling.
Read more from our September/October 2007 issue online, or e-mail us to purchase a copy.
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