PreservationNation

Written by Dwight Young

Every Dozen Distinctive Destinations list offers something new, some city or town or neighborhood that you’ve never even heard of, much less hung out in. This year’s list offers something else in the way of novelty: You get to vote for your favorite – sort of like “American Idol,” but with less eyeliner.

I’m warning you, picking a favorite won’t be easy. All of this year’s destinations offer lively downtowns to shop in and handsome historic buildings to look at, but every one of them has something special, too. Huntsville, for example, has 19th-century houses and 21st-century space-travel hardware; St. Louis has world-class museums and that incredible shimmering Arch; Sitka has rainforests and whales and Tlingit dancers. Rockland has lobster, while Bastrop has barbecue. See what I mean? “Diverse” doesn’t even begin to describe this year’s embarrassment of riches – whatever you’re looking for, we’ve got it, from glaciers to drag queens. But don’t let the variety intimidate you. Vote – and while you’re at it, start packing a suitcase.

I have to admit that of all the places on this year’s list, the one that intrigues me most is the one called “The Crooked Road,” which really isn’t so much a place as an experience. I lived in southwest Virginia for several years and came to appreciate it as a truly beautiful, truly different corner of the country – and this listing spotlights one of the best, most distinctive things about it: the music. You can plan an itinerary that will keep you toe-tapping for days, in a head-spinning range of venues that includes an open-air amphitheatre on the crest of the Blue Ridge; an old movie house in Galax where they’ve been broadcasting a live radio show every Friday since 1999; a barn-like music hall at the Carter Family Fold, home of the legendary family whose 1927 recordings pretty much gave birth to today’s country music industry; and a gas station (yes, gas station) in Stuart where local musicians get together every Thursday evening to cut loose. Good stuff. No, great stuff.

At the end of your visit to The Crooked Road – or any of the other places on this year’s roster – I predict you’ll be asking yourselves two questions: How come we never came here before? And how soon can we come back again?

That’s a good thing. It’s what the Dozen Distinctive Destinations list is all about.

Dwight Young joined the staff of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1977. He currently serves as Senior Communications Associate and writes the regular ‘Back Page‘ feature in Preservation magazine.

Each year, the National Trust for Historic Preservation celebrates the best of preservation by presenting National Preservation Awards to individuals and organizations whose contributions demonstrate excellence in historic preservation. This is the latest in a series of videos highlighting 2009’s winners.

Meier & Frank Department Store Building, Portland, Ore. — The Meier & Frank department store was a beloved community landmark for nearly a century before it fell into disrepair. The Portland Development Commission led a visionary effort to turn the once faded terra cotta palace into a luxury hotel and department store. Learn more »

Do you know of a deserving individual, organization, agency, or project? We are now accepting nominations for the 2010 National Preservation Awards. Click here for more information.

Written by Doug StanWiens

The first semester of the school year has come and gone at Timberline High. And while there never seems to be a slow day in room 216, I can say that we’ve jumped head first into round two in such a way that surprises even me.

Regardless, I hope you’ve enjoyed the work Kim M. and a number of other Boise Architecture Project students have done in their blog posts. Did you like our behind-the-scenes tour of the Old Idaho State Pen? Maybe you felt like taking action in your own community after reading about some of the controversial decisions made by our local school district? Perhaps you marveled like I did at Ashley’s amazing photo of the Idaho State Capitol reflected in a puddle. We’ve really had a blast bringing stories about places that matter in Boise to all of you.

I’ve been thinking a lot about technology and social media recently, especially after reading Priya Chhaya’s excellent blog post last week (her schedule sounds all too familiar). Before this school year, I never imagined myself as a “Twitterer,” and to be honest, I’m still having a tough time doing Facebook correctly. That being said, it has been really fun (and educational) to see how PreservationNation.org harnesses the Internet to converse, collaborate, and sometimes commiserate over the issues that make us all tick.

So, as a classroom of juniors and seniors, where is the intersection between preservation, education, and technology? Contrary to the idea that the medium is the message, I believe that the medium enables the message. From the National Trust’s Flickr-fueled This Place Matters campaign to the Boise City Arts and History Department’s use of Twitter to announce events, preservation is reaching a much larger audience these days. Technology enables us as a movement to mobilize interests and to “get the word out.” Over the years, it has also helped me get nearly 800 students connected to their community in ways that continue to amaze me.

At its core, the Boise Architecture Project is a constantly evolving experiment in technology that reflects where students are today, and where they are going tomorrow. And, while kids these days are prolific consumers of technology, I find that (clever tweets and status updates aside) many are not as adept at actually producing things with technology. The short list of skills my students learn while participating in the project includes digital photography and photo editing; website design and programming; data storage and management; and video and audio recording and production.  We do all of this on Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, YouTube, our website, and these bi-weekly blog posts with the National Trust.

Not bad for something that started a few years back as a simple student PowerPoint project on favorite buildings, eh?

While technology has changed our lives, it hasn’t changed the message of preservation. My students get a kick out of learning about Roman arches and mansard roofs the same way I did when I was their age. Just like me, they are drawn to discovering stories about buildings and the people that love them. What’s different – and exciting – is how we’re doing this.

Stay tuned this semester as the experiment continues.

Doug StanWiens teaches U.S. history at Boise’s Timberline High School and spearheads the Boise Architecture Project. This semester, his class of juniors and seniors are blogging about what they are doing in class and in the field to learn more about their community and its history. You can follow the students here on the PreservationNation blog and on their Flickr photostream. Also, get daily updates from the teacher himself on Twitter.

Are you an educator interested in teaching preservation in your classroom? Visit PreservationNation.org for resources, tips, and ideas to enhance your curriculum with lessons that will teach your students to recognize and appreciate the rich history that surrounds them.