The love of local history and its preservation, are of paramount importance, to those of us who work to preserve it on R&R’s pages! We truly understand not every old building can be saved. Most mid 20th century government policies looked at short sighted zoning policies, those that encouraged commercial development, in areas of historic housing. Zoning and urban renewal efforts ruined blocks of extraordinary dwellings throughout American, all too often be replaced with ugly buildings with little or no character. R&R’s home town, Rock Hill, South Carolina is the perfect example of this policy having been enacted in the late 1960’s. Scores of late 19th century dwellings and commercial establishments were destroyed, including the Roddey’s Equitable Building – National Union Bank. Many local governments have reversed course and taken the lead in seeing the architectural and cultural past of their communities protected. Through sustained encouragement, tax savings, favorable building codes, and protecting historic districts many towns now are being revitalized. Government can’t and shouldn’t do it all. The White Home restoration, in South Carolina, received substantial community support as well as funding, from both the City of Rock Hill and York County. This partnership worked exceedingly well to save a home on the National Register and make it a productive community asset. But this has not always been the path of many local governments.
Failures of even the historic minded folks in Camden, S.C., include razing a great old home, to build a new Camden City Hall. Or demolishing the Ivy Lodge Inn in the name of progress. Camden is always a fun place to visit but it too once had little enthusiasm for historic preservation. (Be sure to click on the highlighted names to see them featured on R&R.)
So, have you taken a look at your own community’s policies and do they support preservation, if not what are you going to do to change the course? Take a close look and see what protections your ethnic areas as well as landmark architecture have, far less than you expect. Have you noticed during our recent recession; hundreds of small towns have high vacancy rates in their down towns. This offers an opportunity for citizens to pool their financial resources and purchase endangered housing as well as commercial structures that can be protected by a pool of concerned citizens. Don’t look to government to do your job – as someone who has a voice, talk with your neighbors and take action before other savvy investors purchase endangered buildings with the eye to alter or destroy them. Too many examples of this remain evident in nearly every American small town from the post WW II era. So, what can you do as a citizen and community, to thwart the march, to tear down your city one step at a time when preservation does work! If you don’t believe that a few individuals can make a striking difference, just take a look at Ridgeway, South Carolina. Thirty years ago it looked as if it was beyond salvation, today it is a thriving business and tourism center. A few individuals, and a progressive Mayor, have made a significant difference!
From the Porch – Blog @ RootsandRecall.com – 7.21.16