Historic Preservation

In its most basic terms, historic preservation means having the good sense to hang on to something that is viewed as containing value, for example an older building or neighborhood or a piece of landscape.  They have value because they are important to us as individuals and/or as a nation.
 
Collectively, we call these things of value “cultural resources”, and can include anything that is significant in American history, architecture, archaeology, or culture. Not merely artifacts on the landscape, these cultural resources are tangible expressions of people who lived in their own times, cultures, and environments. 
 
These vestiges of our collective heritage contribute to our sense of place and cultural identity. They may reflect our value systems, be they spiritual, aesthetic, educational, scientific or recreational. They may also be fragile, irreplaceable, and non-renewable.
 
Historic preservation is the way we both recognize and manage these cultural resources for the benefit of present and future generations. A list of such resources in Pima County includes:

• Historic Sites/ Districts
• Archaeological Sites/ Districts
• Historic Buildings
• Historic Structures/ Objects
• Historic Roads/ Trails
• Ghost Towns
• Traditional Cultural Places
• Designed Historic Landscapes
• Rural Historic Landscapes
• Ranchlands
 

The Cultural Resources and Historic Preservation Office of Pima County have three main areas that it uses to help categorize such resources, which are defined as follows:

(1) Historic Sites
Sites, districts, structures, objects, or other evidences of human activities that represent facets of the history of the nation, state, or locality.

(2) Cultural places
Places associated with the cultural practices or beliefs of a living community that are:
(a) rooted in that community's history, and,
(b) important in maintaining the continuing cultural identity of the community.
 
(3) Archaeology
Any material remains of past human life or activities that are preserved in their original setting that are important to understanding prehistory or history.
 

Historic Preservation may be understood as both an ethical approach and a physical act. As an ethical approach, historic preservation expresses the underlying values that allow us first to recognize and then define how to best management the resources using the best methods available. As a physical act, historic preservation involves the actual  management of the resource, and may include one or more of the following:
 

Preservation: To save from deterioration or destruction.
Conservation: The science, profession, and practice of saving historic material.
Restoration: Accurately recovering the form and details of something (such as a house). This often means removing later or inappropriate changes, and making repairs using appropriate techniques and materials.
Rehabilitation:  Returning a building to a viable modern use, while preserving important historic features.
Reconstruction: Reproducing with new construction the exact form and detailing of something that no longer exists. This is rarely undertaken except in the most unusual circumstances, since greater value is placed on saving the original resource.

(Note: One term that is often confused with preservation is “renovation”. Renovation is more usually tied to the way an old or historic building is modernized, but in a way that may also eliminate important historic features and details.)
 

Pima County and the “big picture”

Pima County’s commitment and responsibilities to saving its cultural resources are intimately related and bound to other local, state and national efforts promoting historic preservation.
 
At the local level, Pima County works with the City of Tucson and regional townships in preservation initiatives, and works regularly with citizens’ organizations and local historical societies to help guide their own preservation efforts. This also includes acting as advisor to other state and local governmental bodies, and private developers, whose own projects may impact cultural resources within the county.
 
At the state level, Arizona’s State Historic Preservation Office is a rich and highly rewarding resource for both information and advice.
 
At the national level, is the National Trust for Historic Preservation (headquartered in Washington, D.C.) which is the congressionally appointed preservation organization. The National Trust has numerous responsibilities that range from steering preservation issues before congress and other political bodies, enacting preservation laws, education of the public, nurturing local preservation organizations, and ownership and management of culturally important historic properties. Also at the national level is the National Register of Historic Places, the nation’s “honor role” for properties worthy of national recognition, including those located within Pima County. Pima County also works with organizations within the U.S. Department of the Interior, such as the National Park Service, another prime resource for historic preservation at the national level.