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If
the White House, or an important historic building in
your town, burned to the ground, how would historians
and architects know how to rebuild it? When it comes to
understanding how an old building was constructed, some
of the most important historical records are architectural
drawings. Like James Hoban’s design plans for the
White House, there are drawings and blueprints for other
historic buildings. A very real way to save history is
to save historic buildings, and this is the job of the
preservationist.
A sketch of the construction site during the Truman
renovation in 1950
Think
about a historic house you have visited with your class,
family, or friends. What materials were used to build
the outside walls? What about the floors? Do you remember
the color of the walls? Were they painted or papered?
Who built the house, and what were they trying to say
about themselves when they made the decisions about the
materials and decoration of their home?
These are
the kinds of questions that preservationists need to
ask and answer if they are going to use a building to
tell the story of the people in your community’s
past. Historians, curators, architectural historians,
and architects all play a part in discovering and sharing
these stories that enrich our understanding of who we
are.
Take
a class field trip to a historic house or building,
or visit these places on the Internet:
Mount Vernon, home of George Washington: www.mountvernon.org
Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson: www.monticello.org
National Trust historic sites: www.nationaltrust.org
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