Preservation

Will Historic Preservation Survive COVID-19?

Organizations dedicated to protecting the nation’s heritage are working to keep their advocacy alive
The Historic Savannah Foundation which operates the Davenport House Museum reopened the 1820s structure to visitors on...
The Historic Savannah Foundation, which operates the Davenport House Museum, reopened the 1820s structure to visitors on June 1.Photo: Attic Fire Photography

In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, the Historic Savannah Foundation (HSF) had decisions to make. As the country went on lockdown, how could the organization continue saving the buildings that define Savannah’s past, present, and future—especially when that mission so heavily relies on the participation of the public? The HSF leads walking tours of local homes and gardens, and it owns and operates the Davenport House Museum, an 1820s Federal-style home that encapsulates the sweep of the city’s story, from antebellum slavery to 21st-century tourism.

At the start of the crisis, the HSF moved as much of its operations online as possible. The foundation’s staff began working remotely, creating programs for May’s Virtual Preservation Month and writing grants, fundraising, and considering buildings to save. But it also furloughed or laid off half its staff and, on March 16, closed the Davenport House. “They interface with the public and tell a story; they can’t be virtual,” says Susan Adler, HSF’s CEO and president, of the employees they had to let go. “For the foundation, I think not unlike so many nonprofit foundations, it’s seeing what you have to do to stay alive.”

Across the country, Los Angeles faced an altogether different experience. California was an early coronavirus epicenter in the U.S., and the state took action quickly and aggressively to prevent worst-case scenarios, which meant the in-person programming central to the Los Angeles Conservancy’s spring calendar would be impossible. Its annual Preservation Awards Luncheon was rescheduled for October; a tour of 1970s architecture happened virtually; and the Last Remaining Seats film series, which attracts 10,000 viewers annually, was canceled.

Like the HSF, much of the L.A. Conservancy’s work moved online, where it has created new programs, like a virtual story time for kids, and devoted more resources to others. The organization hasn’t had to lay off staff or reduce hours. “We feel very fortunate,” says president and CEO Linda Dishman. “We have saved money through the years just for this type of situation, but I always thought our reserves would be for earthquakes.”

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The two organizations, separated by scale, geography, and circumstance, demonstrate the varied impact of the pandemic on preservation in the United States. Stories of reduced staff, like at the HSF and also Chicago’s Frank Lloyd Wright Trust, conjure images of sites collecting dust and falling into disrepair, or worse. Vulnerable properties are subject to being defiled by vandalism or razed by developers without proper maintenance and protection. That anxiety is understandable; the gears of progress have long chewed up some of America’s most important buildings, from New York’s original Pennsylvania Station to Chicago’s Prentice Women’s Hospital. With sites closed to visitors, how can these organizations—many existing on slim margins—possibly hope to emerge from this moment intact?

The National Trust for Historic Preservation offered virtual tours of the attic at Charleston’s Drayton Hall, an area usually off-limits to visitors, during its Preservation Month.

Photo: Ron Blunt/National Trust for Historic Preservation

“What is making this bad are the challenges many nonprofits who operate historic sites are facing with the loss of important revenue sources, due to the closure of sites or loss of event rental revenue streams,” says Aimee Jorjani, chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP). “Like any extreme, challenges are very real for preservation [right now]. At the same time, it may create opportunities. There’s been no shortage of online tools for creative engagement.”

Indeed, preservationists have moved quickly to innovate ways to stay connected with devoted audiences, create a new cohort of allies, and continue their advocacy. The L.A. Conservancy, for instance, saw increased engagement with a legacy-business program devoted to raising awareness of endangered historic and iconic businesses after restaurants began closing. So it invested more time and energy into it than they expected when launching the initiative in late 2019. “People may not identify as preservationists, but they care about that business two blocks from their home they can now walk to and get takeout,” Dishman says.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, meanwhile, launched a robust daily program for Preservation Month, such as a virtual tour of the attic at Charleston’s Drayton Hall, an area usually off-limits to visitors, and a concert recorded at Nina Simone’s childhood home in Tryon, North Carolina. The effort not only allowed visitors to remain engaged with sites they love, it allowed everyone to encounter them—whether it’s Belle Grove near Middletown, Virginia, or the Waikīkī War Memorial Natatorium in Honolulu—from the comfort of their couch.

“We’ve opened up, tremendously, ways in which people experience historic places digitally in the past eight weeks, and I think that’s here to stay,” says Katherine Malone-France, chief preservation officer at the National Trust. “This wave of digital creativity is going to have long-term benefits for all aspects of the way we think about heritage and place-based tourism.”

All the while, important preservation work continues. The HSF is in talks about two properties it’s interested in acquiring, the L.A. Conservancy is releasing environmental impact reports, and the National Trust is leveraging its network to agitate for more federal preservation funding. Still, there is the worry that the longer the pandemic keeps buildings closed and visitors home, challenges will mount.

The Belle Grove estate near Middletown, Virginia, is another National Trust site that was opened up for virtual tours in May.

Photo: Ron Blunt/National Trust for Historic Preservation

“It’s a really big question mark what’s going to happen, particularly to these buildings we want to preserve that are maybe legally-designated landmarks at the city, state, or federal level, or maybe not yet,” says Adam Roberts, director of policy at AIA New York. “It could be months before work is done on them, and what happens during that time? Do they deteriorate to the point that we can’t reuse them anymore? I hope not.”

For its part, Jorjani says the ACHP is keeping an eye on any federal projects undertaken on an emergency basis as a result of the coronavirus. The agency is working with other government entities to ensure that any impacts on historic properties “are considered to the extent possible through an expedited consultation process with state and tribal officials,” she says.

But there’s another factor working in these properties’ favor. According to a report released by Rutgers University and the National Park Service, the Federal Historic Tax Credit, in 2018, generated $7.7 billion in rehabilitation investment—75% of which went to projects in economically distressed communities—and created 129,000 jobs. So, Malone-France explains, there’s an economic imperative to preservation that should factor prominently in any decisions made about a historic site or district. “Historic preservation is a tremendously important tool for economic revitalization and recovery,” she says. “And that is going to be the case even more, as the country recovers from the pandemic.”

As some regions begin to reopen, states are starting to consider their post-COVID-19 future. And there seem to be glimmers of hope after the long, dark spring.

In Savannah the HSF reopened the Davenport House on June 1, allowing the foundation to bring back some laid-off employees. With safety in mind, the organization will start tours of the house outside and require a reduced number of visitors per group. “Those of us in preservation and in history have to remember the importance of telling stories and keeping track of what’s happening now,” Adler says. But, she adds, “[We don’t] want the precautions of COVID-19 to [overshadow] the story of the house.”

In-person events are a little further down the road in Los Angeles, which means the L.A. Conservancy is rethinking a 1970s-architecture-focused initiative. Lectures will move online, there will be Zoom webinars, and a planned building tour will now be car-based. “It’s different from what we thought it was going to be,” Dishman says. “But we’re very committed to getting people back out on the streets again and to really experience historic buildings personally.”

Social media and live streams are no replacement for walking into a place and being awed by its beauty and backstory. But if the preservation movement has taught us anything, it’s that everyday citizens are historic properties’ best defenders. An expanded digital presence has created new opportunities for preservationists to widen their audience and deepen their pool of advocates.

“Preservation is alive and kicking,” Dishman says. “Maybe in a different form, but we’re still here.”