History in urban places: The historic districts of the United States

Dublin Core

In the United States, an ambitious attempt has been made over the last quarter of a century to achieve historic preservation on a scale far greater than would have been possible through the saving of structures one by one. Preservation is now sought and managed to a large extent through the designation of "historic districts"... As the number of historic districts has increased and they have assumed a conspicuous place in the urban landscape, they have received the attention of preservationists and planners. But there has not as yet been an analysis of their significance from an urban historian's point of view - even though most historic disticts are parts of towns or cities and their existence is touted in publicity releases as an oppotunity to "step back in time', to see what towns or neighborhoods were "really" like in the past. Historic districts are, and should be studies as, examples of applied urban history... One of the aims of this book is to draw the attention of urban historians to some of the implications of the development of historic districts. But it is intended too to have a broader appeal and to provide a historical context for those many Americans who in one way or another have become involved in the phenomenon - whether as residents of historic districts, members of preservation commissions, or tourists who visit the districts.