Mid-century modern architecture experts, Daniel Sams and Jillian Storms, AIA, share a moment at the ca. 1964 Hyattsville Library on a Preservation Maryland bus tour.
In light of the ongoing challenges and health safety concerns related to Covid-19, the 2020 Old Line State Summit will transition to the Online State Summit, a series of programming that will run throughout the Summer and Fall of 2020. Thanks to our generous sponsors, all Summit webinars will be presented free of charge to attendees across the country.
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin carries in his right hand the mirror array designed by UMD physicists. Photo from NASA.
Speakers for this free webinar are Michelle Hanlon, Co-Founder and President of For All Moonkind, and Teasel Muir-Harmony, Curator at the National Air and Space Museum.
Preservation on Earth is made up of a variety of laws and regulations that vary based on country, state, or municipality. How do we approach a preservation project that is a couple hundred thousand miles away from the regulations found on Earth? The lunar landing sites are not solely significant to one country but represent a collective moment for humanity. The organization, For All Moonkind is working to preserve these sites as examples of human cultural heritage and is engaging on a global level to make that preservation happen.
As with all preservation projects, the work of preserving the lunar landing sites presents questions that preservationists routinely grapple with including how to balance preservation and growth in a sustainable way. On the moon, protection of the sites and the lunar surface at large is faced with challenges of competing interests from continued exploration and commercial enterprises. The question of preservation on the moon invites preservationists to ask questions about how we would want to craft regulations if there were no existing statutes and even why we choose what to preserve. Join us for a fascinating look at the next frontier in preservation.
Harriet Tubman mural in Dorchester County, 2019.
Given the illegal nature of its operations, sites of the Underground Railroad across the United State were often hidden and secret. That necessity now presents a challenge to preservationists dedicated to identifying, preserving, and interpreting these important histories where they happened. Speakers for this session include Dr. Kate Clifford Larson, author and historian, and Heather Ersts, Outreach & Partnership Coordinator for the Maryland Department of Tourism Development.
The Network to Freedom (NTF) program of the National Park Service promotes innovative scholarship, interpretation, and partnerships for sharing the history and legacy of the Underground Railroad. The Network consists of rigorously researched and documented sites with connections to the Underground Railroad, and programs and facilities with research, educational or interpretive resources related to the Underground Railroad in addition to some financial support. For many places that may be associated with the Underground Railroad, documentation and interpretation can be difficult, particularly when uncovering the complex and difficult stories of the enslaved.
Speakers for the session include Dr. Kate Clifford Larson, author of Bound for the Promised Land, an award-winning biography of Harriet Tubman and who has written more than twenty successful Network to Freedom site nominations. Kate will help illuminate research resources and impart how sites can separate lore from fact from fiction. Heather Ersts of the Maryland Department of Tourism, who is working to strengthen the interpretation offerings at historic destinations that tell the authentic story of African American life, will highlight existing sites in the Network to Freedom that exemplify high-quality and authentic heritage tourism experiences, including new digital experiences.
The goal of this session is to provide an overview of research resources and pitfalls related to uncovering difficult history, especially related to the Underground Railroad. With accurate research and accurate interpretation, Maryland will continue to solidify itself as a destination for history seekers and heritage travelers. Moreover, those persons enslaved in Maryland and those abolitionists along the Underground Railroad deserve a full and true account of their harrowing – and heroic experiences.
America’s post-war communities are also now historic communities. What are the challenges in adapting these car-focused communities to a more transit-focused future? This session will look at residential and commercial spaces, their history, and their future.
The planning process can be dense and intimidating for the average person, but many of the most important decisions that impact a community are made in the planning process. This session will explore ways to demystify the planning process with the goal of broader engagement for all citizens.
The City of Brunswick is undertaking an initiative to create protections for its historic communities in the form of a Conservation District. This session will walk through what a conservation district is, how it works to protect historic communities, the process Brunswick went through, and the lessons learned.
Cemeteries are present in every community and are rich sources of history. Some are active, some have caretakers, and some are have lost their headstones. The challenge of preserving cemeteries goes beyond the work done on individual sites to the need for broader understanding the scope of cemeteries to aid planning efforts. This session will review the work done by the State Highway Administration and Preservation Maryland to identify and document cemeteries around the state and the work in Anne Arundel County to create a documentation and mapping tool to assist planners in that county.
Training in the preservation trades is key to passing on vital preservation knowledge for the future. It also increases the workforce and supports the revitalization of communities through the reuse of its historic buildings. This session will explore the world of preservation trades programs and how they are helping grow the next generation of preservationists.
In the first of many free webinars to replace our annual Old Line State Summit, Preservation Maryland hosted over 100 registrants to learn about the work of the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture for a one-hour webinar titled, “Historic Preservation/Self Preservation.”
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In the first Old Line State Summit since the launch of Smart Growth Maryland as a major program of Preservation Maryland, our one-day conference focused on the collaboration, advocacy, and technology needed to make preservation and conservation a reality in more and more of Maryland’s communities.
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On Saturday, October 20, 2018, Preservation Maryland hosted a day-long tour exploring Harriet Tubman’s journey to freedom and the impact of slavery and the Underground Railroad on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
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On Friday, September 7, 2018, the Mid-Atlantic chapter of the international Society for the Preservation of Old Mills toured the mills of the Jones Falls in the Hampden neighborhood of Baltimore City.
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