Transcripts For CSPAN3 National Historic Preservation Act 50

CSPAN3 National Historic Preservation Act 50th Anniversary October 22, 2016

With those visitors is the role of the architect of the capitol. The architect of the capitol is the steward of the Historic Buildings and grounds on capitol hill. In 1800, Congress Left philadelphia and moved into approximately 25,000 square feet. That is the original north wing of the capital. Today, and with the help of a team of 2300 employees, the responsibilities of the architect of the capitol include stewardship of nearly 17. 4 million square feet of building space, the care and maintenance of hundreds of acres, thousands of trees and plantings, and the preservation of countless artistic and historical treasures. Leading this team is the 11th architect of the capitol, the honorable stephen t. Ayers, who i will now invite to speak to you about the National Historic preservation act of 1966. Please join me in welcoming mr. Stephen ayers, architect of the capitol. [applause] Stephen Ayers thank you so much, beth, and good morning everyone. Welcome to preservation day at the United States capitol. We are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the National Historic preservation act. I dont know about you, but i can think of no better place to honor such a historic piece of legislation than right here in the shadow of the capitol dome, just steps away from the two houses of congress that passed this important piece of legislation for our great country. And i want to speak today for just a minute about what i find so personally important about the National Historic preservation act of 1966. Of course, the nation already had the Antiquities Act of 1906 and the Historic Sites act of 1935, and these were two very important steps on the path to understanding the significance of preservation. These acts, i believe, focused on buildings and sites and monuments and important objects all important, but missing elements that enable us to more fully and accurately reflect what defines a place. And it was this National Historic preservation act of 1966, which is on display right here in exhibition hall of the Capital Visitor Center you will find it right over there hopefully you can see it. It was this act that not only sought to protect our nationss nations most treasured buildings, but perhaps more importantly, recognize and place great value on people and communities and culture. It recognized that often it is the stories and the events and memories and feelings, both past and present, that make a place special. It is these elements that create special meaning for people and communities, and i call this the enlightenment of preservation, a much more informed and enlightened understanding of what makes a place special and worth preserving. So i would like to thank all of i would like to thank all of you. I would like all of you to think for a moment about the first time you saw the capitol dome. Perhaps it was from the west as you were walking up and you passed by the summer house on the west front of the capital, where travelers of yesteryear stopped to rest as they climbed the hill and approach the capital. And you can see it through a thicket of trees, some as old as Landscape Architect Frederick Olmsted himself. And your eyes are focused on the gleaming dome and perhaps the statue of freedom that sits atop the dome, which is seemingly beckoning you to come closer and trek up the hill. But surely as you approached, not only did you see this great building and great sculpture that sits atop, but you also thought about what happens here and what you have read about this place and what people have told you about the place, the stories you have heard and read. And it is all of this that makes this place special and worth preserving. Here at the capital, we do play homage to those this tangible and intangible history every day in our stewardship role. Our team uses both modern and historic tradecraft to care for this capitol campus. I know our decorative artist s specialize in preserving the great artwork that is here using techniques from 100 to 150 years ago. Of course, our most tangible efforts recently have been the restoration of the capitol dome. I like to say and i believe that we executed this project with integrity, and i know all of you preservationists out there will understand what i mean by integrity. We are taking great care to preserve the historic fabric of this great dome by salvaging pieces of the dome and reusing them to the extent we can, and replacing instead of replacing ornamentation, we are repairing it and using as much material as possible, learning from previous repair techniques and incorporating them and using current day technology. We are also capturing the images and the stories of the people that have come across this great country to work on the capitol dome, and making all of that available. It is again not just the building, but it is the stories and events and history and memories that are made and continue to be shared that make such a place. Not only did the Historic Preservation act, signed by lyndon johnson, of course, require federal agencies to fully evaluate historic properties, but it also created the National Register of Historic Places and our partner for today, the president S Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Im delighted to be able to serve on this council. I also currently chair the federal agency committees programs, so thank you to the Advisory Council for being our partner today, and a great partner you are. I know all of you love history, as do i, and it is my duty and my honor as architect of the capitol to preserve much of our history here on capitol hill for future generations. I assure you, it is a labor of love. It is not a job, it is a passion that excites me every single day as i come to work. So thank you for joining us for this daylong event to highlight our stewardship role, the importance of place, and how we work every day to inspire those 17 Million People that beth talked about that come through that front door every year, inspiring them about the work that we do and about this great place. So now, ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce our keynote speaker, and a good friend of mine that i met while serving on the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation, mr. Bob stanton. Bob was unanimously confirmed by the United States senate as the 15th director of the National Park service in 1997 and served in that capacity until january of 2001. Since the beginning of his career in 1962 the year i was born, bob [laughter] Stephen Ayers beginning his career in 1962 as a park ranger at the grand teton National Park in wyoming, he has dedicated his lifes work to improving the preservation and management of the nations rich and diverse natural and Cultural Resources. Bob continues to be actively engaged with a number of National Conservation organizations and initiatives, having cofounded the africanamerican experience fund of the National Park foundation. He is and has been a nationally recognized through numerous awards and citations for his Outstanding Public Service and leadership in conservation and Historic Preservation. And youth programs, and most recently, he participated in the joint Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and National Park Service Journey through Hallowed Ground Partnership Initiative titled, of the student, by the student, and for the student at Harpers Ferry National Historical park. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming the honorable robert g. Stanton. [applause] Robert Stanton it has been stated that the strength and character of a nation is determined by how it cares for its people, its natural and cultural heritage. Good morning. I want to thank you, steve, for that very gracious introduction, and to ms. Plemmons. I bring you greetings on behalf of the chairman of the Advisory Council on historic reservation, wayne donaldson. Many of our colleagues and friends and supporters are with us for this special occasion, and they congratulate you, stephen, on your stellar leadership as architect of the capitol and your kind invitation to partner with you on this special occasion. It has to be noted that one could easily grow accustomed to these surroundings. I cannot covet them too much, since you are a member of the other branch of government, but nevertheless, we are welcome to be here. Stephen mentioned the importance of pausing for a moment to reflect on the journey that we have traveled over the past 50 years. To recognize that we have the responsibility individually and collectively to preserve the richness of this nation. And in that light, i do have a few remarks that i will share with you. And when i accepted the invitation on behalf of our chairman and responded to stephen that, yes, i will be there, i confirmed with him in terms of the program, the audience, and what have you, and he said, bob, there is only one thing i would advise you on, is that i would hope you would adhere to those innate characteristics for which all native texans are known simply this, brevity and humility, and in that order. [laughter] i will try to be brief. To talk about the importance of Historic Preservation and the importance of your National Park service where i have devoted almost a third of a century of my life, it is difficult to be humble and certainly difficult to be brief, that i will attempt to adhere to that. I know there are many members of the Advisory Council staff who are here, along with yours truly, and our executive director who want to interact with you and the visiting public. Just south of the rotunda in the capital, you will find a room housing statues of many men and women who helped make this country as great as it is. Samuel adams, dwight eisenhower, ms. Helen keller. But there is one figure that means a great deal to me, a lady who had the courage in 1955 to defy the doctrine of separate but equal in transportation and other accommodations. In that fateful year, she chose not to relinquish her seat to a white gentleman. And therefore, that ignited a protest, ultimately led by 26 year old baptist minister in montgomery, alabama none other than Martin Luther king jr. Known today as the montgomery boycott started in that year. And with so many protests following involving so many thousands of children, students, ministers, businessmen, led eventually to president johnson in 1964 signing the Civil Rights Act, revoking the doctrine established by the Supreme Court in 1896 that yes, as a nation, we should and could live as separate but equal citizens. That law also abolished jim crow laws. It reversed the practice of discrimination in employment, the inaccessibility to public places. That was a major piece of legislation in 1964. For the very first time in my 23 years in my home state of texas, i could enter the front door to order a cup of coffee where my mother served as a short order cook. I have seen a lot that has occurred in this country, and consistent with that was our embrace of our collective heritage that stephen so eloquently spoke about. I had the opportunity, in terms of my First Official introduction to conservation and preservation, many years before a lot of you were a sparkle in your parents eyes, 54 years ago as a seasonal ranger in the grand teton National Park. And then became a career employee in 1966. All of that was due to the courageous leadership of the young secretary of the interior appointed by an even younger president of the United States, john f. Kennedy. He did that before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, appointed yours truly as a seasonal ranger. I have seen a lot that has happened, and it so happens that i was in the National Office of the park service as a young careers, when on october 15, president johnson signed the National Historic preservation act. So that act has been a part of my entire career with the federal government. But i cannot talk about Historic Preservation without going just a little bit into the National Park service. I think some of you can understand, some might even forgive me for doing this, but having been associated for so many years, it is hard to get away from it, although i have not been officially with the park service for the past 16 years. All of us know that the National Park Service Administrators now, through the most recent use of the Antiquities Act, again as stephen recognized, by president obama, there are now 413 areas administered by your National Park service. Every state has a park unit, american samoa, guam, u. S. Virgin islands, puerto rico, and certainly here in our nationss capital. Interestingly enough, more than two thirds of those 413 areas speak to our development as a people and as a nation. They are our Cultural Resources. Unfortunately, some people in their own minds think that when we talk about National Park area it is primarily for large, scenic natural wonders. That two thirds of the areas are consistent with the spirit of the Historic Preservation act, speaking to us as a people and a nation. In addition to administering those 413 areas, the National Park service has responsibility for administer the land and Water Conservation fund, the Historic Preservation fund, and certainly the National Register of Historic Places. Does a magnificent job and taking care of those responsibilities. I share with you briefly my own experiences. That experience is mirrored by the over 300 million citizens. Each of us has our own heritage. Each of us has our own story to tell. There is not one version of history. Different versions of our past should be remembered and preserved because they mean Different Things to you and me. Our history is part of who we are, who we want to be, and who we should be. The National Historical preservation act of 1966 was written to ensure we save those places that mark the history and the rich tapestry of america. It would not be appropriate for me not to reference that the Historic Preservation act grew out of the recognition that we had to reverse some practices here in this country. We were heavily moving after world war ii with infrastructure improvements, applying new concepts of how our cities and communities should be developed. We coined the concept of urban renewal. We did in fact raize Many Properties and scarred many places that are dear to us. But for progress in the name of urban or new, we wiped those places clean. Then with the advent 60 years ago of a structure or facility that each of us use every day, the interstate highway system. Think about it. A massive development, and perhaps in the 1950s when it was initiated we were not sure how to protect the resources of our Cultural Resources to, the cash the conference of mayors took all of those into consideration, and came up with a comprehensive report with the assistance of the National Trust for historic reservation, the National Park service, the department of the interior, other federal agencies and many civic and Community Based organizations and published of moving report of how with heritage so rich, and it lay the framework for the 1966 National Historic preservation act, with a heritage so rich that if we did not reverse the course, the richness would be tarnished, and perhaps lost forever. We owe a great deal of thanks to those visionaries back in the 1960s who said that we need to take an action on behalf of the American People in behalf of the nation to recognize the importance of our cultural heritage. But befor

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