Voices of Preservation: Deconstructing Our Understanding of Preservation
In this guest blog post, Andrew Roblee, President of the Preservation Association of Central New York, explores how deconstruction can fit into the field of historic preservation. PACNY is one of the founding partners of CR0WD, the Circularity, Reuse, and Zero Waste Development task force. The League believes this is an important topic for the future of our field, and we will be continuing this conversation in our August webinar, Salvaging What Can’t Be Saved: Deconstruction, Salvage & Sustainability.
America consumes about a quarter of the world’s energy, of which buildings consume an estimated 40% domestically. Therefore, studying the interlocking relationships between energy use, construction, the economy, and the environment is key to creating a sustainable world in the future. Historic preservation is the quintessential sustainability practice in America, hence the often-used refrain of the preservationist, “the greenest building is the one that is already built.” Yet buildings and structures continue to be demolished every day despite our best efforts, creating divisive scars in our communities and wasting energy and resources. However, the concepts of deconstruction and the circular economy offer new ways of thinking about what preservation is and extending our concepts of where it “ends.” Preservationists need to get involved in the discussion emerging around these topics now.
The ongoing conversation on the practice of deconstruction has found its way into the realm of historic preservation, leading to questions and debates over the expanding concept of when the preservation of an historic structure truly ends. In the nearly 60 years since the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the point at which preservation ends has been broadly understood as the moment a building, structure, or object has been demolished. A more complete and nuanced understanding of sustainability may expand that definition to go beyond the removal of building materials from an historic location and include the preservation of the materials themselves, both to avoid adding to over-burdened landfills and to preserve at least a portion of an historic resource.
Groups such as Circularity, Reuse, Zero-Waste Deconstruction (CR0WD) are attempting to educate the public and municipalities regarding deconstruction and its ultimate benefits. This work involves the drafting and proposing of policies for municipal government, sustainability pledges for private organizations such as universities and colleges, as well as participating in actual deconstruction work at sites slated for demolition. CR0WD has been leading these efforts in Ithaca and Auburn to varying degrees of success. For example, the group has been able to engage the Ithaca city government in considering a deconstruction policy and was able to fully deconstruct and salvage the materials from one of 12 properties along College Avenue near the Cornell University campus that were eliminated to make way for more dense multi-unit student housing.
The National Register-listed Wall Street Church in Auburn had fallen into significant disrepair after decades of vacancy. The image on the left shows the church as it was in 2016. The photo on the right shows the site after it was demolished in 2021 .
In Auburn, efforts were not as successful. The National Register-listed Wall Street Church, vacant for nearly two decades, was in an advanced state of deterioration and local efforts to find a solution were stalling. The church, built in 1886, was the home of a biracial congregation in Auburn, and was attended by Harriet Tubman’s nephew. The Preservation Association of Central New York (PACNY) had been trying to identify any potential solutions to save the building. Unfortunately, even with the possibility of historic tax credits and the potential of sparking redevelopment in the small neighborhood as an anchor, there was little interest from real estate professionals. Finally, late last summer a windstorm caused fatal damage to the structure, leading the local fire chief to declare an emergency demolition, against which an injunction could not be filed.
With its fate seemingly sealed, PACNY and CR0WD partnered to find a way to continue the legacy of the church in a meaningful way, while also diverting the construction and demolition waste from the landfill. A potential site was identified that would have utilized the materials as part of a sustainable farming community for BIPOC families. Although the church would be gone, the legacy of the struggle for freedom and human rights in Auburn would be preserved in some fashion when the same bricks, trusses, and other materials were used to build this new community. However, the combination of a risk-averse municipality and the new and misunderstood practice of deconstruction brought about the ultimate fate of the church’s materials. Nearly 700 tons of historic brick, limestone, and decorative hammer trusses were consigned to the landfill.
When all hope of saving a building like the Wall Street Church seems lost, deconstruction and salvage may offer the opportunity for sustainable reuse of building materials when buildings must be demolished. This presents a dilemma for some preservationists. The economic, environmental, and cultural impact of deconstruction as an alternative to building reuse absolutely must be scrutinized before a building is taken apart and sent to the salvage yard or recycling facility. However, the concept of what preservation is and where it ends must continue to expand beyond the removal of building materials from a specific location in space. Meaning is most certainly degraded when a building is demolished, but it may not be lost forever, provided we can manifest enough care and imagination.
As a discipline, historic preservation in America has grown beyond a simple heritage mission to become an ethical code, sponsored by government at nearly every level, and incentivized into a real estate development tool. The historic and aesthetic tastes that protected structures in the early days of the movement have been joined by additional interests, and the economic and environmental advantages of rehabilitation have gained strength. When it comes to the fate of an historically or culturally significant building, object, site, or structure - deconstruction must remain the ‘last house on the block,’ but should at least be considered as a possible outcome. The preservationist is uniquely qualified to stand at the intersection of planning, environmentalism, cultural connections, and construction and demolition and drive the discourse on this emerging and evolving concept.
Andrew Roblee is the President of the Preservation Association of Central New York and owner of Roblee Historic Preservation, LLC. He has had extensive training in historic preservation planning and the evaluation of historic resources. Before receiving his BA at Wells College and an MA at Cornell University, Andy worked for ten years in the construction trades, a source of pride which compliments and enhances his understanding of historic preservation, setting him apart from his colleagues. His study of history and his deep interest in the trades and building systems led him naturally down the path to historic preservation.