You take the good, you take the bad

The editors of “Preservation” have compiled a list of the highs and lows of 2007.

The editors of Preservation, the magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, have compiled a list of the highs and lows of 2007. Events that got the thumbs-up include the opening of Philip Johnson’s iconic Glass House; the restoration of Ernest Hemmingway’s house outside Havana, Cuba; and the 50 million dollars in fundraising that will go to protect Colorado’s TellurideValley from development. (Thanks to a little help from Tom Cruise and Daryl Hannah.)

Of course, it wasn’t all good news in 2007. Buffalo’s “Five by Five” program plans to demolish 1,000 buildings a year for the next five years—that’s three per day!—and New Orleans is facing a rash of hasty and ill-considered demolitions funded by FEMA.

And no look back at historic preservation in 2007—or the lack thereof—would be complete without a romp through the neighborhoods of Brooklyn. With the beginning stages of development of Frank Gehry’s super-sized Atlantic Yards, the exponential growth along the borough’s industrial waterfront, and the last days of authentic weirdness at Coney Island, residents and preservation buffs will continue to have their eyes on Brooklyn in 2008.

Recent Programs