Welcome back! Today we will be discussing the book, Beyond Preservation: Using Public History to Revitalize Inner Cities by Andrew Hurley. This is a very informal review, however, I hope it provides some insight on book relating to the preservation of historical towns, while also giving readers some insight on the book itself. So grab your pet and a nice cup of tea and settle in. Let’s get to it!
In his book, Beyond Preservation, Hurley argues the importance of historical preservation organizations and their mission to regenerate the economy and history within inner cities. He uses his personal account from working with the Community History Research and Design Services, CHRDS, to further explain the reasoning behind the fall of inner cities and how they can be updated to represent both the past and present. Throughout the book, readers will come to learn about the history of notorious downtown cities throughout the United States, their downfall to the rise of the suburbs, the rise in public history and archaeological organizations, and the challenges CHRDS faced during its revitalization project. Readers will be able to gain insight into the hands-on work that is needed when initiating inner-city projects. Overall, Hurley met his goal to provide historical context, reasoning, and experience of working in inner cities to future readers
According to Hurley, the downfall of inner cities can be recorded to have begun in the 1970s. This was due to white people leaving the area for more suburban areas, leaving minorities and a lack of economy to fend for themselves. However, the idea that historic buildings should stay in place and not be torn down remained important for these areas. Because of this mindset, the idea of combining preservation standards with archeological standards began to pave the way for modern revitalization. This idea also allowed for locals to become more involved with the revitalization, rather than only allowing professionals to work on the projects. By doing this, the interpretation of the area would then be able to really show the history of the community and not scrub their past from the buildings. Throughout these projects, Hurley works to remind the readers of the issues that may appear when dealing with fallen inner cities. These issues are those of unbiased historical interpretation and racial divisions that are still seen today. In order to allow these cities to thrive once more, those within the preservation work must remain unbiased and professional when opening the floodgates of history. Once readers are close to the end of this book, they are able to learn more about techniques that they might need to understand in order to complete their own inner-city preservation work.
Overall, I believe this book can be very informative, however, readers should take into account that it is based on personal experience. Within the book, Hurley does include a disclaimer that this is based on his time working for the CHRDS and that there may be a narrower outlook on the revitalization process. This bias can be seen with the majority of one chapter being dedicated only to St. Louis, where they initiated their project. I believe that although his personal experience can help readers, I think including a more statistical-based section on other inner cities would help readers understand just how different each city is from one another. Minus the biases found within the book, I think Hurley succeeded in providing the right information for future preservationists when it comes to the inner workings of setting up a project on this scale. He also included how there are many themes that relate to the downfall of inner cities and the issues with the revitalization of inner cities that project organizers need to take into account when beginning projects. I believe that with this transparency, Hurley gives his readers a small account of what they can expect and prepare for in the future.
Hurley wrote this book with project organizers, preservationists, and archeologists in mind. This can be seen through the individual experience, as it gives readers a hands-on account. This book seemed to be more of an instructional manual and personal account melded into one. It could also be used within a preservation class when discussing the many different forms of preservation and public history. Maybe readers who are interested in inner-city work, or the history and reasoning behind these preservation projects may find this book of interest, however, it is more on the lines of an educational book.
Overall, Hurley was very informative on the importance of revitalization and the process one goes through to begin the project. By including his own accounts throughout the book, readers are able to see a side of preservation projects that may not be included in other books. I do believe that including a section on statistics or going more into detail on different state incomes and their involvement in the project would be more of a well-rounded source. However, without this inclusion, Hurley is still able to show readers that the preservation of inner cities can be achieved, and can successfully present cities’ history while still being accommodating to the modern world and the future of inner cities.
Hurley, Andrew. Beyond Preservation: Using Public History to Revitalize Inner Cities. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2010.
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THE CAFFEINATED HISTORIAN 