SITE CREDITS

Created as a tribute to the ideas and work of Lee H. Nelson, FAIA, historical architect in the National Park Service from 1960 to 1990 and former Chief, Technical Preservation Services, the basis for the web class was twofold.

In 1982, Nelson developed a slide talk (The Walk Through) to discuss the use of "The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation" in relation to preserving the "historic character." This ground-breaking lecture on "character" was amplified and modified in succeeding years to help guide preservation decision making, initially for maintenance personnel in the National Park Service.

The approach Nelson created is intended to make the layman look at a historic building as a set of tangible materials and features, not as any particular style. The building's "character" is also not to be confused with the notion of "original." Historic buildings evolve over time, so that a later feature may be just as important--or even more important--as one that was part of the original construction.

In the Walk Through process, it is also critical that the historic building be examined, first, at a distance to determine which visual aspects must be preserved in rehabilitation in order to retain the "character," and again, at arm's length, so that the unique craft details and their physical condition can be identified and assessed. The interior spaces, features, and finishes undergo similar scrutiny prior to work.

In late 1988, Preservation Brief 17: Architectural Character: Identifying the Visual Aspects of Historic Buildings as an Aid to Preserving Their Character < Go to PB 17 > by Lee H. Nelson, FAIA, was published. It presented the same process initially articulated in the slide talk, but in an an essay format with illustrations. Nelson added an Architectural Check List to the Brief so that an architect, developer, maintenance manager, or homeowner could actually record, onsite, the "visual aspects" that, together, defined the architectural character of the building.

In first adapting these ideas for an online web class in 1999, it became apparent that the three-step structure of the Walk Through and Preservation Brief was perfectly suited to the web medium, with its linear, progressive format. In fact, with color illustrations, it could bring to life what had been less than perfect in the black-and-white Brief. The text was re-organized, then the web class designed in way that attempts to take the user into a heightened dimensional setting. In several areas liberties were taken with both text and illustrations, as necessary, for completeness and clarity. A series of examples, designed as a Quiz, was added for user feedback. Thanks to NPS colleagues who reviewed and commented on the 1999 Walk Through at various stages, including Pat Tiller, Sharon Park, Chuck Fisher, Fran Gale, Deborah Maylie, Susan Escherich, Rebecca Shiffer, Aleca Sullivan, Terry Childs, Kathleen Madigan, and Mark Oviatt, but especially Anne Grimmer. Special thanks to Emogene Bevitt, who lent both support and assistance from its beginnings as an "idea." The comments of historic preservation professionals in the field, especially David Woodcock, Mary Krugman, Gregory Smith, Leslie Brown, and Gene Barfield were also very much appreciated.

After two years of use, the Walk Through was again revised in language and format by Kay Weeks in order to enhance its distance learning aspects, and completely re-designed by Mark Oviatt, Oviatt Media to make it more user-friendly and navigable.

What is the Historic Character? START