We are an ever-expanding country. Every year more and more of our precious wide-open spaces are being gobbled up by our never-ending need to stretch and grow across this great land. However, as distressing as the resulting loss of natural wilderness and open farmland may be, there is another casualty to "Urban Sprawl" that is just as tragic, the abandonment and demolition of out historic architecture.
Every city in America has its "Old Town" section. It is in these sections that the Craftsman style houses are found and the Art Deco office buildings are standing. Unfortunately it is also where the houses and buildings that represent the homes and office buildings of the city's (in some cases the country's) founding are often left to decay, or the wrecking ball. But there is hope. There is a strong movement throughout the country to preserve these examples of America's history, and as a result many of these old historic building are finding themselves getting a second lease on life, thanks in no small part to The National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP). This national non-profit organization is dedicated to preserving the buildings, neighborhoods and landscapes that make up the rich history that is America.
Chartered by Congress in 1949 the NTHP is the largest non-profit preservation organization in the United States. Over its sixty plus years of operation the NTHP has become a leader in providing education and advocacy throughout the country on how to save America's historic places and create more livable communities. The NTHP is a leading voice in advocating the control of urban sprawl and has launched numerous efforts to demonstrate and document the effectiveness of preservation as a tool for community revitalization. It is the organization's firm belief that the historical buildings and sites scattered across American are truly irreplaceable treasures that represent our rich American heritage and that once they are gone, they are gone forever.
Spread out across the country, the NTHP has over 250,000 members nationwide, 6 regional offices and helps to maintain 20 major historical sites across the country. These 20 sites include Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio in Illinois, Woodrow Wilson's house in Washington D. C. and James Madison's house in Virginia. These historical homes are priceless pieces of our American history, but the NTHP is more than just a historical preservation society. It is also a community preservation society.
The NTHP works with local communities to show them how to take the older sections of their towns and revitalize them into city showpieces. Many cities across the nation are taking the advice offered by the preservationist organization. Once such city is Baltimore, where the city's Mayor approved a $350 million redevelopment plan that will save 262 of the district's 500 old buildings and turn them into a mixture of housing, office and retail space. Such redevelopment projects in other cities across the country have been seen to attract big money into formally rundown neighborhoods. Stuart Brand, creator of the Whole Earth Catalog sees great hope for blending the buildings and homes of our country's past with the lifestyles and technology of today. He recently remarked at a preservation conference in Los Angeles that the quality of a place has become much more important to people or companies when they are looking for places to live or work. "In a virtual world where you can be anywhere, sort of...where technology is driving us toward a mediated experience, then people want the real thing even more. Twenty years ago, the popular view of the future was filled with glass domes and soaring skyscrapers. Now it' restore brownstones with funky freight elevators and T1 lines."
If you would like to learn more about The National Trust for Historic Preservation and their work to preserve America's historic sites please check out their website. 
