Historic Capital: Preservation, Race, and Real Estate in Washington, D.C.

Description

Historic Capital shows how Washington, D.C.'s historic buildings and neighborhoods have been a site of contestation between local interests and the expansion of the federal government's footprint. It ultimately makes the case that historic preservation has had as great an impact on the physical fabric of U.S. cities as any other private or public sector initiative in the twentieth century.

Cameron Logan is director of the postgraduate program in heritage conservation in the School of Architecture, Design, and Planning at the University of Sydney. He is an urban and architectural historian and explores how heritage conservation shapes cities.

"Cameron Logan presents a clear, convincing thesis-that historic preservation was a driver of urban development, politics and culture, not an afterthought or a sideline. His account is compelling and rich; it will appeal to urbanists, historians and preservationists alike. Critically, the history of preservation is framed not as an insular matter or a progressive narrative of preservationist victories. He rightly presents preservation as part of the mix of urban movements (in urban design, poverty alleviation, community organizing, economic development) competing for political attention."-Randall Mason, University of Pennsylvania "Logan's powerful and provocative work lays a strong foundation for future scholarship that may follow the tantalizing traces he has uncovered."-Journal of American Ethnic History "Logan's book adds to the growing literature on the history of Washington, D.C. While Washington is often considered an anomaly in the realms of urban studies, architectural history, and historic preservation, Historic Capital and its contemporaries continue to prove that the nation's capital is not just a destination worthy of a Fourth of July visit. They show that it is instead a true urban center deserving of rigorous analytical research that connects to these various fields, so that one day the case studies outline herein will be a familiar part of the history of historic preservation, urban planning, and real estate."-Buildings & Landscapes