
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 28, 1994                   TAG: 9404280179
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

VIRGINIA'S FUTURE NEEDS ITS PAST

AN IRONY historic preservationists noted in the Disney's America debate was that the state was preparing to offer incentives worth millions to ensure that an amusement park was created around an American history theme, while authentic historic sites in Virginia were watching state dollars dwindle for restoration, preservation and marketing.

Disney's America should be a nice addition to the attractions that draw visitors to the commonwealth. But most Americans over the age of, say, 12 who are interested in history may want a closer connection with the past. Why be satisfied with 20th-century technopop story-telling when you can head down the highway to Charlottesville and be awed by the beauty and ingenuity of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello? The real Monticello.

There is room for both types of attractions. The experiences will be completely different. But the eagerness with which the state accommodated Disney should be matched, at least, by a willingness to identify and preserve the historic treasures that so enrich the commonwealth.

Enrich it culturally and, would it be too gauche to add, economically? The state has an $8 billion tourism industry - pre-Disney - that is built on Virginia history.

So how did real history fare with the General Assembly this year?

It won some and it lost some.

Legislators did restore to the two-year budget about $3 million in grants, eliminated under the Wilder administration, for preservation efforts at specific historic sites, including Poplar Forest (Jefferson's other home, in Bedford County), and Historic Avenel, a mansion in Bedford.

And they funded design services for the Virginia Main Street program. That's good news for the cities of Radford, Bedford and Clifton Forge, all Main Street cities, which now may be able to afford quality preservation architects for their downtown revitalization efforts.

The state's Department of Historic Resources fared less well. A study by the Preservation Alliance of Virginia shows funding for the department fell from 1980 through 1988, picked up in '89 and '90, then dropped again. State funding for preservation went from $9.2 million a year in January 1990 to $2.8 million this past January. The department's staff has been reduced from 51 to 43, and its budget was cut another 11 percent this year.

Which does not mean only that the state has lost a few bureaucrats. The state has lost opportunities to identify and preserve some of its architectural heritage. Far from being faceless pencil-pushers, the staff at the department's regional office in Roanoke has been working in 10 counties and six cities in Western Virginia, helping government, business and civic groups to identify the distinctive features of their communities and reach consensus on how to preserve their sense of place.

These have been difficult years fiscally in Virginia, and state funding has been tight in many worthy areas. It is neither surprising nor outrageous that historic preservation efforts have taken a hit. But it shouldn't continue indefinitely. As Disney proponents would argue, spending that brings more tourist dollars to the state is a worthwhile investment.

And unique character and a sense of place help in ways far beyond tourism. They're big reasons why people and businesses come into and stay in a community. Don't forget: Virginia's heritage is one of our greatest assets. Rather than squander and threaten it, economic development efforts in the commonwealth should take fuller advantage of it.

Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1994

by CNB