The Hoboken Historic Preservation Commission will host a special event at the Hoboken Public Library on Monday, March 25, at 7 pm, to raise awareness of the value of historic preservation. Noted author and historic preservation advocate Max Page, who is Professor of Architecture and Director of Historic Preservation Initiatives at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst will speak about the subject of his recent book, “Why Preservation Matters” (Yale University Press). After his presentation, he will answer questions and sign copies of his book. All are welcome at this free public event.
About the book (from the publisher): “Every day, millions of people enter old buildings, pass monuments, and gaze at landscapes unaware that these acts are possible only thanks to the preservation movement. In his recent book Why Preservation Matters historian Max Page offers a thoughtful assessment of the movement’s past and charts a path toward a more progressive future.” “Page argues that if preservation is to play a central role in building more just communities, it must transform itself to stand against gentrification, work more closely with the environmental sustainability movement, and challenge societies to confront their pasts. Touching on the history of the preservation movement in the United States and ranging the world, Page searches for inspiration on how to rejuvenate historic preservation for the next fifty years. This illuminating work will be widely read by urban planners, historians, and anyone with a stake in the past.”
Author biography: In addition to being a professor, Page is the author of “The City’s End: Two Centuries of Fantasies, Fears, and Premonitions of New York’s Destruction.” He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and is the winner of the Rome Prize and the Spiro Kostof Award from the Society of Architectural Historians for the best book on architecture and urbanism.
Page also writes for a variety of publications about New York City, urban development, and the politics of the past. He is also the co-editor (with Steven Conn) of Building the Nation: Americans Write About Their Architecture, Their Cities, and Their Environment (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003), as well as the co-editor (with Randall Mason) of Giving Preservation a History: Histories of Historic Preservation in the United States (Routledge, 2003).
Background on the Hoboken Historic Preservation Commission The Hoboken Historic Preservation Commission is charged with protecting and preserving Hoboken’s architectural resources and history. The Commission is also charged with expanding the number of historic properties within its purview, enforcing the historic preservation ordinance by ensuring our city’s architectural heritage is maintained and preserved for future generations to enjoy, and educating Hoboken’s property and business owners and the community at large so they may learn best practices for preserving Hoboken’s rich architectural heritage.
