Why preserve or restore aging architecture? What is it about these historical buildings, sites, structures and districts that evoke such an emotional response?

Historical architecture and buildings are the physical embodiment of our past. It represents what happened, what the times were like. They are examples both of things to emulate and things that should not be repeated. These building are irreplaceable examples of our culture, and monuments to significant historical times.

Also, any existing building or structure has a certain and somewhat measurable amount of expended energy contained in its structure. Called ‘embodied energy’, and measured by the ‘work’ that went into transforming materials into a structure are a significant component of a building’s value.

Historic preservation is the very definition of sustainability, Donovan Rypkema, director of Place Economics told those attending the Cleveland Restoration Society's 2006 annual meeting (read the speech).

Here are just a few of his facts to back up this claim:

* The vast majority of older homes are occupied by the working poor. 6.3 million older homes are torn down in America, which makes housing less affordable.
* Repairing and rebuilding a home keeps dollars in the local economy as opposed to new construction where many raw materials come from out of the country (of course, green building is all about local materials...)
* Solid waste disposal in America equals 1 ton per person per year.
* Embodied energy: The total expenditure of energy in building new is 16 times greater than one year's worth of energy use by that building, according to calculations by the late architect Richard Stein.

Local historic preservation resources
Cleveland Restoration Society
Oberlin Heritage Center