May is National Preservation Month. This year’s theme is “This Place Matters.” Sponsors of Preservation Month seek to raise awareness about the impact historic preservation has in protecting and enhancing our communities. Developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the This Place Matters website includes a variety of social media tools for getting people involved in caring about and seeking to protect local landmarks (this is liberally defined — it includes beautiful cathedrals to old school roller rinks). And it appears that they have succeeded — hundreds of people from all walks of life have joined in to share their little piece of American with the rest of the world.
This Place Matters showcases the diverse places that matter to all of us. People from across the country are honoring their favorite places, making a call to protect, enhance and enjoy the places that matter to all of us. –National Trust for Historic Preservation
Check out more on the This Place Matters after the jump. And let us know what Place in our area Matters to you. One of the original Coneys? The local theater? Or an old power-station-turned-wine store?
This Place Matters features a Google Map listing all of the submissions (The Michigan Central Depot, a 1913 Beaux-Arts neoclassical building designed by the same architects who provided the inspiration for Grand Central Station in New York City is one of the submissions. Its fate is currently under consideration by the Detroit City Council, which is considering demolishing the abandoned structure), a Flickr slideshow, and Flickr and Facebook groups. The program is sponsored by the Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company.
Visitors to the Trust’s website can print out a This Place Matters sign which they can pose with in front of their favorite endangered landmark. The places nominated include elegant historical buildings and off-the-wall spots that stand in contrast to the homogenization of the country via Starbucks, Panera Breads, and Subways which threaten to make a quaint Southern town look the same as a New England coastal enclave.
Hat-tip: Dwell
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