The Past Is Not in the Past

Trudging my feet along the dirt path, the clunky skirt and loose fitting bonnet thrown upon

my head only helped to give me about five feet of vision. The sun beat down on our faces and I

wondered with anticipation about what was going to transpire in this new territory. As we came to

a sudden halt, I tilted my gaze upward to see the large house that seemed out of place compared to

the modern businesses and bustling roadway nearby. The maroon and white wood was slightly

worn, yet comforting and oddly familiar at the same time. I was told that I was standing at the

Shadelands Ranch Historical Museum, built more than one hundred years ago for the purpose of

fruit farming. My third grade classmates and I were transported back in time during that field trip as

we all dressed, worked, and played just like the children of the 1910s did.

Ever since that memorable experience, I have always gravitated towards anything antique,

timeworn, or overall historical. Many people dream of traveling back in time, and others enjoy

reminiscing over the “good old days.” But even though we will never be able to visit the past, there

are clues all around us that show evidence of a time before. While going on walks in my

hometown, Walnut Creek, I discovered that history has a way of peeking out in even the littlest of

ways. Roads named after founders and settlers of the land, a fountain representing three waterways

from different cities uniting into one, and buildings like Shadelands that are maintained for future

generations.

Although this preservation helps to link people with the history of their cities and the world

around them, it may also be damaging to people’s beliefs and cultures. Do statues, memorials, and

dedications of individuals and groups that once were revered now need to be reconsidered? Or

should they instead be kept up so that we as a society see what was once admired in the past?

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Possible racism, marginalization, and overall ignorance of those silenced may need to be addressed

in order to answer these questions.

I also wonder if people currently see preservation differently compared to how people

might have seen it in the past. Was it more important to preserve landmarks and people’s stories a

thousand years ago, a hundred years ago, or even just one month ago? While I may not be able to

collect opinions from the general public about this question, I am able to research what different

cities have done in terms of preservation around the world. Just like living in the shoes of a child

from the early 1900s for a day, I will immerse myself into history to answer my senior project

question: How has historical preservation in cities been perceived by society over time?

To answer this question, the meaning of historical preservation must be defined. Some may

think that this phrase only encompasses the physical keeping of a statue or old building, but

preservation is so much more than that. It is a broad term that involves holding onto and

commemorating aspects of a place, artifact, name, piece of writing, person, or any other element

that had significance in the past. There are actually different ways to preserve something, which

include preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, and reconstruction. Preservation in exact terms

means that “all historic features, materials, etc. will be kept where it’s humanly possible,” and no

changes will be made unless absolutely necessary. Rehabilitation is using a historic site for a new

or different purpose, but keeping the look of its original design (Rabinowitz). An example of this is

the Shadelands House; it was transformed into a school for children with cerebral palsy for a

number of years while still keeping its antique ranch style looks on the outside (“Walnut Creek’s

History”). Restoration is “putting a building or landscape back the way it was originally,” and

reconstruction is recreating something now that had once existed in the past (Rabinowitz).

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 Although most preservation can be placed into one of these four categories, sometimes

there are outlying examples. Brian Hirahara, a building developer, owner of BH Development and

native resident of Walnut Creek, prides himself on his ability to preserve, protect, or recreate

historical aspects of various buildings while also creating new and unique atmospheres that cannot

be found anywhere else. He recalls when one woman mistakenly identified one of his restaurant

buildings as being rehabilitated: “She said, ‘It’s amazing how they fixed up these old buildings.’

But it was a new building!” The buildings that he refers to are not actually old, but rather honor the

memory of historical sites by using worn bricks and having a vintage look to them.

Nevertheless, has preservation as a whole become more important? To answer this

question, Lee Culver was interviewed at the Shadelands Ranch Historical Museum, the building

which was the catalyst for this essay. Culver started her career as a third grade teacher for the

Moraga School District, creating a curriculum for the children that got them actively engaged in

their town’s local history. She is currently a historian at Shadelands where she volunteers,

occasionally writes Northgate Living newsletter articles, and produced some of the information for

downtown Walnut Creek’s “heritage walk”. In Culver’s opinion, preserving history is vital today

because “so much has happened in the last one hundred years that there is a feeling that we do

need to hang on to it and know what it is.” Walnut Creek, the United States, the entire world;

events, people, and places are constantly changing which make it so valuable to keep what is

historical.

This belief is shared by Jane Emanuel, a docent at Walnut Creek’s Bedford Gallery and one

of the city’s arts commissioners. On the city's arts commission, Emanuel approves concepts,

locations, and artists’ works while meeting with building developers, artists, and city staff. For her,

“interest has been greater in recent years because there is more art, we have art signs around town,

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and there is more familiarity with our program.” The evidence shown from people’s engagement

with their city proves why protecting past artwork and other sites is so crucial. Additionally, what

people from the past thought about preserving history also needs to be investigated. What were

their priorities in society? One article explains that there was a struggle between balancing the

interests of private corporations versus the good of the public:

The era before 1850 has been overlooked in the context of historic preservation. Many

people living in the new nation were engaging in debates over how to keep historic sites.

Americans were trying to find tangible solutions to defining the economic and social values

of the early United States. Can corporations serve the public good? Or are they only a

vehicle for the private interest? (Wulf)

Historical preservation has long been a topic of debate even in the distant past. People wondered if

private entities could be a part of keeping society’s history alive, or if that job should only be left to

public groups like the government. Although it is clear today that many private corporations have

taken a role in historical preservation, the government still plays a huge part in ensuring that this is

done.

Matt Francois, mayor of Walnut Creek, was interviewed on Zoom to discuss his work as a

land use attorney and what he does on the city council. Francois represents developers and

property owners on matters involving land use planning and zoning as an attorney at Rutan &

Tucker LLP, but also runs meetings and speaks on behalf of the council as mayor of Walnut Creek.

When deciding if a site should be either erected or torn down, he explained that governments must

go through lots of steps, including following the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA),

which helps to protect historic resources. The National Park Service also “approves over 1000

projects that rehabilitate buildings for new uses and leverage approximately $6 billion in private

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investment in the rehabilitation of historic buildings” every year (“What is Historic”). This balance

of both private and public organizations working towards protecting historic assets makes it clear

that society does not want to lose its past.

The act of preserving history cannot be talked about without addressing controversial

history. Many countries, and not just in the US, have pasts that include racial segregation,

marginalization of groups, and violent actions against those not accepted by society. Historical sites

that have been preserved over the years may very well have a background of racism, but what

should be done about it? Differing opinions will be found when asking this question. Some sites

have reclaimed their dark histories like the Toronto Mohawk Institute in Canada, because these

“campuses of hate have been transformed into powerful experiential learning centers” (Fulford).

The school had cruel beginnings where “kids suffered from physical abuse, neglect and

malnutrition,” but survivors and their descendants subsequently used the school as an “educational

space, museum and research institute” (Fulford). Other places similar to the Mohawk institute

include the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, Anne Frank House, Whitney Plantation

Historic District, and the Monticello plantation (Fulford). Francois recalls that when visiting

Monticello with his daughter, “there was a very prominent display in terms of the slavery aspects…

I admired how they didn’t try to hide.” People appreciate when history is shown for how it really

was, not just how it should have been. What may have been accepted in the past is not tolerable

any longer, and historical sites are commended by society when they are truthful about their stories.

In the American South, plantations and statues of Confederate generals are commonplace.

But with current Black Lives Matter protests and controversy over these figures, ideas are

circulating over what should be done with them: “A cemetery for the American South where

removed Confederate statues would be displayed, perhaps, in a felled position—a visual

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condemnation of the white supremacy they fought to uphold” (Brasher). These “statue graveyards”

exist not just in America. They have also been used in Germany for eliminating old communist

displays: “Monuments and statues erected in East Berlin by the former communist government”

were controversial to many Germans, so this created a balancing act by introducing who

determined the fate of the monuments (Rothstein). A “memorials committee” of mostly former East

Berliners eliminated or replaced “historically incorrect dogma,” monuments honoring East German

border guards, and statues of Communist Party leaders while keeping “monuments dedicated to

fighting fascism.” Statues of old East German heroes were put in statue graveyards, similar to the

Confederate generals (Rothstein). East Berliners voluntarily revoking what their society once

revered shows that these people still respect history, but also acknowledge the need to not idolize

contemptible individuals. Historical preservation is allowed here, but in a way that shows more

social awareness to everyone’s opinions and backgrounds.

For Francois, Southern generals and other figures with racist pasts should not be displayed

in public areas like courthouses or other kinds of government buildings: “It's not celebrating our

common history at that point; it just seems to me it's looking backwards to try to celebrate the side

that lost.” But the side that really lost in the battle for equality? People of color like African

Americans, who had very few statues and memorials put up for their contributions to the country.

Historical preservation often meant saving buildings and artifacts that were grandiose or exorbitant,

which more often than not belonged to white people: “Sites with a deep connection to African

American history have often been overlooked and undervalued by preservationists” (Price). While

not everybody can be fully represented and some are even over represented, it is still important to

try and find a solution that pleases most. Culver believes that tearing a historical asset down can be

equated to losing history. Instead she prefers “that you move it someplace more appropriate or you

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put explanations up of what actually happened there.” This could help to create a more inclusive

and educational environment for all.

Another topic arises when discussing historical preservation, which is the prevalence of

gentrification in many cities. Gentrification is when wealthier people move into poor urban areas.

The process unfolds when older buildings and neighborhoods are sold at higher prices to

newcomers, and there are both pros and cons to this subject. Cities will grow, houses are

renovated, cultures become more diverse, and governments usually encourage it. But there is also a

toll on the elderly and minorities, city layouts are extensively replanned, and there is an overall

need for more police protection (Palmer). How does this all relate to historical preservation?

Gentrification can lead to better cities in a socioeconomic way, but can also take away what was

there in the past. There is debate over what should be prioritized; either expanding and improving a

city's conditions or preserving the physical aspects that add to its history.

In 1898, A woman named Eva Berry Leech moved to Walnut Creek with her husband

Claude, who became the town’s new doctor. Early Walnut Creek was ranch-like and industrial at

the time, incomparable to what one may see around town today. Nearly fifty years later, Berry

Leech journaled her experiences living in the initial stages of the downtown area: “If you ventured

out after dark without a lantern your progress was punctuated by bumping first into one [horse]

hitching rack and then into another” (Berry Leech). Her description of this town’s farming

beginnings show just how much Walnut Creek has changed when wealthier folks moved in.

Something else many people may not know is that Walnut Creek “was also the main crossroads of

Contra Costa,” and trains would constantly be coming into the station to take travelers from both

Martinez and San Jose into Oakland (Daras Tatam 80). The evolution from Walnut Creek’s rural

roots into the coveted shopping destination it is today shows an obvious trace of affluence.

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 However, the idea that Walnut Creek was gentrified over time is opposed by both Culver

and Francois. The change Culver sees is that “we had middle class people and upper middle class

people and now we have upper upper middle class people along with the other two groups.” There

are not extremely poor or extremely wealthy groups in Walnut Creek, but rather one big and

wide-ranging middle class. Francois does not see gentrification as an issue in Walnut Creek either,

because new development is not happening in existing neighborhoods or residential areas. The

historical aspects of the town are still being maintained while it expands outward.

Gentrification as a whole is not "a destroyer of neighborhoods or a savior of cities” like

some may believe, but rather a complex mix of different societal factors (Freeman). And reports

show that longtime residents of cities have even appreciated change because of increased property

value on their homes, more retail activity, and better access to general amenities (Freeman).

Overall, gentrification can have different effects on different historical places, or it may not even

exist at all. And although gentrification might occur somewhere, there are still many ways to honor

a place’s past.

No matter what is said about maintaining different aspects of history, it is always important

to get others involved in the history surrounding them everyday. Pop culture, which can influence

the general public at any given moment, is vital to informing people about keeping history alive.

The musical Hamilton got many people, especially younger generations, wanting to understand

more about their past, says Francois: “Lin Manuel Miranda demonstrated it through very

innovative and fun and expressive ways that hadn't been done before.” Culver gave a 1970s pop

culture reference to why people are interested in where they came from: “A lot of people are

investigating their families now. It's a very ‘in’ thing to do. It started I think with the mini series and

book, Roots.”

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 Entertainment like Hamilton and Roots gets society members to have conversations with

one another, which is a tool Emanuel utilizes in her tours. Being lively, using humor, and engaging

participants, “it’s much better than just lecturing at them. Pretty soon you see people yawning.”

Discussions with others is actually one form of historical preservation other than the physical act of

holding onto places or things. Inside the Telefèric Barcelona restaurant in Walnut Creek, Hirahara

had set up a display of one hundred year old artifacts unearthed during the building’s construction.

He thought “it was cool because people were waiting for the bathroom and they would look at that

historical cabinet.” The on-site exhibit created an interest that most people never would have

known about beforehand. These little touches create a sense of identity for the people who want to

feel more connected to their town’s history, and even the smallest actions will not go unnoticed:

“As suburban sprawl and roadside development make more and more places look the same, it

becomes important for communities to keep their identities intact. Even one or two striking historic

buildings can help to define a community and hint at its past” (Rabinowitz). When conformity is

accepted and even praised now more than ever, standing out from the rest is what is truly critical.

To find how historical preservation in cities has been perceived by society over time,

preservation must be defined, society’s views on it both from the past and today need to be

examined, differing opinions on controversy like racism and gentrification should be heard, and

how people are getting involved with local and personal history must be investigated. Historical

preservation is when aspects of the past are kept or memorialized for the modern day, and there are

four different and specific categories of preservation. Both Culver and Emanuel agree that

conserving historical assets has become more important in recent years, although there was

evidence of society members fighting to keep history upheld in the 19th century. The government

also has programs that legally ensure a historical monument will not just be randomly torn down.

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Sites with violent backgrounds that had previously commemorated unjust leaders or areas of hate

have since changed their ways, trying to figure out the best solution that will please most of society

while also informing people on the history of that place. Gentrification, while having both good

and bad sides to it, will ultimately change a city from what it once was, so it is important to display

that city’s background and culture for future knowledge. Finally, pop culture can be a catalyst for

immersing people into the world of protecting history.

Historical preservation has become more important for much of society, but only if people

choose to actively seek out knowledge about the world around them. While those in the 1800s did

consider preservation important, it was only with discussions and media that they could convince

others that it should be important to them too. Today, that exact thing is being done. People are

having conversations, sharing what they know, and creating entertainment to spark excitement in

others. When future generations learn about history from what is preserved, they will have a better

understanding of the world and people around them. And history relates to every other subject on

Earth; art, government, architecture, teaching, and literature just to name a few from the professions

of those interviewed for this paper. And of course, those who do not learn from history are doomed

to repeat it.

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