May 20, 2020
On this episode of the Life in the Carolinas podcast, Carl sits down with Ted Alexander. Apart from working at the North Carolina Senate, Ted also serves as the Western Regional Director for Preservation, North Carolina.
Preservation, North Carolina is a statewide nonprofit organization that has been around in some form or another for about 81 years, having first started out as the North Carolina Society for the Preservation of Antiquities in 1939. The group looks to protect, preserve, and even repurpose built environments regarded as significant to the state’s heritage. These included properties that tell rich stories about North Carolina’s history, from Gastonia's Loray Mill Village to the Bellamy Mansion in Wilmington.
When asked why it is important to preserve these historic buildings, Ted first makes it a point to give due credit to President J. Myrick Howard with the overall vision-mission of Preservation, North Carolina. He says that there are several reasons why these assets need to be preserved.
For one, “there are some properties that are inherently important”, whether it was the home of a famous individual, the location of a significant event, or a very important piece of architecture of a certain style. Another reason for preservation is to “create a sense of place”, as historic buildings help to establish the identity of the community in terms of its values and self-image. A building might also “offer a very functional use in today’s world”, such as serving as a tourist attraction. Then there is the economic benefit to preserving historic assets, since not only do the buildings themselves go up in value, but they may also pave the way to further investments or the creation of more jobs. Finally, there is patriotic value to preservation, being an activity that brings the entire community together.
According to studies, historic sites are almost always near the top of a tourist’s agenda. Ted says that modern travelers want to collect experiences—speaking particularly of millennials. He says that even smaller towns who understand this and do whatever they can to promote these historical buildings by telling their stories will have an edge as tourist destinations.
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