In her column (“Pointless preservation,” Oct. 8), Amelia Meyer refers to the restoration of the Lawn and Range rooms as “pointless preservation.” Public and private institutions in possession of historic structures must make difficult choices about how to balance the demands of preservation with other objectives.
Meyer admits that “maintaining the integrity of the buildings” is “an acceptable undertaking worth the cost,” but it follows that the use of authentic building materials and methods is a part of such maintenance. The preservation of the Academical Village — a World Heritage Site — demands sensitivity to the craftsmanship of these buildings. The replacement of decayed or inappropriate window sashes (window framing, not curtains) is certainly expensive, but such costly repairs for landmark buildings are necessary rather than pointless.
It is disappointing that Meyer suggests that the preservation of the Lawn and Range rooms evokes feelings of a time when “segregation and gender discrimination were openly endorsed.” Such a charge could be leveled at nearly all old buildings.
Philip Herrington
GSAS III
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