NATIONAL PARK SERVICE First Annual National Park Service Historic Preservation Conference

Mr. Clary and Mr. Kaminski presented a long and comprehensive slide show covering the great variety of cultural resources of the Mid West Region, with emphasis on historic structures, problems of preservation, and case studies of restorations. There are 19 historical areas in the Region; each one of the national recreational areas include historical resources of local, state, or regional significance. It is the mission of the National Park Service to preserve all these historical resources to the best of our ability, for the benefit of the public.

Historic structures in the Region include the largest category of cultural resources and present probably the most pressing problems of historic preservation: how to preserve and maintain these structures. The slides showed basic problems encountered during restoration of structures and how these problems were solved. Problems included foundation conditions, effect of dampness, stresses of use, effect of age in buildings, use of right type of building materials, penalties of neglect, results of improper maintenance, etc.