Preserving the Legacy

LOUISVILLE:Architecture and the Urban Environmentby William Morgan '66Bauhan Publishers, 1979. 100 pp. $6.95VICTORIAN ARCHITECTURE OFPORT TOWN SEND, WASHINGTONby Allen Denison '69 and W. K. HuntingtonHancock House, 1978. 176 pp. $17.95

Taken together, these two books tell us a great deal about our architectural legacy in two widely separate regions and about the preservaion of historically important structures.

In his book on Louisville architecture William Morgan has selected the most significant pieces from a series of articles he wrote for the Louisville Courier-Journal beginning in early 1975. Though not a glossy production, the book more than makes up in substance for what it lacks in appearance. Morgan is a perceptive viewer of the urban scene; he has a thorough understanding of the fragility of our urban architectural fabric and of the value of recycling older buildings to preserve a viable urban environment on a human scale.

In clear, incisive, often colorful prose he takes well-thought-out positions on such issues as the threat posed to our older cities by superhighway construction and the importance of preserving architectural period pieces. His writings have been a major force in creating broad local appreciation of the many cast-iron facades, solid period structures, and picturesque alleyways which Louisville has retained to a greater extent than most other cities.

In my view, Morgan, who received his initial training in architectural history from Hugh Morrison at Dartmouth and later studied under James Marston Fitch of Columbia and George Tatum of the University of Delaware, ranks as a critic with Ada Louise Huxtable of the New York Times and Wolf von Eckhardt of the Washington Post. His book makes important statements about not only Louisville architecture but also historic preservation and the urban environment in the nation as a whole.

Two thousand miles or so westward, Port Townsend, Washington, is one of the best preserved Victorian coastal towns in America. Founded in 1852, it seemed more likely to grow and prosper than any other of several ports in the Puget Sound area. But because Seattle and Tacoma became railroad centers and Port Townsend did not, industrial progress passed it by, and little new building occurred from the 1890s on. Thus Port Townsend's Victorian architectural fabric remains today largely unaltered.

Denison, a resident of Port Townsend, did the historical research for this book, Huntington the architectural interpretations. Together they provide interesting and informative interpretations of commercial, church, and domestic architecture of the town. Their history is enhanced by numerous contemporary passages from the Port Townsend MorningLeader, which provide in timate insights into the opinions of living residents regarding the vicissitudes which were to shape their town's future and their views on the major buildings as they were being built.

Denison's photographs are generally well composed; they reveal important architectural detail. As is so often the case, however, their impact is sometimes partially lost in the offset printing process. The book is a perceptive record of the rise and decline of Port Townsend and of its architectural heritage. After reading it, I for one would certainly not miss paying Port Townsend a visit were I to find myself in the Pacific Northwest.

Richard N. Campen is an architecturalhistorian and photographer and author ofseveral books on the architecture of his nativeWestern Reserve and of other sections of Ohio.