Historic Preservation for a Living City: Historic Charleston Foundation, 1947-1997. (Book Reviews).

Historic Preservation for a Living City: Historic Charleston Foundation, 1947-1997. By Robert R. Weyeneth. Historic Charleston Foundation Studies in History and Culture. (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, c. 2000. Pp. xxiv, 256. $24.95, ISBN 1-57003-353-6.)

For many years dedicated preservationists have looked to Charleston, South Carolina, as a case study illustrating successful efforts to save the built environment. In this book, author Robert R. Weyeneth chronicles the fifty-year history of the Historic Charleston Foundation (HCF) and the role it has played in advocating historic preservation at the local as well as the national level.

The purpose of the book is clearly to document the formation and evolution of one of the best-known nonprofit preservation organizations in the country, including its often publicized struggles to save remarkable examples of architecture and history. Lessons are frequently learned from preservation successes and failures, and the author recognizes the importance of providing a single source that frankly addresses strategies and compromises. Additionally, the work recognizes individuals involved in the leadership of the Historic Charleston Foundation through a narrative of their efforts based on interviews, news articles, and foundation documents.

The scope of the book is exhaustive in that it explores the gamut of activities in which HCF participates, including house museum administration, fundraising initiatives, neighborhood revitalization, and preservation planning. Significant HCF accomplishments, set within appropriate historic contexts, are described within the ten chapters, each addressing a different subject. This format makes the book more user-friendly in that single chapters can be used for educational purposes (both formal courses and board training) when extensive reading is not feasible. However, for readers with more time, the overall organization of the book works well: the structure flows easily, the information is thoroughly cited, and the author discusses the subjects in chronological order to the extent that is possible.

But the most noteworthy aspect of this work is undoubtedly the author's effort to link the history of Historic Charleston Foundation to broader trends in the national preservation movement, particularly with respect to preservation planning. As communities today struggle with sprawl, Weyeneth's book, though a well-documented explanation of early preservation planning efforts, illustrates how the work of HCF provides a valuable precedent to guide preservationists in their quest to save historic properties from highway projects and to address the issue of gentrification.

While the discussion of easements and covenants is so simplified that it could be misleading to a novice, the author does an admirable job of keeping the book's content geared to a wide audience. Overall, he not only successfully documents the history of HCF but shows how the organization fits within a larger public policy framework through his careful analysis of the way both HCF and the preservation movement have adapted to changing conditions in modern society. The title of this book captures the essence of the legacy of HCF as well as the key to future achievements for preservation groups nationwide.

WENDY L. PRICE
Mary Washington College