Preserving Visceral Connections to Phoenix’s History

On Tuesday, Yuri wrote about the Central School building which stood on the site that the Hotel San Carlos now sits on.  Sure it’s one thing to preserve and cherish the historic hotel, but why is it important to commemorate what was there before?  One reason is that it adds depth, richness, and perspective to our present experience.

The well that stands today at the Hotel San Carlos, which was part of the original adobe schoolhouse, is a visceral connection to that period in our history, when Phoenix was just a territory and was establishing the first schools for its children.  Besides the physical well, the ghost stories that have arisen because of it are also a wonderful way to keep the memories of that time alive.

It’s true that sometimes we can’t save entire buildings, either due to their irreparable condition or lack of money to rehabilitate a whole building.  Even in the worst cases, there is always at least one physical element that can be saved and incorporated into a new building, the more visible the better.  Having a physical reminder of times past is an immediate way to connect to our history.

We need to do a better job in Phoenix of finding ways to honor our past while living in the present and embracing the future.  One essential way of doing this is by preserving historic buildings and reusing them.  If this is not possible, then at least we can save parts of the building.  Honoring the past doesn’t always have to cost a great deal of money, but it does require some thoughtfulness and a recognition of the value that history brings to our lives today.