Historical News
A number of cities are taking steps to
preserve, protect, and, in some
cases, reconstruct historical areas, the
American Society of Planning Officials
has reported. Such programs, the society
suggests, are to the benefit of the
cities because they stimulate tourist
trade and save certain areas from de-
clining into slums.
Charleston, South Carolina, has
established by law a zone known as the
"old and historic Charleston
district," which comprises the area in which
there is the greatest concentration of
early buildings. A city board of
architectural review passes on the
appropriateness of all exterior archi-
tectural features proposed for buildings
to be erected or altered in the area.
Natchez, Mississippi, by local ordinance
protects historic buildings in
an area covering twenty blocks in the
central business district.
New Orleans protects the famous old
Vieux Carre section through a city
aesthetic control agency. Newcastle,
Delaware, and Annapolis, Maryland,
are among other cities with operating
plans for protecting their fine his-
torical features.
The French refugee village, Azilum,
which existed on the upper Sus-
quehanna River from 1793 to 1803, is to
be restored by French Azilum,
Inc., a recently formed non-profit
organization. The village had fifty log
houses and "The Queen's
House," a large log building built as a refuge
for Marie Antoinette. The corporation
plans also the construction of an
amphitheater for an annual historical
pageant. The project is to be financed
in part from memberships, available at
from fifty cents annually to one
hundred dollars. Information may be
obtained from French Azilum, Inc.,
Towanda, Pennsylvania.
Harold Dean Cater has been named
executive director of the Sleepy
Hollow Restorations, Inc. He succeeds
Hugh Grant Powell, who retires
after long association with the
restorations. The organization maintains two
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