Preservation and Perseverance

The recent state approval of a nomination that Old Towne in Orange be selected for the National Register of Historic Places was a tribute to perseverance.

The State Historical Resources Commission delivered its unanimous approval on Feb. 14, and put the mile-square area of turn-of-the century and pre-1940 homes on track to be the largest recognized historical district in the state. The recommendation now goes to the federal government, which is expected to accept it.

The Old Towne Preservation Assn. deserves much credit for sticking with the laborious task of filing a huge application. One commissioner commented in awe that the application included 1,700 properties and consumed 400 pages, a submission of unprecedented size and scope.

Having anything designated as historic is somewhat novel in Orange County, a place without a long history and where so many things on the landscape are relatively new. But the engendering of an historical consciousness is a good thing.

Many visitors to the county who are struck first with expanses of new malls and housing developments are charmed by the designated area in Orange.

Some property owners have expressed concern that designation will make it difficult for them to change their buildings without lengthy environmental review. Maryln Bourne Lortie, a historian with the state’s Office of Historic Preservation, notes that the city already has in place design review guidelines for Old Towne that are stricter than state requirements. Commissioners said they believed owners would not be affected adversely, and indicated that residents could seek tax credits, grants and other financial benefits from the designation.

The association is to be commended for going through the long struggle to win approval from the commission. A lot of the committee’s work sprang from the threat that a historic structure would be torn down to make way for a parking lot. This kind of response signals to the county at large that the mentality of bulldozing old buildings and replacing them with something new is changing. Even in “new” Orange County, there are “old” treasures to be preserved.