The Dating Game

It was hard to believe that yet three more eligible bachelors could gather for a dating game segment at the National Preservation Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, in early October. Not to be confused with the popular Dating Game of the 1960s, but a parallel nonetheless, this game featured a bachelorette named Dr. Edith Farnsworth and three available men Horatio Historically Significant, Henry High Style, and the somewhat disrespectful, Vinnie Vernacular.

The "Dating Game" presented educational material in an amusing manner. Dr. Farnsworth, a worldly Modernist, represented the Farnsworth House by Mies van der Rohe, recently purchased by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Landmark Preservation Council of Illinois to prevent its relocation. She once dated a Victorian, with shingles to die for, and a quaint wraparound porch. She even tried Art Deco and found that he understood her Modern ways of steel and glass, but never fully appreciated her lack of zigzags.

The bachelors also assumed building roles. Horatio represented the Watergate in Washington, DC, no need to tell you what's historically significant there; Henry flirted with Eero Saarinen's Dulles Airport, as it soared up into the sky; and, Vinnie, well he just represented a plain low-pitched post World War II house in anywhere suburb of the 1950s. The bachelors answered some pithy preservation and architecture questions, each vying for the special date with Edith and an opportunity to show her the values of modern buildings. She was open to the idea, but did not want to be "just another piece of glass."

The point here is that appreciation of the recent past is growing. Dallas, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Phoenix and Denver are among the nation's most prominent cities promoting the preservation of recent and modern buildings. The standing-room-only crowd at the National Trust conference meant a whole new breed of preservation was taking off. We are becoming as preservationists, I hope, more tuned in to what's significant in our built world, and not to merely that which meets the age criteria of fifty years.

Dallas has its own versions of Horatio, Henry and Vinnie. To speak to the more vernacular, several great neighborhoods abound with good modern buildings. The residents along Pinocchio in Northwest Dallas recently celebrated their 50th anniversary of being the first Parade of Homes. What a great celebration with a terrific tour! Residents of Wynnewood in Oak Cliff also gathered recently to survey their neighborhood with Discover Dallas! One of the most enthusiastic bunch of surveyors I have ever seen.

So, we continue to document our city's vast resources with a growing appreciation of all three bachelor's point of view. Oh, by the way, Edith picked Vinnie Vernacular. She liked his "everyday" approach to living. I might have concurred.

W. Dwayne Jones,
Executive Director
November 1, 2004