Preserving Our Treasures


  



Significant Structures in Englewood

(Source: Historic Churches of Chicago)



         

         The purpose of my exploring the community of Englewood is to examine a forgotten part of the city through the old and decayed churches in the area, and to question the importance of the preservation of the archaic buildings as historical evidence.

          When I began researching the churches of Englewood with my list of " Historical Churches of Chicago" written by Wayne Wolf, I realized that many churches and buildings on the lists are no longer there. All I can see are the vacant lots of wilderness, which makes me feel empty. Expecting to see buildings from 100 years ago that I have never seen was one of the biggest joys during my research. However, some of them were demolished, and many of them are still there but falling apart. Destruction is the destiny of the falling ones. Another interesting point during my investigation is that I found some beautiful churches that are not on the list of my resources, or in any other documents that I could find. Some of the churches are too hard to ignore due to their aesthetic beauty.

        So, I started to ask myself, "Do the resources of bad neighborhoods deserve to be preserved ? and if so, “Are we doing it the right way?", moreover, "who is to be blamed for the regional gap of economic status ?" which is the most primary reason for the difficulty in finding records of the area.  These questions are for preservationists, due to the objective value of these treasures; it is a question of narrowing down the extreme economic gaps among our society. 

      I would like to emphasize that preserving old buildings like churches in Englewood is very significant, especially to a country like the U.S. with a relatively short history. We can always look at our past from photos, books, and other sources, but it would not be the same as experiencing real objects. Remains of the past are the only physical evidence that directly connects us to the past, in which one can have a bit of a taste of previous events.
    

       Additionally, if pride for what came before was injected into the community through preservation efforts then that pride might spread throughout the community.  It would show the current resents of Englewood that the buildings around them matter because they matter.  They would not have to walk down the crumbing boulevards in despair, but be able to walk with communal pride.  They would seek betterment for themselves as they see betterment in their community.  Their community is who they are, if their community is wasteland than that is how they should feel, but if there community has a history and is respected than they will have the pride in being a resident of Englewood.