I’m
planning this Spring to see a few UNESCO sites I’ve not yet seen on a road trip
with my sister and mother. So far, of the 22 in the US I’ve seen 7:
La
Fortaleza and Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
Redwoods
National Park, California
Statue
of Liberty, New York
Independence
Hall, Pennsylvania
Monticello,
Virginia
Monte
Verde National Park, Colorado
Yosemite
National Park, California
The
ones I’m hoping to see this Spring:
Great
Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
Mammoth
Caves National Park, Kentucky
Carlsbad
Caverns, New Mexico
Grand
Canyon National Park, Arizona
Bringing
my total up to 11 – and 11 to go:
Wrangell
St. Elias National Park/Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska
Hawai’i
Volcanoes National Park, Hawai’i
Papahanamoukoukea
Marine National Monument, Hawai’i
Taos
Pueblo, New Mexico
Chaco
Canyon, New Mexico
Yellowstone
National Park, Wyoming
Glacier
National Park, Montana
Olympic
National Park, Washington
Everglades
National Park, Florida
Cahokia,
Ohio
Poverty
Point, Louisiana
And
this brings me to the tentative list of sites currently being nominated for
inclusion. Some are great, and some really sort of suck. Let’s investigate:
1.
Civil Rights
Movement Sites (Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, Bethel Baptist Church, 16th Street Baptist Church)
Sure.
I think the US Civil Rights movement is of global significance. Heck, Robben
Island in South Africa is a UNESCO site, so why not our buildings?
2.
Dayton
Aviation Sites (Huffman
Prairie Flying Field, Wright Cycle Company and Wright & Wright Printing,
Wright Hall, Hawthorn Hill)
Sure.
We invented flight, it happened at a certain place, let’s commemorate that
place.
3.
Fagatele Bay National Marine
Sanctuary
Definitely.
One of the most important marine sanctuaries in the world, located in American
Samoa. Should be included.
4.
Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings (Unity Temple, Frederick C.
Robie House, Hollyhock
House, Taliesin, Fallingwater, S. C. Johnson & Son Inc. Administration Building
and Research Tower, Taliesin West, Price Tower, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Marin County Civic Center)
Definitely.
I’m a huge fan of Wright, and have been to five of these sites. Other countries
have similar UNESCO designations, such as the works of Anton Gaudi in Spain.
5.
Fort Ancient State Memorial (Hopewell Culture National Historic
Park, Newark Earthworks State Memorial)
Meh.
We have two major earthwork designations already – Cahokia in Illinois,
designated in 1982 for the Mississippian culture, and Poverty Point in Louisiana,
designated in 2014, for the Poverty Point culture. Now, the Hopewell are very
important to North American culture, so if it becomes a site that’s cool. But
that should be it for earthworks.
6.
Mount Vernon
Eh?
I mean, if we’re talking precedents of Presidential homes in Virginia, Monticello
is a very unique space that Jefferson designed. What makes Mount Vernon
special? It’s a pretty typical plantation house. Of course, it was George
Washington’s home, and that’s swell, but besides that connection there’s
nothing really remarkable about it.
7.
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
I
like the old comic Pogo that took place in the Okefenokee. Like the currently
endangered UNESCO site of the Everglades, it is a bio-rich swampland in Georgia
and Florida. I wouldn’t mind this being added, I suppose.
8.
Petrified Forest National Park
Sure.
I’ve been here. It is absolutely beautiful. I think, as incorporating part of
the Painted Desert it is of significant value.
9.
San Antonio Franciscan Missions (Mission San Antonio (The Alamo), Mission Concepcion, Mission San José, Mission San Juan, Mission Espada)
Sure.
I mean, The Alamo is a thing – and more importantly there is nothing currently
commemorating the Spanish legacy in the continental United States. Similar
mission designations exist in other countries.
10. Serpent Mound
Nope.
Potentially of the Hopewell types listed above. Either meld the two sites, both
located in Ohio an hour away from each other, or just go with Fort Ancient. I’m
for grouping them and calling them ‘Earthwork Legacy of the Ohio Valley’.
That’s an inclusion I’d support.
11. Thomas
Jefferson Buildings (Poplar Forest, Virginia State Capitol) — proposed
extension of Monticello and the University of Virginia listing
Sure,
whatever.
12. White Sands National Monument
Why?
It’s “the largest gypsum sand dunes in the world”! Not a hotbed for geology,
really, or for biodiversity, and certainly not for culture.
So
let’s say of the 12 tentative proposed it increases the total list by 8: Civil
Rights, Dayton Aviation, Fagatele Bay, Ohio Earthworks, Frank Lloyd Wright,
Okefenokee, Petrified Forest, and the San Antonio Missions. That’d bring the US
up to an even 30 sites – two fewer than Mexico, nine fewer than France or
Germany, and fourteen fewer than
Spain.
America
is a huge country, with thousands of years of history (Monte Verde, Taos,
Cahokia…). We should be a leader in UNESCO sites. I think another five on top
of those 30 mentioned would be in order. I focused on the cultural, since most of ours are natural. So how about:
1. The
National Mall and Memorial Parks, Washington D.C. (Washington Monument, Lincoln
Memorial, Capitol, White House, Thomas Jefferson Building, National Archives
Building, Arlington National Cemetery)
The
Washington Monument in the largest stone obelisk in the world. The Capitol is a
superb example of American Neoclassicism, as is the White House, while the
Lincoln Memorial and Thomas Jefferson Building represent the influence of the
Beaux-Arts in America. Arlington National Cemetery contains the house of Robert
E. Lee, a nice example of Greek Revival, the same style as the National
Archives Building. This grouping of buildings has become universally recognized
as quintessentially American. All have been restored or preserved under the
most rigorous standards.
Washington
Monument
Commemorating
America’s first President, the structure is the world’s tallest stone obelisk
and a focal point of the Mall, with the majestic reflecting pool leading to the
Lincoln Memorial on one side, and the Capitol on the other.
Lincoln
Memorial
One
of the most recognizable buildings in America, commemorating America’s
sixteenth President, the globally recognized Abraham Lincoln, known for
preserving the union and ending slavery. The structure is critical to the Mall.
The
Capitol
The
original building was completed in 1800, and underwent continuous changes and
additions until the most recent in the 21st century. As an
architectural legacy of the United States adapting to its growth and increased
role in world affairs, the Capitol became a model for legislatures around the
globe.
The
White House
Resident
of every President since John Adams, the White House is universally recognized
as the seat of America’s relatively unique Presidential democratic system. Like
the Capitol, it has seen numerous changes, renovations, and developments to
keep the iconic building up-to-date.
Thomas
Jefferson Building
As
the first building of the Library of Congress, currently the second largest
library in the world, the Jefferson Building beautifully typifies the Beaux
Arts that is common throughout the capital. The interior boasts some of the
finest interior design in the country.
National
Archives
Housing
the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights, this humble
building contains far more than these essential documents of world history:
from an original Magna Carta to the Louisiana Purchase, the building is as
essential as the existing UNESCO designation of Independence Hall, where these
ideas came to fruition.
Arlington
National Cemetery
As
a monument to America’s Civil War, the grounds used to belong to Confederate
General Robert E. Lee, whose house is still located on the site, and unusually
for a member of the Confederacy, is a National Memorial. Amongst the 400,000
dead are two Presidents (Taft and Kennedy) and the Tomb of the Unknowns – one
of the first such in the world.
2. Historic
San Francisco, California (Golden Gate Bridge and Fort Point, Alcatraz, Presidio,
Waterfront, Nob Hill and Telegraph Hill, Golden Gate Park and Haight, Castro)
San
Francisco is an iconic, globally identifiable city. A city of incredible
historic significance, it was originally settled by Native Americans five thousand
years ago. Sighted by Sir Francis Drake in 1579, the Spanish arrived in the
mid-1700s, and the city was the epicenter of the 1849 Gold Rush, bringing
cultures from around the world to develop a unique, lively city. In the 20th century San Francisco was privy to many counter-cultures from the beats to the hippies to the gay culture the city is now famous for. Initially the seat of the United Nations, it is undoubtedly a global center.
Golden
Gate Bridge and Fort Point
The
most iconic structure of the City, it was declared an engineering marvel, and
still is striking. At the time the longest-spanning suspension bridge in the
world, a title it would hold for decades, the Bridge is easily recognized by its famed
international orange. It is, for the Pacific, as noteworthy as the Statue of
Liberty for immigrants coming to America. Fort Point, under the Bridge, was originally a Spanish
fort, and then the last US fort built prior to the Civil War. It is considered a very fine example of
military architecture in the United States, and typifies the Coastal Defense
system.
Alcatraz
The
famous prison island was originally a Native American site, it later was a
lighthouse and military station, and most famously became a federal
penitentiary in 1933, remaining so until 1963. It is one of the noteworthy
sites of 20th century Native American protests. It is, as part of
the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the most-visited site under the
purview of the National Park System.
Presidio
First
fortified by the Spanish in 1776, the Presidio was in active usage until 1989 –
and played a role in the Mexican-American War, Spanish-American War,
the War in the Pacific during WWII, and the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Its adobe and
brick structures are essentially unchanged.
Waterfront
Stretching
from the Presidio this incorporates the stretch from Fort Point, part of the
Coastal Defense, to the nearby Piers, including the exemplary Fisherman’s Wharf
area, around to the Embarcadero and Ferry Building. Preserving the military,
commercial, immigrant, and cultural importance of the city the waterfront is
essential.
Nob
Hill and Telegraph Hill
Coit
Tower, atop Telegraph Hill, was the beacon of the skyline until Nob Hill’s
Transamerica Pyramid took the honor. Besides these two landmarks, Nob Hill is
home to San Francisco’s internationally renowned Chinatown. Telegraph Hill is
home to the North Beach – where the Beat culture of the 40s and 50s thrived.
Nob Hill also has one of the city’s famous Cable Car lines. Art Deco buildings
abound.
Golden
Gate Park and Haight
Proportionally
one of the largest urban parks in any city, Golden Gate Park’s development is
important to the history of urban recreation. Purposefully breaking from the
European promenade and works of Frederick Law Olmstead, Golden Gate Park was
designed to be more ‘rugged’ and less formal. Originally built in the 1870s, it
includes the oldest public garden in the United States – the Japanese Tea
Garden, and a bison paddock that has been in use since the 1890s. The adjoining
Haight-Ashbury is culturally significant as the epicenter of a global cultural
revolution in the 1960s, and features a dizzying array of Victorian homes, from
the mid-1800s.
Castro
The
Castro was the center for much of the 20th century’s Gay Rights
activism. It also contains a tremendous collection of Victorian houses, and is
one of the oldest neighborhoods to have survived the 1906 fire and earthquake.
3. Points
of Departure: Gagarin’s Start and Kennedy Space Center (Joint-party site: Kazakhstan
and Florida, United States)
This
joint-party site is designed to venerate one of the few positive developments
of the 20th century’s Cold War in the form of the Space Race.
Gagarin’s Start, part of Baikonur Cosmodrome launched both the world’s first
satellite, Sputnik, and first manned spacecraft, the Vostok 1. The Kennedy
Space Center was the site of the first trip to another celestial body, as well
as the space shuttle program that ushered in a new age of scientific
discovery and international cooperation, in the form of the International Space
Station serviced by both the United States and Russia.
4.
Historic New Orleans, Louisiana
The
French Quarter comprises a little less than a square mile of buildings dating
from the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, with an array of cultural influences –
Spanish, French, and Afro-Caribbean – that has played a critical role in
America’s culture, and the world’s. Culturally the area may be most famous for Bourbon Street. Other
historically significant districts besides the French Quarter include Treme, of
tremendous global important as the site where jazz was invented as well as
being a major influence in the blues, zydeco and Cajun culture generally. As the
mouth of the Mississippi, it has played a very important role in the country’s
military, economic, and cultural heritage including the development of steamboat
technology in the 1800s by Robert Fulton.
5.
New York City Cultural Landscape,
New York (Skyscraper Ensemble: Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Woolworth Building, Metropolitan Life Insurance
Tower, Theater District – Times Square, Brooklyn Bridge, United Nations
Headquarters)
New
York is the largest city in America; located on the island of Manhattan it is
considered one of the critical ports and cultural centers of the world. Initially settled by Native Americans the
Dutch created permanent settlements in the early 1600s, with the English
gaining control before the 18th century. It was part of the American
Revolution, and was the city where Washington was inaugurated and Congress
first convened. As the entrance for millions of immigrants in the 19th
century the city grew significantly, and the city became an important focus of
industrial developments. The growth of Wall Street in the 20th
century lead to New York becoming a financial center, while movements such as
the Harlem Renaissance, the East Village, and New York’s museums solidified a
cultural influence. Perhaps most famously New York is home to Broadway – the
leading light in global theater. Skyscrapers reached new heights in New York,
as well as other engineering feats and designs into the mid-century. Finally
the adoption of New York as the location of the United Nations cemented the
importance of the city in world affairs.
Empire
State Building
Completed
in 1931, this was the world’s tallest building for four decades, and a triumph
of workmanship during the Great Depression. It is an Art Deco masterpiece –
besides being an engineering marvel. It is generally considered one of the most
recognizable skyscrapers in the world.
Chrysler
Building
This
structure was briefly the tallest building in the world, and still is the world’s
tallest brick structure. It was the first human-made structure that surpassed
1,000 feet in height. It is considered to be aesthetically superior as an
example of Art Deco in New York to the Empire State Building.
Woolworth
Building
Prior
to the Chrysler Building, the Woolworth Building held the world’s tallest
building distinction from 1913-30.
Neo-gothic in style, it represents the early skyscraper history of the
City. The interior is particularly rich and ornate in style.
Metropolitan
Life Insurance Company Tower
As
an example of the Italian Renaissance Revival, the Metropolitan Life Insurance
Building was the tallest in the world in 1909 – and the oldest still-standing
building in New York to hold the distinction. It is also the oldest commercial
building in the world to hold the distinction.
Theater
District/Midtown/Times Square
Encompassing
a number of Broadway theaters, as well as the universally recognized Times
Square, this part of the City is critical to understanding the cultural legacy
of New York. Including Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center, Carnegie
Hall, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Fifth Avenue and the New York Public Library to
name a few cultural landmarks, it is the center, and the heart, of the City.
Brooklyn
Bridge
The
world’s first steel-wire suspension bridge, completed in 1883, neo-Gothic in
style, it was also the longest
suspension bridge in the world at the time of completion. It complements the skyscraper
ensemble as part of the industrial revolution’s engineering legacy. Like those
structures, it is considered and engineering marvel.
United
Nations Headquarters
Opening
its doors in 1952 the United Nations Headquarters are a marvelous example of
mid-century architecture and the International School. While technically an
extraterritorial compound of structures, the buildings have become iconic as an
element of New York’s East riverfront. Famed architect Le Corbusier contributed
to Niemeyer’s elegantly simple design.
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