Historic preservation in a new town : Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Preservationists have debated for some time the idea of declaring properties which are less than fifty years old as historic. Some feel that the fifty year age, which is based on the minimum age requirement for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, is necessary to gain historic perspective on buildings. Others feel that there are other factors which make a building historic and age has little influence.

This thesis was designed to show that a historic preservation plan could be prepared for an entire city which is less than fifty years old and is also a new town. Books, magazine articles, and personal interviews were used to determine which buildings best portrayed the city's historic qualities and how. A building inventory was conducted to find original structures and determine the condition of each. Needs were established, objectives were decided upon, and potential actions were outlined.

It was found that a historic preservation plan could be prepared for a new town and a city which is less than fifty years old. In the case of Oak Ridge, the original city could have been considered historic after the atomic bomb which it helped to build was dropped over Hiroshima in 1945. At that time the city was less than three years old. It was also found that in the space of forty-five years some of the historically important buildings had been destroyed or drastically altered.

It can be concluded from this study that it is possible to prepare historic preservation plans for new towns and cities which are less than fifty years old. How ever, very few will have associations which are as historic as those found in Oak Ridge. Cities can investigate their own histories, determine which sites have potential for historical significance, and then make an effort to protect them.