National Historic Preservation month is a celebration of our nation’s heritage through historic places with organizations across the country promoting a variety of activities on the local, state and national levels.
PRESERVATION MONTH IN HAWAI‘I
In recognition of National Historic Preservation Month, Historic Hawai‘i Foundation will highlight special historic places in Hawai‘i throughout May in our E-newsletter, blog and social media. We invite the public to share your own favorites and sites that hold special meaning to you by posting photos to HHF’s Instagram, Facebook or Twitter using the hashtags: #PreservationMonth #HistoricHawaii
In the end, we will take care of only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught. ~Baba Dioum, Sengalese conservationist and environmentalist
ORIGINS OF PRESERVATION MONTH
Preservation Month began as National Preservation Week in 1973 at the suggestion of Donald T. Sheehan, a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation‘s Advisory Committee. A Joint Congressional Resolution was introduced on February 15, 1973, with President Richard Nixon signing the resolution into law on May 5, 1973.
First Lady Patricia Nixon, read the Presidential proclamation at the National Trust awards luncheon on May 8th:
“As the pace of change accelerates in the world around us, Americans more than ever need a lively awareness of our roots and origins in the past on which to base our sense of identity in the present and our directions for the future.”
In 2005, the National Trust extended the celebration to the entire month of May and declared it Preservation Month to provide an even greater opportunity to celebrate the diverse and unique heritage of our country’s cities and states.
Image at top: Clockwise from top left: Līhu‘e Post Office, Kaua‘i; ‘Ohe‘o Gulch, Haleakalā National Park, Maui; historic residence, Mānoa, O‘ahu; Kalaupapa Pali Trail steps, photo credit: T Scott Williams; Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.