State

be lost in the promotion of the conservation of beautiful Old Salem, a highly individualized and distinctive colonial American town. We know that Salem, at its Revolutionary peak, was a com¬ munity of beauty and significance, and that its buildings were mile¬ stones in style and construction. We also know that a little safe¬ guarding care, exerted on a far smaller scale than that promul¬ gated at Williamsburg, will bring lasting beauty and satisfaction to the generations that are to follow. An Architect's Views One of Salem’s well-known old landmarks — The Belo House, built in 1819 by Edward Belo as a store and residence. It is well preserved. The three-story structure was once a center of social and commercial life. In Old Salem Insto.nl of waiting to rebuild old structures after they have col¬ lapsed, Salem is doing its best to preserve its historic landmarks. By IIARRl Z. TICKER THE movement to preserve the heritage of Old Salem is going forward step by step. Efforts to preserve the beautiful archi¬ tecture have inched along for some years, assisted by private citizens who thought the Salem tradition too valuable to lose, and who have succeeded in restoring many old houses along South Main Street. Dr. and Mrs. George E. Waynick have recently received a permit to restore the old Kuchin House, at an estimated cost of $6,000; and the Blum House is almost com¬ pleted now for its new owners, Mr. and Mrs. Brutus Richards. The Historical Society of Salem has done much. It has worked hard to enliven the memories of the past. Dr. Adelaide Fries, Miss Net¬ tie A. Thomas, and the Reverend Douglas Rights, together with many others, have carefully col¬ lected and systematized the old manuscripts, diaries, accounts, and documents. Lacking such historical data, the community would be very unfortunate. But it is the tangible presenta¬ tion which Salem holds that makes us bow to its antiquity. Very old things are never detached, austere, nor tied into our experience through history alone. The things Salem has to offer have the dual capacity of being old and alive in our memories, and they are the things to hold to, preserve, and forever keep. They grow older and more pleasing with the years. Different From Williamsburg Fiske Kimball, director of the Pennsylvania Museum of Art, says that the Williamsburg, Virginia, of 1927 gave very little suggestion of its ancient importance in American history and architecture. The capitol and the governor’s palace had been leveled to the ground years before; the celebrated Wil¬ liam and Mary College building had been lost in successive fires and rebuilding. Many of the oldest houses had been razed or trans¬ formed out of original recognition. Today, Salem possesses the treasured antiquities which Wil¬ liamsburg had to rebuild, recon¬ struct, and restore at the cost of years of work and millions of dol¬ lars. However, these treasures will not last unless they arc buttressed with both protection and regard. Not a year, not even a day, should A few years ago an architect of high standing came here to study this dual city of two ideals so understanding^ merged. As Plato Durham once said, “No city is more blessed than Winston-Salem, for Salem has given it the achieve¬ ment of an unforgettable historical tradition, and Winston a tradition of high achievement." The architect, above referred to, had trav led up and down the country time and time again, for he took great pride and joy in studying the diverse influences in this amazing United States. He had spent weeks and months in stiff New England, romantic Mary¬ land, the graci ous Carolinas, French Louisiana, Spanish Santa Fe, and storied California. He de¬ clared that his fullest enjoyment was found in Virginia, where the people had done so much toward the preservation of antiquities. He spoke of his work in Williams¬ burg, as a member of the board of advisory architects, guiding the restoration of that city. He did not tarry very long at Courthouse Square, where he was noticed to cast an appraising glance at the one magnificent structure, three fairly impressive buildings, and the remainder a hodge-podge of store buildings of various ages and heights, like worn and uneven teeth in the very mouth of the city. He said nothing in particular about the many magnificent modern estates far removed from the din and roar of the down-town district, because he had built many estates equally as modern and beautiful; but he spent many long hours, even days, in Old Salem. He gazed wonderingly at the Fourth House, built in 1767, and the oldest extant building in Salem. He saw the steep roof, originally of tiles, with windows in the gabled ends, the heavy front door cut in two, so that the lower half could e THE STATE. August 0. 1047