{"id":1468,"date":"2014-09-22T12:39:01","date_gmt":"2014-09-22T17:39:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/historyapolis.com\/?p=1468"},"modified":"2024-01-10T13:43:34","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T19:43:34","slug":"calling-photographers-artists-historic-preservation-wikipedia-summer-monuments-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mvt.rpw.mybluehost.me\/.website_3d6664ec\/2014\/09\/22\/calling-photographers-artists-historic-preservation-wikipedia-summer-monuments-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"Calling Photographers: the Wikipedia “Summer of Monuments” campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"
Published September 22, 2014 by Kirsten Delegard<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n It’s map Monday. Today I’m sharing both a map and a challenge. This map<\/a> was created by Wikipedia as part of its “Summer of Monuments” campaign, to improve coverage of U.S. historic sites on this important reference site. Zoom on this interactive portal and you will see every place in Minneapolis that is listed on the National Register for Historic Properties.<\/p>\n Wikpedia created this map as part of its effort to better illustrate that landscape of history in the United States. The online encyclopedia is calling on readers to contribute photos of historic sites, which will be used to improve its reference articles. Entries are due by September 30th. Cash prizes will be given for the best photos uploaded. For more information, read here. <\/a><\/p>\n The past becomes tangible through visits to sites of history. This “Summer of Monuments” campaign recognizes this power of place, seeking to build a bridge between the digital and the physical.<\/p>\n Of course, Minneapolis has had a long love affair with the bulldozer. As a result, we have relatively little of our original streetscape left. And preservation has been governed by the prejudices of race and class. As in most places, the lavish homes of the wealthy and well-connected in Minneapolis are well-represented on the National Register. Harder to find in the landscape of historic preservation are the stories that challenge our collective sense that Minneapolis has always been a prosperous, tolerant and innovative community. \u00a0People outside of the power structure are frequently obscured in this set of sources, which is dominated by beautiful architecture.<\/p>\n But there are notable exceptions to this rule, thanks to some far-sighted preservationists. In Minneapolis the National Register includes the working-class homes of Milwaukee Avenue<\/a>; it lists the maternity hospital established in the late nineteenth century by pioneering physician and suffragist Martha Ripley<\/a>; it names the home of African-American lawyer and civil rights activist Lena Olive Smith<\/a>; most recently it incorporated the Lee family home, which was the target of an ugly race riot in the 1930s. <\/a>\u00a0It also recognizes the Pioneer and Soldiers Cemetery, the oldest burying ground in the city.<\/a> Open to people of all races and economic backgrounds during its 70 years of operation, this graveyard provides a wonderful introduction to the complex, multi-cultural history of the early city. Its headstones mark the final resting place for plutocrats and paupers, African Americans and new immigrants; the remains of 20,000 people were interred within its boundaries at the intersection of Lake Street and Cedar Avenue.<\/p>\n