"It is in times of danger… that we become deeply conscious of our heritage." So said Roy Strong in his foreword to Heritage in Danger by Patrick Cormack (1978). A notorious example of this is the Firestone Tyre Factory in Brentford, England. This Art Deco building was designed by Wallis, Gilbert & Partners in 1928-9. Its subsequent owners decided to demolish it in the summer of 1980, just as moves were being made to safeguard the structure by listing it as a protected monument. This controversial action prompted the creation of the Thirties Society, an organisation that campaigned for the protection of interwar architecture. It still exists and is today known as the Twentieth Century Society.
It appears that the Firestone fight has now shifted to Glenelg, just outside the Australian city of Adelaide. Its Art Deco cinema on Jetty Road dating from 1937 is being torn down as I type. Now local residents are urging the 35,000-strong community to protect the town's remaining Art Deco buildings - pointing to the former fire station as an example to be followed: it still stands and has been adapted for use, first as a museum and now as an art gallery.
See: Altschwager, Emma (2011) "Save our history", Guardian Messenger (Australia), 03/08, p. 5, accessed 03/08/2011 at, http://guardian-messenger.whereilive.com.au/news/story/save-our-history/
It appears that the Firestone fight has now shifted to Glenelg, just outside the Australian city of Adelaide. Its Art Deco cinema on Jetty Road dating from 1937 is being torn down as I type. Now local residents are urging the 35,000-strong community to protect the town's remaining Art Deco buildings - pointing to the former fire station as an example to be followed: it still stands and has been adapted for use, first as a museum and now as an art gallery.
See: Altschwager, Emma (2011) "Save our history", Guardian Messenger (Australia), 03/08, p. 5, accessed 03/08/2011 at, http://guardian-messenger.whereilive.com.au/news/story/save-our-history/
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