| Book Review | The Western Historical Quarterly, 39.1

You have not been recognized as a subscriber to the WHQ online. About 179 words from this article are provided below; about 350 words remain.

If you are a individual subscriber to the Western Historical Quarterly, you may:: • login here if you have already registered for online access.; • Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
• Set up your online account for the first time.
If you are not a subscriber to the Western Historical Quarterly, you can:: • subscribe here.
• Purchase a research pass to gain two hour access to the entire History Cooperative web site. You will have full access to current issues of the Western Historical Quarterly (104.3-present). Note: the Research Pass does not provide access to JSTOR's holdings of the Western Historical Quarterly.
Instititutions can:: • Subscribe to this journal and receive print and electronic issues.
• Activate your existing subscription so that we recognize your IP number ranges.

| Book Review | The Western Historical Quarterly, 39.1 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Historic Preservation & the Imagined West: Albuquerque, Denver, & Seattle. By Judy Mattivi Morley. (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2006. x + 204 pp. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $29.95.)

The most far-reaching historic preservation efforts occurred in the twentieth century, particularly after World War II. The timing was critical for western cities. Experiencing population growth, an economic transition, and extensive sprawl, western planners turned to historic preservation as a tool for urban renewal. Morley argues that westerners, worried that they might be losing their regional distinctiveness, created historic districts that projected a largely mythical civic identity. Derived from a town's heritage, this identity emphasized a place-oriented, sanitized version of local history that gave residents a reassuringly unified story and attracted free-spending tourists. These invented traditions necessarily presented an inauthentic interpretation of history. But Morley avoids simply criticizing preservation for its fakery. While preservationists did try to fix historic districts to a static moment in time, the movement also reinvigorated local economies and ensured, in part, the retention of the historic built environment.

. . .

There are about 350 more words in this article. Please log in (or, if you are not yet an authorized user, please go to the User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.