Jurre:
So all in all, I think inscribing sites on the basis of music, without other criteria, is going to be difficult. I also fear many recording studios etc will have lost their character of those days.
I agree there should be a story told if there are any sites to be pursued regarding music. I can't help thinking that the Plantin-Moretus Museum with its history of printing might provide a template if someone were to pursue a nomination for a particular recording studio. I do share the concern about authenticity, since the recording industry continues to evolve.
nfmungard:
You are right. I thought, Jazz could be a nice way to honor African American history, without the Civil Rights Movement. Which was nationally important. But simply terribly overdue.
I do like your suggestion of the Apollo Theater -- it was an important venue for helping integrate African American culture into American culture. I wonder if it could be pulled into a nomination for historic buildings of Harlem, highlighting the
Harlem Renaissance.
nfmungard:
Anyhow, anything on TV and Radio?
Not an area that I have strong opinions on. Historic Hollywood has already had a nomination for film. Television seems to me just a smaller version of that, and some sets/locales might even be the same. What should be preserved for posterity? As for radio, what would you think would be most important?
winterkjm:
There is also Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. When the immigrants are non-white the famous Lazarus poem "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" becomes less true to reality (compared to Ellis Island), Angel Island has some dark history.
Very true -- the Chinese Exclusion Act (an unfortunate result of the First Transcontinental Railroad) wasn't the best look the US has had with regard to immigration. Sadly we're not doing too much better these days. Angel Island might make a good extension to Ellis Island if the US were willing to tell a complete story.
nfmungard:
The border guards are not really telling the immigrant history. The houses and communities they build would.
In large cities and small towns you may find immigrant neighborhoods that shape the local stores and restaurants, but for the most part in the US, immigrant groups adapt to an American way of life, where we act as a melting pot. I'm hard-pressed to think of any good examples of cities or towns in the US (beyond Chinatowns) that have kept their unique culture for generations and would be worth recognizing. Though Harlem, which I mentioned above, may be something to pursue.
The US does have a transnational nomination on its list, the
Moravian Church Settlements in Bethelehem, Pennsylvania. I don't think the average American would be able to tell you where the Moravians settled, much less who they are. The
Amish, or Pennsylvania Dutch, on the other hand, do have a distinctive culture in the US.
winterkjm:
Vancouver's Chinatown on the other hand is a National Historic Site. Has anyone been there?
I have been there and agree with the others. It is worth visiting and preserving. If a Chinatown from North America were to be submitted, this would be the best choice. But as I mentioned earlier, Chinatowns can be found worldwide, and the first one
was actually in the Philippines in the 16th century.