David Bahlman Heads State Historic Preservation Office

            David Bahlman has been appointed as Director of the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism’s Historic Preservation and Museum Division and Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer, effective September 26. He will oversee the state’s historic preservation programs, including the operation of state historical museums.

            Bahlman has considerable experience in history and preservation, having served as executive director of the Foundation for San Francisco's Architectural Heritage and the Society of Architectural Historians in Philadelphia. Most recently, he headed Landmarks Illinois, the statewide nonprofit preservation organization.

While in Illinois, Bahlman initiated the effort to preserve the Edith Farnsworth house, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and the inspiration for Philip Johnson’s Glass House in New Canaan. When the owner, Peter Palumbo, decided to sell the Farnsworth house, preservationists realized that the small but exquisite structure could be moved out of state. Landmarks joined with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and together the two organizations raised $7.5 million in just eight weeks and bought the house. The National Trust took ownership, and Landmarks operates it as a museum.

            Bahlman had decided to retire to New England and bought a house in Suffield, but he quickly realized that he wasn’t ready for retirement. The CCT job presented an attractive opportunity to work in preservation in the public, rather than the private, sector. “I’ve worked for not-for-profits all my life, never in the regulatory realm. In the month I’ve been here I’ve been able to see the other side. I didn’t completely understand regulatory procedures before but now I’m beginning to see how both sides can work together to promote preservation incentives.”

            One of his first tasks has been to start learning his way around the state. Already, Bahlman finds its historic resources “stunning.” He has been especially impressed by Connecticut’s many historic town- and cityscapes. He admires the way that Essex has managed to encourage businesses in an historic setting without becoming overly commercialized. He also has quickly recognized that Fairfield County towns, because of their closeness to New York, face many threats from development pressures.

Bahlman sees his main job as promoting and protecting Connecticut’s historic resources, a task that will be different because of the current economic situation. “At a time like this, any cultural or artistic endeavor runs the risk of being seen as a frill. The case we have to make for historic preservation and the arts has to be more cogent and more convincing. I believe that preservation and art and music and drama and poetry all give meaning and shape and significance to our lives. Every time a culture drops these things in hard times they lose some of their innate character, their sense of meaning and sense of existence.”

This situation makes the notion of public/private partnerships particularly important for Bahlman: “We can often do much more together than either sector can do by itself.”

PHOTOGRAPH

credit: Bob Gregson