Welcome from the APT President

Raising the Grade for Preservation in Galveston is a fitting theme and venue for the Association for Preservation Technology International’s 36th annual conference. Since 1968, APT has been ‘raising the grade’ in preservation practice through its high-quality publications, conferences, training and education programs. Galveston has its own impressive history for literally ‘raising the grade’ in response to the Great Storm of 1900. This APT conference rises to the challenge implicit in its title, setting a high standard for solid technical content in thematic tracks as diverse as Standards for Preservation and Sustainability; Technology of Investigation; and Mitigation of Threats and Catastrophes.

Education and training are core mandates for APT, and the workshops and symposium that kick off the conference provide an opportunity to pursue specific themes in detail. Workshops on Decorative Painting, Metals Conservation & Preservation, and Preservation Engineering Diagnostics variously feature regional and international expertise, and build on local case studies and venues. Patrimony and Pragmatism: Design Excellence and Preservation Standards is a special one-day symposium sponsored by the US General Services Administration and the National Park Service, that tackles fundamental challenges in the treatment and alteration of historic resources for on-going use, and will lay a strong foundation for the conference sessions that address this theme.

APT is increasingly international. Speakers from North America and abroad will bring their expertise and perspective to these themes, adding fuel to the lively multi-disciplinary discussions and networking that characterize the annual gathering of APT members and affiliates from around the globe. Featured international speakers at this year’s conference include John Fidler, Conservation Director, English Heritage, London, and Dr. Nicholas Stanley-Price, Director-General of ICCROM in Rome.

An undisputed benefit of APT conferences is VIP access to local historic venues, and this conference is no exception: field sessions and receptions provide the opportunity to experience some of Galveston’s most extraordinary spaces and places, including the Hotel Galvez (1911), the Texas Seaport Museum and the 1877 barque Elissa, the Old Custom House (1861), and numerous private houses in the largest historic district on the US National Register. Field sessions offer unique experiences ranging from Galveston’s great 19th century homes and sacred places to the San Jacinto Battleground where Texas gained independence from Mexico, to the Saturn V rocket at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

APT conferences represent the collaboration and contributions of many individuals and groups. Many thanks in advance to APT’s partners and sponsors who have contributed to the substance and the success of this conference, including APT Texas, US GSA, US NPS, the Galveston Historical Foundation and others.

Please accept this invitation to join APT friends and colleagues at our annual conference, November 3-7, 2004. How can you resist? APT beckons; the Great State of Texas awaits; and Galveston – high and dry, seawall in place – sets a high standard for Raising the Grade.

Sincerely,

Natalie Bull

President, APT