I discovered within my first two weeks at Southwest Restoration the immense complexity that is the intersection of private, business and government interests in historical sites and their preservation. Many contracting companies “bid” for contracts, meaning essentially that they cold-call customers, hoping for business. Southwest Restoration, on the other hand, receives much of their business because they are known for pioneering the industry of historic restoration through revolutionary techniques of building material analysis and simple, proven building techniques. Few contracting companies in the United States specialize in historical renovations, and fewer are skilled at it.
The primary concern of the business that I am interning for is of course to make money from the contracts that they negotiate with individuals, public and private institutions and government entities. Funding has been a consistent theme in public history discourse, and I am learning about it from a unique angle. Southwest Restoration is on the receiving end of funds dedicated to repairing and restoring many historic buildings around Virginia and beyond. For example, a project that the company is working on is renovating the oldest barracks on the Virginia Military Institute campus. The funding from the project is coming from two different non-profit foundations and the Virginia state government, and dispersed through a committee appointed by the college. My first task with Southwest Restoration has been to make sense of the major forces at work in the community and beyond regarding buildings of historic value.