Archival Video Collections
NTL archival videos date from the 1960s and were produced by National Trust for Historic Preservation staff and other organizations to document workshops, properties, NTHP activities; to record press coverage of preservation issues; and to promote preservation activities. In general, these videos reflect more internal information gathering or record-keeping concerns rather than the commercial products filed under "Contemporary Audio and Video Programs."
These collections are divided into four groups:
- Conferences and workshops
1976-2003 and n.d. (125 items)
Video documentation of national and local preservation conferences, demonstrations, and hands-on workshops - Property Documentation
c. 1940-1998, bulk, 1975-1979 (42 items)
Original, unedited footage of historical sites and preservation topics (For documentaries about historic sites, see Contemporary Video and Audio Programs and Film Collection) - Press coverage
1978-2001 and n.d. (67 items)
News programs taped off the air showing preservation issues covered in the media - Public Service Announcements/Promotional Spots
c. 1977-1999 (30 items)
Videos created to promote historic preservation and the National Trust
Conferences and Workshops on Video
1976-2003 and n.d. (125 items)
This group includes videotapes documenting annual meetings, workshops, and seminars sponsored by the NTHP and other preservation organizations. In many cases, footage is original, unedited documentation. In other cases, tapes contain edited, abridged versions of conferences prepared by the Trust or sponsoring organization. Annual meetings of the NTHP covered in this series include annual conferences for the years 1990 to 1993, 1999 and 2003. Other conferences covered in this series include:
- Community Preservation Conference, Fredericksburg, VA, 1976
- Mt. Vernon - Woodlawn Conference on Historic Site Administration, 1976
- Monterey Maintenance Conference, 1976
- Historic District Commission Conference, Georgetown, CO, 1976
- "Preservation; Toward an Ethic for the 80s", Williamsburg, VA, 1979
- three seminars concerning this Economic Recovery Tax Act and its implications for Historic Preservation from 1981-1982
- "Saving Southern Buildings: The Law and the Profits," Mary Washington College Center for Historic Preservation, 1984
- The Tennessee Heritage Alliance 9th Annual Conference, Memphis, TN, 1992
- The Putnam County, NY 3rd Annual Main Street Conference, 1998
- an unidentified conference on technical aspects of preservation held at the Union League of Philadelphia (n.d.)
- National Preservation Honor Awards ceremonies from 1991, 1994-1996, and 1998-2003.
Significant speakers recorded in this series include Bill Murtagh, Michael Ainslie, Ward Jandl, Richard Moe, John Kenneth Galbraith, David McCullough, Richard Gephardt, Henry Cisneros, and Harvey Gantt. This series is arranged chronologically, with tapes from the same conferences grouped together under each year.
Video formats in this series include E.I.A.J (1/2" reel to reel), U-matic (3/4" cassette), and VHS.
See also: Audio Collections, Conferences
Property Documentation on Video
c. 1940-1998, bulk, 1975-1979 (42 items)
This group of videos contains footage and programs relating to specific historic sites, some of which are NTHP properties. Some of it is unique documentation of Trust properties before restorations, or before sites were destroyed. Also grouped here is original (pre-edited) footage for video programs on preservation topics.
Subjects include: Wright House Move, Oatlands (before 1941), Belle Grove (1976), Chesterwood (1976-1977), Cooper-Molera Building (1976), San Francisco Boats (1976), Old Mint Building (San Francisco, 1976), Historic Ships (Wavertree & the Philadelphia), Preservation Institute in Nantucket (1/2 hour program), Brick and Adobe techniques (raw footage, possibly source for Vconf.1976.004-016), Preservation Planning talk by Roy Worskatt, Tumwater Historic Commission meeting (1998).
Formats in this group include 1", EIAJ ½" reel-to-reel, ¾" Umatic cassettes, and VHS.
Press Coverage on Video
1978-2001 and n.d. (67 items)
This group includes videotapes with press coverage of preservation topics from the 1970s to 2001. This group of videos documents the appearance of preservation professionals and National Trust staff on major news programs (notably NTHP presidents James Biddle and Richard Moe), public figures addressing preservation issues and visiting historic sites (notably first ladies Hillary Rodham Clinton and Laura Bush), teardowns, natural disasters that damaged historic sites, and other local and national news stories, including several tapes with footage from the "Crumbling Capitol" scandal of 1983.
Video formats in this group include U-matic (3/4" cassette), BetaSP, and VHS.
Public Service Announcements and Promotional Videos
c. 1977-1999 (30 items)
This series contains 30 videotapes with PSA's and promotional pieces for NTHP, local preservation organizations, or other national organizations involved in historic preservation. Titles include "Pass it On (NTHP, 199?), "Preservation Builds the Nation" (NTHP, n.d.), "America's Story (NTHP 1998), "A Half Century of Protecting the Irreplaceable (NTHP, 1999), and "Sing America" (1999, NARM), among others. There is also raw footage ("B-roll"), edit masters, and promotional materials relating to the Trust's annual series, America's 11 Most Endangered.
This series contains tapes in the following formats: 2" quad, ¾" U-matic cassette, VHS, BetaSP
For earlier public service announcements, see the Film Collection
