This week we found last week’s “Friday Find” which disappeared into cyberspace! Ironically the featured subject “heart bombing” is a perfect fit for the week of Valentine’s Day. The term heart bombing was coined by Buffalo’s Young Preservationists in February, 2012 by founding members Bernice Radle and John Wilson. Heart bombing, has now grown to be a national movement practiced by many preservation organizations during the month of February. Are you wondering what exactly heart bombing is? According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation the term refers to:
“It’s the act of showering an older or historic place with tangible expressions of affection and devotion — preferably with lots of other place-lovers in tow.”
The act is rather basic, but has shown to have a large impact and even saved endangered buildings. Preservationists gather together and create old-school valentines using sparkles, construction paper, scissors, markers, crayons ect. They then either place these all over an endangered building or stand in the front holding them and document with photographs. The first year Buffalo’s Young Preservationists decided to heart bomb four historic buildings, which they feared were in danger. Today, the four buildings are all standing and have been saved!
Today, the act is practiced across the nation and is an excellent way to highlight the need for preservation. Last year five cities participated including Cleveland OH, Buffalo NY, New Orleans, Twin Cities MN, and Vermont (digitally). The valentines created stated messages such as: Love me don’t leave me, Invest in me, This building rocks, and This place matters.
Would you like to heart bomb a certain endangered building?
Follow the steps below listed on The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s website:
- Read these two blog posts to learn where heart bombing comes from and see how other communities have spread the love.
- Buy your basic, elementary school art supplies.
- Gather a group of people who are passionate about saving a place.
- Make big Valentines for the place you love.
- Use glitter. Lots of it.
- Take your Valentines and either affix them to the place, or stand in front of it holding your declarations of love.
- Take pictures. Lots of them. Especially of your smiling faces in front of the bedazzled location.
- Share all those pictures (and tweets and Facebook posts and pins …) with the hashtag #iheartpreservation.
- Send your very best pictures to editorial@savingplaces.org by Friday, February 20. (Feel free to keep heartbombing until the end of the month, though!) Please include a one-paragraph blurb about why you love this place and why more people should fall in love with it too.
#iheartpreservation