What do you think when you see the Indianapolis skyline?  I suspect most of us see signs of progress and growth.

Marsh Davis says “a lot what’s being built today is pretty boring.”

Davis speaks as the President of Indiana Landmarks, an organization determined to save sites that might be sacrificed for something else.  It’s certainly happened before.  Davis points to the old Marion County Courthouse.

Take a look at what we knocked down.

Davis says the courthouse was still structurally sound.  But it was dirty.  And had pigeons.

It also had the misfortune of existing in an era that “didn’t appreciate the level of historicity in buildings,” he says.

So now we have tall buildings and lots of glass.  But, Davis says, “they don’t have the same character or materials that the earlier buildings did.”

For me, summer holidays inspire thoughts of history.  In this case, it was the Fourth of July that moved me to call Marsh.   I wanted to know more about how Indiana Landmarks works – and why old buildings mean so much to him.

“It’s more than just buildings,” he told me.  “We’re really preserving places.”

And, that isn’t easy.

Davis acknowledges the work of preservationists creates an image of  “people who stop things from happening – and that’s fair to some extent.”  He sees his job as that of a problem solver.  “Not telling people what they can’t do but what they can do with respect to saving our heritage.”

Our interview will be broadcast Sunday morning on My107.9 at 6 and WZPL at 7 in the morning.

Join us and hear why Davis says “we’re not about saving the past.  We’re about saving really cool stuff that happens to be old.  But we’re doing it for the present and future generations.”