Save As: NextGen Heritage Conservation
Why do we save historic places? For whom? How can heritage conservation advance equity, justice, and climate adaptation? This podcast explores these and other issues with students at the University of Southern California, for a glimpse of the future of the field.
Episodes
67 episodes
[Encore] Architecture + Advocacy in L.A.'s Sugar Hill
An Encore episode with a new update!A group of architecture students at the University of Southern California wants to do more than just design buildings. They want to work with communities to “un-design'' spatial injustice and leverage ...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 9
•
36:18
Framing History through Photography
Photographer Sally Mann once said, “Photographs open doors to the past, but also allow a look into the future.” Photography is a key component of the historic documentation process. New graduate Sam Malnati (MHC/MUP ’25) delved into photography...
•
31:43
Sharing Hidden History, from Place to Policy
In this “Where Are They Now?” episode, we catch up with Elysha Paluszek (MHC ‘10), senior associate, architectural historian, and preservation planner at Architectural Resources Group. She’s been highlighting hidden history since her master’s t...
•
31:22
After the Fires: What Remains
A month after the disastrous fires in the Los Angeles area, this special episode features a conversation among Save As co-hosts Trudi Sandmeier and Cindy Olnick, and producer Willa Seidenberg. Trudi reflects on the loss of her historic family h...
•
36:27
Everyday Urbanism in L.A.’s Koreatown
In this “Where Are They Now?” episode, we catch up with alum Junyoung Myung (MHC ’15), who followed yet another of many career paths in heritage conservation: research and teaching. His exciting work blends architecture, design, heritage conser...
•
28:20
How Lesbian Bars Built Community in San Francisco’s North Beach
As a young architectural historian in San Francisco, Shayne Watson would take lunchtime walks near her office, pondering how and where the city’s lesbian history took shape. She discovered that one of the earliest lesbian bars once stood right ...
•
37:32
[Encore] Free to be Punjabi
October 31st marks the beginning of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights. It's the most important holiday in India. In celebration, we are re-releasing this episode from Season 1.The allure of abundant work and fer...
•
34:35
Death Valley Ghost Town: Conservation of the Ryan Mining District
Before Death Valley became a desert tourism mecca, it was a mining hot spot. The homelands of the Timbisha Shoshone tribe were opened to industry during the California Gold Rush. In this “Where Are They Now?” episode, producer Willa Seidenberg ...
•
Season 5
•
Episode 2
•
31:06
Preserving Black Heritage in the U.S. South
One of the signs memorializing the 1955 murder of Emmett Till weighs nearly 500 pounds and is designed to absorb a rifle round. It’s the fourth version of the sign, the others having been vandalized and riddled with bullet holes.How can ...
•
28:04
A Tale of Two Rivers: Los Angeles and San Antonio
Why do urban rivers look like they do? What makes one river key to a city’s identity and another one largely unknowable? We wrap up Season Four with a trip to the banks of the Los Angeles River, where Cindy Olnick chats with new dual-degree alu...
•
37:14
Beyond the Stage: Uncovering Drag Culture in Los Angeles
Drag performances have long been a draw for audiences in L.A., though often held “underground” because of threats of persecution. In addition to its entertainment history, drag has had a role in affirming and protecting gender identity. A...
•
37:01
There's an App for That: 3D Scanning with a Smartphone
Tools for documenting historic buildings evolve constantly, but professional 3D scanners remain out of reach for most of us. Alumna Ye Hong, our first dual-degree student in Heritage Conservation and Building Science, sees a path to more equita...
•
27:23
Documenting Black Women’s History at the Wilfandel Clubhouse
Dedicated students at the University of Southern California have pulled out the laser scanners and measuring tapes to document the Wilfandel Clubhouse in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles. The Wilfandel Club, the oldest Black women’s c...
•
28:42
The Midcentury Spa-Tels of Desert Hot Springs
New alumna (and Save As producer) Willa Seidenberg has enjoyed the mineral-water spas of Desert Hot Springs for decades. In the 1950s, the Coachella Valley town became a destination for middle- and working-class families who frequented the simp...
•
36:52
The Hidden Heritage of San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf
A San Francisco native, alumna Emi Takahara always wondered why so many locals dismiss the historic Fisherman’s Wharf as a tourist trap. Sure, it has overpriced food, but it also has a culinary history that might surprise you—as well as longtim...
•
36:53
Rehabbing Old Houses into Affordable Housing
Alumna Isabel Thornton grew up in the Rust Belt town of Roanoke, Virginia. After graduating from USC, she eventually returned home and took note of the city’s beautiful Victorian homes, many vacant and in a state of disrepair. Linking her exper...
•
32:40
[Update] Meet You at Lenchita's
Alumna Sara Delgadillo grew up in Pacoima, a blue-collar neighborhood in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley. Sara joined us in Season One to discuss how growing up in Pacoima influenced her life, studies, and career in heritage conservation. She also s...
•
41:52
[Update] Heritage and Hope at the Mafundi Building in Watts
After the Watts Rebellion of 1965, Black architects Art Silvers and Robert Kennard designed a Late Modern building for the Mafundi Institute, a cultural organization. The Watts Happening Cultural Center opened in 1970 as a place of creative exp...
•
1:00:15
[Update] Bunker Hill Refrain: Resurrecting a Lost Community
From 1930s census cards to virtual reality, the Bunker Hill Refrain project just keeps getting cooler. This multi-year effort is using data to reimagine downtown L.A.'s Bunker Hill—a historic, vibrant neighborhood razed in the urban renewal/rem...
•
51:59
Save As: Fall 2023!
Save As is taking a wee little break this fall. BUT we will bring you some exciting updates on previous episodes. We will be back in 2024 better than ever and with new and interesting episodes. Stay tuned and take this time to...
•
1:10
Architecture + Advocacy in L.A.'s Sugar Hill
A group of architecture students at the University of Southern California wants to do more than just design buildings. They want to work with communities to “un-design'' spatial injustice and leverage the power of residents in shaping their nei...
•
35:12
Valuing the Vernacular in Beaufort, SC
When Emily Varley arrived in Beaufort, SC for a summer internship, she had no idea she’d make a discovery that would change the course of her studies at USC. Her research for the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park led her to a boarded-...
•
33:00
Allensworth: The Past and Future of a Black Agrarian Utopia
Allensworth is a tiny town with a big history—and its residents are grappling with some very big issues. The only town in California founded and governed by African Americans, the Central Valley farming community was free of oppression and full...
•
34:27
Mysteries of Modernism at Schindler’s Buck House
One of the many great things about Los Angeles is its unrivaled legacy of modern residential architecture. Students in Peyton Hall's Materials Conservation class did their case study on the John J. Buck House (1934-35) by R. M. Schindler, one o...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 11
•
32:10