Take a moment to read this excerpt from "The Tiki Wars" by Wayne Curtis (The Atlantic Monthly, February 2001) concerning the demolition of the tiki restaurant Kahiki in Columbus, OH: Placed in its socio-historical context, Natalie Wright [National Register coordinator at the Ohio Historic Preservation Office] argued, the Kahiki vividly recalled a time when America inhabited a sort of South Seas Camelot. Songs from the movie musical South Pacific (1958) were on everyone's lips, Hawaii had joined the union as the fiftieth state just two years before (1959), and Elvis was starring in Blue Hawaii (1961). If historic buildings serve as cairns that mark our path as we march resolutely forward through time, we should preserve places like the Kahiki in the event we ever want to go back. In a 3-paragraph essay, do the following: First paragraph: Choose a building that you think serves to identify the present time. The building can be as funny as a tiki restaurant or as weighty as a national monument-it's up to you. Describe the building and in what way(s) it represents our era. Second paragraph: Now talk about whether it is or isn't important to preserve your building-for example, by including it in the National Register of Historic Places. Give specific reasons why it is or isn't. What criteria should we keep in mind when deciding what to preserve? Third paragraph: With the previous material in mind, consider these questions: Is it important to preserve the best architectural examples of our era for our grandchildren? Why or why not? If not, how might we better preserve and identify our history? Your essay should be 300-500 words. Two copies are due Thursday, January 31.