Financial History Issue 125 (Spring 2018) | Page 37
THE BUSINESS OF HISTORY
By Gregory DL Morris and Tara Patrick
From the pages of this magazine and
the galleries of the Museum, to the grand-
est estates of the captains of industry, the
history of business is often simultaneously
the business of history. That is the vexing
reality to those who value history for its
own sake.
Just because something is historical, or
actually historic, does not automatically
mean it can be monetized. The original
Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan can
be demolished to make way for ugly but
profitable steel and glass boxes. But in
many cases history can pay its own way,
and then some.
“As a meeting planner for 20 years,
I want some enrichment to an event,”
said Amy Talley, executive director of
the Association of Meeting Profession-
als, based in Falls Church, Virginia, near
Washington, DC. “Of course the wi-fi has
to be strong, and there has to be cell phone
service in the basement if there are going
to be activities there. And there cannot
be a pillar in the middle of the ballroom.
But historical properties can do so much
to enhance a meeting, because in a well-
planned meeting, we are not just trying
to get through an agenda, we are trying to
create an experience.”
The legendary lobby of the Willard
InterContinental Hotel in Washington, DC. Built
and expanded between 1816 and 1858, it quickly
became a hub of unofficial political activity during
the American Civil War. Advocates for a particular
cause would hang about the common areas and
came to be known as lobbyists. In 2017, Jim Hewes
at The Willard was named Hotel Historian of the
Year by Historic Hotels of America.
www.MoAF.org | Spring 2018 | FINANCIAL HISTORY 35