National Historic Preservation Lecturer Thompson Mayes to Lecture at St. Luke’s – Smithfield Times

National Historic Preservation Lecturer Thompson Mayes will speak at St. Luke’s

Posted at 5:03 p.m. on Monday, August 29, 2022

A nationally recognized speaker on historic preservation will speak at St. Luke’s Historic Church and Museum in October.

Thompson M. Mayes, author of “Why Old Places Matter”, will present a lecture titled the same Sunday, October 2 at 2 p.m. Mayes is the Legal Director and General Counsel of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The conference is sponsored by the Isle of Wight County Historical Society in partnership with St. Luke’s.

Mayes’ expertise includes architectural and engineering preservation issues, historic shipwrecks, preservation easements, collections management, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. He was selected in 2013 as the winner of the National Endowment for the Arts Rome Prize, which sent him to Rome for a six-month tour to answer the question “Why are ancient places important?” »

Places will be limited to approximately 80 people. Registration is free, but the following form, available at https://stlukesmuseum.org/why-old-places-matter/must be completed for each person present.

A guided driving tour of 10 historic sites in the Isle of Wight county is scheduled one day before the conference, October 1, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., from the Schoolhouse Museum, 516 Main St., Smithfield.

The Historical Society is also hosting a dinner with Mayes on Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. at the Smithfield Inn for $100 per person, $30 of which will benefit the Historical Society. Those interested in attending the dinner must pay in advance and register by September 16 at https://dinnerwithtommayes.eventbrite.com.