>Although this type of situation arises again and again across the US, it is
>particularly unique in Pittsburgh because for some reason the elected
>officials (read Mayor Tom Murphy) don't care about their constituents'
>wishes.

Oh but they DO care!  The constituents they care about are the wealthy,
corporate types, and others with connections to city hall.  So it has
always been.  Here in Houston, a truly heroic effort by community activists
had prevented the wrecking ball from destroying Allen Parkway Village for
almost twenty years, but it took a "development" and "progress" minded
Mayor (Bob Lanier) and certain well-connected people of color (who stand to
gain millions) to achieve what National Register status and other
legislation (the so-called "Frost-Leland Amendment") couldn't prevent.

My point is simple.  This IS WHAT ARCHAEOLOGICAL PRACTICE IN THE U.S. IS
ALL ABOUT.  Situations such as the one in Pittsburgh are THE RULE, not the
exception.  Everybody knows it, it's the worst kept secret around.  The New
York African Burial Ground situation as well as the others I cited earlier
demonstrate this pretty clearly.

The culprit is American social policy over the past twenty years or so, but
the roots of this mess lie ultimately within the "progress" minded ethos of
American capitalism itself.

Historic preservation is irrelevant.  The only kind of historic
preservation that matters is the kind of B.S. (i.e. WHITE:  usually PALE,
MALE, and STALE) that gets saved in places such as Charleston or Galveston.
 Those politicians' wives need something to do, it might as well be saving
a house or something.  Lord knows they don't want to relieve some "bad"
history of Dixie by preserving a housing project or Black meeting house
(although a precious few HAVE been preserved).....

>Heinz knew all too well that the City would cave in to their
>demands. The die was cast two years ago when Pittsburgh residents voted
>against a tax increase to build new stadiums. What did the mayor do? He
>found backdoor funding in Harrisburg and the stadiums are under construction
>as I type. The combination of abuse of eminent domain taking and the
>disregard for its heritage are sad statements the City of Pittsburgh is
>making to its citizens and the rest of the world.

What the ABG experience shows is that if a community TRULY CARES (i.e. is
willing to demonstrate and is willing to exert political pressure for the
LONG HAUL), then the administration will have to listen.  Are such signs in
evidence in Pittsburgh?  Are people willing to place their livelihood and
reputations on the line to save this wool pullery?  That's what it's going
to take, I'm afraid.  Otherwise the mayor will continue to do what he's
always done.

I don't want to sound like Mr. Doom and Gloom, but even a cursory review of
urban "renewal" policy of the last few years leads me to believe that
things are going to get worse before they get better.  America's public
housing, for instance, is being destroyed at a rather disturbing clip.  It
boils down to politics; and to pretend that archaeology is somehow "not"
political is proving increasingly to be a position that is no longer
sustainable, if it ever was.

If anything, archaeology is in many ways helping to DESTROY much of
America's history, despite much rhetoric to the contrary.

flm