Historic preservation is not the protection of old buildings; at least it's not just that. It is the preservation of our history – the ties that bind us together culturally and aesthetically. An old church give clues to a community's roots, its heritage. A beautiful civic building speaks to a time when we committed time and resources to buildings that embody a community's pride in itself. When we travel to new places, we go to see the amazing buildings that tell us stories about that place. When people travel to many of our own home communities now, will you take them to the local Wal-Mart to marvel at the architectural integrity and the sense of character? We choose to build cheap buildings on cheap land (often on the outskirts of cities) without thoroughly considering the legacy we are leaving, or more appropriately, the legacy we are destroying. By ignoring Wisconsin's rich architectural history, we degrade our downtowns and lose the sense of place and pride that once pervaded our cities, villages and towns. By abandoning downtowns as civic focal points, we create a landscape of sprawl.