3000 Years in 15 Minutes': American Tourists and Historic Monuments in Post-War Europe

In the immediate aftermath of World War II, much of the physical landscape of Europe lay in ruins. The importance of historic architectural monuments and cities, no longer convincing arguments for the endurance of European culture, now seemed compromised by both the moral and military losses of the war. Remarkably, within just a few years of the war's end, average Americans were touring these same sites in unprecedented numbers. This surge of tourism, promoted and subsidized under the Marshall Plan, reinvigorated the post-war economy and institutionalized the veneration of Europe's architectural treasures as an entertainment for Americans, yet this history has remained obscured by the dominant narratives of post-war European reconstruction in both architecture and diplomatic history. Beginning with the work of the Roberts Commission, a consortium of art historians and museum professionals charged with advising the Allied military government on protecting European monuments, this project traces the way in which historic monuments became a significant component of the altered post-war relationship between the U.S and Europe. With the advent of the Marshall Plan, the U.S. government increased the stake in Europe's architectural resources by funneling capital and expertise into expanding Europe's appeal as a tourist destination for middle-class Americans. While this effort was seen in purely economic terms, its influence on the reception of historic architecture had far-reaching implications. American tourists visiting the architectural sites of Europe were now ushered through multi-site itineraries of rapid cultural consumption tailored for the budget-minded, a practice that shaped the way historic architecture was literally seen and understood. This phenomenon also influenced a transformation in American attitudes about the connections between the architecture, leisure and national identity, particularly as they pertained to the development of the nascent American historic preservation movement. The U.S. investment in bringing together Americans and European monuments through the medium of tourism, encouraged Americans to recognize their own history and architectural heritage as a critical component in the ongoing competition with Europe for cultural and political authority.