A native of Mobile, Stephen McNair runs McNair Historic Preservation, a consulting firm that works with firms restoring historic buildings to obtain tax credits and comply with historic standards. Since it opened in 2015, his firm has facilitated over $350 million in direct investment in Alabama through its rehabilitation work. He’s also restored many historic buildings.

Here, McNair discusses why he thinks “preservation is progress,” where he hopes Mobile will be in 20 years and how we should learn from our history and our mistakes.

Questions and answers have been condensed and edited for clarity.

Why do you do what you do? Why start this business, why work in historic preservation?

It’s a passion. This is a field that I’ve been passionate about since I was a teenager. A lot of people ask me why I moved back to Mobile to do this, having moved back from Edinburgh [editor’s note: McNair received his PhD from the University of Edinburgh is 2013]. And the answer is because I’m extremely passionate about my hometown. But, also, I recognized that there was a void in the private sector that was being met in places like New York and Charleston and New Orleans that was not being recognized in Mobile. And that is a place for a historic preservation consultant, who focuses on historic tax credits. Plus, the timing really worked out well, I was leaving Edinburgh with my doctorate at about the time that the [Alabama] state historic tax credit program was initiated within the legislature. So, the timing worked out well. And I should say, not just in Mobile, but also the whole state, because we work everywhere. Most of my projects are in Birmingham, but we have stuff everywhere. We typically average about between 15 and 20 active projects at one time, and with a balance of about 50/50 between urban and rural areas. So, it wasn’t a need just in Mobile. It was a need statewide.

What do you think people should know about the history of Mobile?

I think it’s important for people to have a comprehensive understanding of where they live, not just maybe an understanding of certain chapters that they find more interesting. And by that, I mean, you you have to put all the chapters of Mobile history within a greater context. To understand the French, you must also understand the Spanish and you must also understand the British and all of the things that were occurring not only in Mobile at the time, but also around the world. And included in that should be an understanding of the history of West Africans in South Alabama and also Native Americans. I feel like a lot of people think that Mobile history started with Iberville and Bienville, when in fact, they were a continuation of an existing chapter of Mobile history that had existed for hundreds of years.

I would like to see a greater emphasis on a comprehensive understanding of Mobile, dating from its earliest settlers through the modern era. And chapters change very quickly. I mean, look at how much our city has changed just since Brookley Airfield closed, or how much it has changed since Airbus opened and Austal arrived. So it’s important not to look at these chapters of our history as being static, but building upon each other, being very fluid.

What do you hope Mobile will look like in 20 years?

I’d like to see new construction infill in midtown and downtown that is thoughtful and complementary to the historic aspects, while also adding new housing options and commercial options to these neighborhoods. We have an abundance of surface-level parking lots that represent the scars of urban renewal, during a period where our city abandoned our downtown. And we now have a new generation of preservation leaders and commercial developers who understand the mistakes of our forefathers and understand the importance of walkability and quality of life, who have a real opportunity to develop these scars into something lasting that that makes Mobile an even better place.

If you look out these windows, it’s nothing but surface-level lots. That’s because, instead of fixing things up in the 50s, they tore it down. Thankfully, there are new federal laws that prevent a lot of the destruction that occurred in Mobile with the implementation of the tunnel and interstate systems that that would not be allowed today. Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, I think it is, requires that any federally funded projects go through a review by the State Historic Preservation Office, SHPO, which is occurring with the new [Bayway] bridge. But it would have prevented the wholesale demolition of neighborhoods where the [Mobile] Civic Center and I-10 and Wallace tunnel are located.

“Preservation is progress” is something I like to say. Preservation does not mean hugging a building to death. It does not mean keeping something stuck in time. Historic preservation is about maintaining the historic character of a building, while keeping it active and useful for every generation.

What makes Mobile a great place to live?

The quality of life, within the context of Alabama, is by far the best in Mobile, in terms of walkability, historic neighborhoods, interesting architecture and the culture of people who celebrate everything from oak trees to the historic architecture. You don’t find the type of interest in those things in most other communities across Alabama like you do here. That’s why, when an oak tree is removed from Broad Street, or a historic home or building is destroyed for another surface level parking lot—I’m saying that very loudly–people get upset, and rightfully so. Because the historic neighborhoods and trees and quality of life of midtown and downtown Mobile are why people visit our city, and what makes us so unique and so special.

This story was originally published in the July 25, 2022 edition of the Mobile Lede. To subscribe to the Lede, go to alabamalede.com.