It's amazing how a week can change the course of events. Last week we were lamenting at the loss of yet another important archeological discovery - the 18th century rum distillery - in downtown Albany. This week we learn that some of it may actually get preserved after all, but from an unanticipated pair of saviors.

Coming to the distillery's rescue are two officers of First Albany Corporation. President Alan Goldberg and Chairman George McNamee have pledged about $50,000 to reopen the excavation and preserve some of the vats. Now before you go off and scratch your head at what seems to be unlikely advocates of the past, it actually proves something we have been saying all along. You don't have to be a "radical preservationist" to appreciate and understand the importance of saving our local history. All it took for Mr. McNamee was to take his 6 year old son to view the site when it was on display a week ago. In my book, both men deserve much public praise and a medal.

My only reservation about the whole situation is whether their money will be wasted. The site was covered with gravel and packed down by bulldozers. Gravel is small irregularly shaped and sharp stones. What kind of condition will the vats be in when they are "re-excavated?" All of us hope the vats will be in fine shape and not destroyed by the crushing and scratching of the packed gravel. We shall see.

Many preservationists have been screaming for years that the city of Albany (and Troy, Schenectady, etc.) needs a preservation and archeological recovery plan in place. As the city unearths more of its past each year, the discoveries end up destroyed instead of preserved. The resulting bad press certainly doesn't make matters better either.

In an effort to justify putting buildings or parking garages on top of these sites, communities such as Albany use the 30 year old mantra that they are "preserving it for future generations." How about saving these sites for the current generation? Where is it written that future generations have a monopoly on appreciating the past?

The mayor recently suggested the city needs a museum to house and display all the great artifacts being collected. I couldn't agree more. In fact, in 1977, a few of us were trying to make it happen. We were renovating old St. John's Church on South Ferry Street for a new Albany Museum with a federal grant funnelled through the county of Albany. However, the Mayor and the Bishop pulled the rug out from that project.

Moreover, even my little project was nothing more than a continuation of efforts that began more than 200 years ago. Albany had a museum in 1797 on the corner of Green and Beaver Streets, later moving it to the third floor of City Hall. On December 1, 1830, it moved to a newly constructed building, called the Marble Column Building, on the northwest corner of State and Broadway. It contained "A number of living animals, and a great variety of other natural and artificial curiosities." The museum was discontinued on April 28 1855, and the building torn down in 1904. The city has been without a museum ever since. St. John's is still available!

We also learned this week that the Mayor hired a classical archeologist from the University at Albany to oversee Albany's future archeological issues. This is another step in the right position. Allowing an archeologist to be on the inside track on proposed developments will let him raise flags of concern before the development proposal receives the green light. Maybe we can start seeing intelligent preplanning that can lead to avoiding the destruction of our past, and incorporate these resources into all new construction when possible.

Now is the time to start putting this new attitude into play. The E-COM proposal for a complex of high tech buildings on Broadway is atop the area of the first settlement outside Fort Orange. The developers have postponed the project for a year. With proper archeology (that is digging without a bulldozer waiting in the wings) conducted now, whatever is found could be incorporated into the new high tech center design. Imagine walking into the lobby of the building and looking at the foundations of your 400 year Albany ancestors.

Scientists say that evolution is a slow process. But, as we can see from this past week, sometimes it takes a giant leap forward in record time.