25 Years of the 11 Most Endangered List: Alaska’s Kennecott Mines

Posted on: May 15th, 2012 by Brian Turner 1 Comment

 

The old Kennecott mill town -- a feat of human ingenuity that will make your jaw drop -- is perched on the edge of a glacial moraine, in the deep interior of Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, the nation’s largest national park.

The Guggenheims and Morgans (of J.P. Morgan fame) financed the construction of the self-contained mining town in the early 20th century and brought in the railroad to boot. It was all to take advantage of a geologic wonder in the mountains above -- one of the richest copper deposits ever recorded.

Kennecott was abandoned in 1938 and relics of the company town were left behind largely intact. The mill town was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978, and soon after was surrounded by the new 13 million-acre Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve. But while the park was being protected for its scenic beauty, most of Kennecott remained in private ownership and was not being maintained.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation first listed the Kennecott Mines among America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 1990, and again in 1991. The listing helped the Friends of Kennecott secure over $500,000 in state and federal funds to stabilize the 14-story mill building, which is by far the most recognizable and photographed structure in the park.

The listing also encouraged the Park Service to preserve and interpret this vital part of America’s legacy. With help from the Conservation Fund and a substantial donation from the successor mining company, the Park Service acquired most of the complex in 1998 and embarked on the daunting task of stabilizing and rehabilitating more than 18 buildings over the next 11 years. ... Read More →

Why I Love Old Houses

Posted on: May 11th, 2012 by Scott Austin Sidler 8 Comments

 

When I was a kid, my parents lived in an old Colonial house built in 1759 in the Catskill Mountains of New York state. The house was incredible for a kid! There were secret hiding spots everywhere -- from the stone cistern in the basement, to the hidden attic door in my closet.

I loved learning about the home's past from my father as he slowly unearthed its secrets. The small town we lived in was apparently incorporated at a meeting in our house that George Washington himself attended. The property line was marked by a centuries-old, sturdy, dry-stacked stone wall. All fun stories and bits of history. But the stories that I discovered myself were the most intriguing.

One time while I was mowing the lawn I noticed a flagstone peeking out from the grass. Curious about what it was doing there, I cleared away the grass to find it was rather large. I proceeded to poke around the area and see what else I could find. I soon came across another flagstone laid in line with this one just a couple feet away.

I continued my excavations and after awhile had uncovered a flagstone path that started from the back of the house and led out about 75 feet before my mom made me stop. I never did find out where that path led, and sometimes I still wonder about it today. Where did it go? Who put it there? When? How long had it been buried? I was like an explorer uncovering uncharted territory and it was exciting. I wanted to know! I still do.

Old houses tell a story. They have a history. There is something about running your hand down a banister that generations of people have held in their hands for centuries. It gives you a sense of place and time, and a perspective on where you fit in this huge, sometimes impersonal world. You are a part -- a small but important part -- of a much greater story. ... Read More →

Preservation Round-Up: NIMBYs Are People Too Edition

Posted on: May 10th, 2012 by David Garber No Comments

 

The Mossback Manifesto on Urban Density - Crosscut.com

"I don't think NIMBYs are always wrong. It's not an epithet in my vocabulary. In fact, they often get a bum rap for caring too much at a time when too many citizens don't care enough. NIMBYs are often good folks acting locally and who often know more than the people with clipboards and white boards. That said, I don't think the Not-in-My-Backyard stance is sustainable as a guiding philosophy. I think of NIMBYs like those little crabs you find on the beach that raise their claws when you've turned over their rock."

A Move Toward More Affordable Preservation - SFGate

"San Francisco's policy governing historic preservation districts and landmarks must take into account the financial hardship concerns of property owners and low-income housing developers, pedestrian-safety improvements and development challenges, under legislation given preliminary approval by the Board of Supervisors Tuesday. [...] "San Francisco is a great historic city, but it is not a museum," said Supervisor Scott Wiener, chief sponsor of the legislation."

Historic Preservation and Its Costs - City Journal

"Historical buildings add value, interest, and beauty to cities. Beautiful architecture of the past deserves to be recognized and saved, just as we preserve other types of art. We must also recognize, however, that our cities are not museums but living and evolving centers of commerce and culture."

Can Paul Rudolph’s Architecturally Vital Orange County Government Center Be Saved? - Vanity Fair

"Rudolph, who died in 1997, was probably the finest maker of compositions in three dimensions of modern times; he could put planes and solids and lines and textures and surfaces together in a way that at its best was sublime. Rudolph buildings are like Mondrian paintings turned into space, and when you walk into them, if you can get beyond the fact that they are not warm and cuddly, they can thrill you and, at their best, ennoble you."

A Quiet War on Landmarks, or Fixing the Problems with the Preservation Commission? - The New York Observer

"Is the city’s Landmarks Law broken? To the uninitiated, that would have been the likely conclusion from a hearing held at the City Council today. Eleven different pieces of legislation addressing myriad issues at the commission were debated. [...] The city is under assault from a nanny state stuck in the past seemed to be the clear message. For the large crowd assembled in protest for what turned out to be a four hour meeting, the case was quite the opposite: It was the city’s daring Landmarks Preservation Commission, keeper of the soul of the city, that was under assault."

25 Years of the 11 Most Endangered List: Thomas Edison’s Invention Factory

Posted on: May 8th, 2012 by David Garber

 

"How can you take all these resources and best organize them for an authentic and logical visitor experience?" That was the question that Richard Southwick, Director of Historic Preservation for Beyer Blinder Belle, and his team asked themselves when they were tasked with restoring Thomas Edison's Invention Factory in West Orange, New Jersey.

The factory -- also known as Thomas Edison West Orange Laboratories and Thomas Edison National Historical Park -- landed on the National Trust's "America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places" list in 1993 because of deterioration and neglect (six of its 12 buildings were closed to the public), as well as for poor planning for the cataloging of millions of original documents related to Edison's work.

Listing the factory buildings on our 11 Most Endangered list turned the spotlight onto this historic complex, eventually paving the way for a six-year, $13 million meticulous restoration of the place where Edison produced over 500 patents and developed his ideas for alkaline batteries, recorded music, and motion pictures. ... Read More →

My Travels to Milwaukee and Fort Worth, and the Prospect of an American Grand Tour

Posted on: May 8th, 2012 by Priya Chhaya 2 Comments

 

Starting in the late 16th century through to the 18th century, rich, young Europeans (and later Americans) traveled around Europe on something known as the "Grand Tour." Meant to be a capstone to formal education, the Tour involved a period of travel to some of Europe's great cities with the intention of introducing individuals to society, art, and culture.

For the last two weeks, as I made my way to two distinctive cities, I wondered what a modern Grand Tour in the United States would be like. What would be the unexpected places that would serve as a window into our culture, our architecture, and our people?


Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward neighborhood.

As I wrote about in an earlier blog post, I spent the last two weeks traveling to Wisconsin and Texas. I'll be honest -- if given a choice, I doubt that Milwaukee and Fort Worth would have been high on my list of intentional personal travel destinations -- but while I was there, each city succeeded in opening my heart in unexpected ways to what they had to offer.

I don't know what expectations I had for Milwaukee -- aside from its robust brewing past and present -- but I'll leave that alone for now and instead talk about its Historic Third Ward neighborhood, replete with converted warehouses, a fantastic Public Market, shops, and a river walk. Added to the National Register in 1984, the neighborhood is made up of enormous brick buildings that used to be centers of manufacturing. While some of the spaces are still vacant, the neighborhood is very much alive with residents, businesses, and creative public spaces.


The Mitchell Park Conservatory.

I also got a chance to visit the Mitchell Park Conservatory. Three mid-century domes replaced the old conservatory (which is probably an interesting preservation story in and of itself) in 1959. They loom high, and house three different ecosystems, each arrayed with a magical array of smells, sounds, and temperatures: tropical, desert, and a show dome for fancy flowers. I took delight in the way the arcing lines of the dome mimick the curve of the earth upon which these plants grow. ... Read More →