Civic

[10 on Tuesday] How to Lobby for Preservation: Ten Essential Steps

Posted on: February 19th, 2013 by Julia Rocchi

 

Casting your ballot in the voting booth may be the most fundamental of democratic acts, but talking to your elected official -- called lobbying -- is the indispensable next step. Preservationists, like every other group of citizens joined in common cause, have the prerogative and the responsibility to let members of Congress know that the legislation they enact has consequences, positive and negative, for historic preservation goals back home.

The good news is, if you’re making the case for preservation in your community and encouraging others to take action, you already are an advocate. Lobbying calls for the same communication skills, knowledge of preservation and its benefits, and concern for local communities. Other than that, no specific training or experience is required.

This toolkit offers a broad foundation on how to approach this type of advocacy on the federal, state, and local levels. Every person has the ability to be a grassroots lobbyist, and these tips will give you a good place to start.... Read More →

Julia Rocchi

Julia Rocchi

Julia Rocchi is the managing editor for the National Trust. By day she wrangles content; by night (and weekends), she shops local, travels to story-rich places, and walks around looking up at buildings.

Historic Power Plants: A Tricky (But Rewarding) Resource to Adapt

Posted on: February 6th, 2013 by Michael R. Allen 1 Comment

 

This is the final installment of our guest series on the remarkable transformation of a hospital power plant in St. Louis. This week looks at other American examples of power plant reuse and examines what makes the City Hospital project unique. Read the series to date.

Seaholm Power Plant in Austin, Texas. Credit: Thelonious Gonzo, flickr
Seaholm Power Plant in Austin, Texas.

The Power Plant at City Hospital is the only historic power plant building in the United States that has been reused for a large-volume recreational purpose. Power plants remain difficult buildings to reuse due to their large open volumes, which have to be retained to some extent to qualify for historic tax credits.

A survey of adaptive reuse projects at historic American power plants shows that they tend to be used for office, retail and even residential space. It’s common for floors to be added in these configurations, making it even more significant that the City Hospital Power Plant retained its original space.... Read More →

Michael R. Allen

Michael R. Allen is the Director of the Preservation Research Office in St. Louis, which he founded in 2009. Recent activities include learning video editing and naming his cat after Oscar Niemeyer.

“Shop Life”: Exploring the Immigrant Entrepreneur at the Tenement Museum

Posted on: January 2nd, 2013 by National Trust for Historic Preservation

 

Schneiders' Saloon, Tenement Museum. Credit: Keiko Niwa
The re-created Schneiders' saloon at the Tenement Museum.

Written by Annie Polland, Vice President of Education and Programs, and Kira Garcia, Communications Manager at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum

The Lower East Side Tenement Museum’s re-created apartments at 97 Orchard Street never housed heads of state or celebrities. But these homes are extraordinary places, making history vibrant, exciting, and relatable.

On December 3, the Tenement Museum (a National Trust Historic Site) inaugurated Shop Life, a new exhibit that explores a century of businesses once housed in the historic Tenement. This exhibit is both an extension of the work we’ve been doing for nearly 25 years, and also entirely new: It includes a meticulously re-creation of John and Caroline Schnieder’s 19th-century German saloon, once located at 97 Orchard, as well as a self-guided exploration of history using objects and touch-screen technology.... Read More →

National Trust for Historic Preservation

National Trust for Historic Preservation

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded non-profit organization, works to save America's historic places.

Honoring a Small Bus Station for its Big Contribution to Civil Rights

Posted on: December 12th, 2012 by National Trust for Historic Preservation

 

Written by Erica Stewart, Manager, Public Affairs


National Trust Trustee Sheffield Hale speaks to the Montgomery Bus Station/Freedom Riders Museum partners. Montgomery mayor Todd Strange (fourth from right) attended the celebration.

Last week, 57 years after Rosa Parks helped ignite the Montgomery bus boycott, National Trust Trustee Dr. Sheffield Hale of the Atlanta History Center traveled to the Alabama capital to help celebrate the preservation of a modest Greyhound bus station that made history and the creation of the Freedom Rides Museum that tells its story.... Read More →

National Trust for Historic Preservation

National Trust for Historic Preservation

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded non-profit organization, works to save America's historic places.

Saving Places 101: How College Students Are Preserving Historic Indiana Neighborhoods

Posted on: December 11th, 2012 by David Robert Weible

 


825 Washington in the Emily Kimbrough District.

In many ways, the picture of Muncie, Ind., is the picture of communities throughout the Rust Belt Midwest: a former boomtown chock full turn-of-the-century architecture largely neglected after suburban flight and the loss of manufacturing. But the sheer number of architecturally significant buildings, and the local university project to raise awareness for them, is what sets this city of roughly 70,000 apart.... Read More →

David Robert Weible

David Robert Weible

David Robert Weible is an assistant editor at Preservation magazine. He came to DC from Cleveland, Ohio, where he wrote for Sailing World and Outside magazines.