Preservation Magazine

A historic house in Martinsville, Ind., 30 miles south of Indianapolis, is at the center of a preservation battle that has pitted the city, which wants to save the building, against Morgan County, which has demolished four of the city's historic houses in the past eight years.

Preservationists rallied to meet an August deadline to save the 1870s Barnard House, but the county hasn't yet decided the fate of the two-story brick house, which it bought last October.

Morgan County announced plans to demolish the Barnard House, located just next door to the county administration building, to make way for parking and "future needs that come up,” according to Norman Voyles, county commissioner.... Read More →

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One of the National Preservation Honor Awards, announced last week, went to The Mount, American author Edith Wharton's estate in Lenox, Mass. Since its reopening in 2002, it has become one of the most renowned literary landmarks in the country, drawing 30,000 visitors annually.

Wharton purchased the property in 1902 and renovated it according to her own design. "This place, every line of which is my own work, far surpasses The House of Mirth," Wharton once wrote in a letter. At The Mount, Wharton wrote The House of Mirth and Ethan Frome and entertained fellow literary stars such as Henry James. After a scandalous divorce in 1911, she left The Mount and moved to France, where she lived until her death in 1937.

The year after Wharton left The Mount, her ex-husband sold the property. After several other owners, a brief stint as a school, and a long period of neglect, the nonprofit group Edith Wharton Restoration, Inc. purchased The Mount in 1980 to restore the property.... Read More →

National Trust for Historic Preservation

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

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Last week marked the latest milestone in the restoration of Nevada's oldest Catholic church building, St. Augustine's. That's when a new steel roof was completed for the red brick, Gothic revival and Italianate structure that has been a part of the historic silver mining town of Austin since 1866.

The new roof means no more "flown-in insulation," as the building's owner, Jan Morrison, calls the 25 cubic yards of bird droppings that accumulated in the rafters over the years by falling through gaps in the old tin and aluminum roof. Morrison isn't sure how much it weighed, but after a hazmat crew removed the guano, she says, "the ceiling raised up two inches." ... Read More →

National Trust for Historic Preservation

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

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Larger than an Olympic-sized rink and host to three national championships, the Berkeley Iceland Rink in Berkeley, Calif., is still on slippery ground, despite its new landmark status.

Owner Eastbay Iceland Inc. announced plans to close the facility in January. Plans to demolish the building and put up townhouses fell through, however, and the community took the opportunity to step up.

Naming itself after the rink, the nonprofit group Berkeley Iceland worked to get city landmark status for the building. Eastbay Iceland appealed the landmarking, but the city upheld the designation, and now a state landmark designation is in the works. ... Read More →

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In Manhattan, Kan., the fight to save the last house in a neighborhood lost to a shopping center soon may lose its footing.

Built in 1874, the limestone Phillipena J. Strasser House is the last in a residential area that consisted of late 19th- to mid-20th-century limestone abodes.

Last year, Omaha-based developer Dial Realty purchased the property, adjacent to Manhattan's original downtown area, and began construction on a shopping center and senior living community. Dial has leveled everything except for the Strasser House. Recently, Dial announced plans to move the house down the block.

"The Strasser House is in poor repair," says Rick Kiolbasa, partner at Dial Realty, who notes that fire and termite damage have led to the house's deteriorated condition. Kiolbasa says Dial never planned to demolish the Strasser House. "We'd always wanted to save the house in some form, but we never knew exactly what the shopping center would look like and where it could fit in." Kiolbasa adds that Dial plans on rehabilitating the house, possibly for use as office space.... Read More →

National Trust for Historic Preservation

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

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