Ohio Town Saves 1880 House

Posted on: December 20th, 2007 by Margaret Foster 1 Comment

 

Oxford’s Township HouseTwo years ago, a one-room house built in Oxford, Ohio, in 1880 was on its way to being bulldozed to make way for apartments. Instead, residents of the college town rallied to save the Italianate building, and today the Township House was moved four miles to the safety of a state park.

The two-hour move, delayed twice because of bad weather, was "quite an adventure," says Laura Henderson, member of the town's historic and architectural preservation commission and co-chair of the moving committee.

"Everyone was out cheering and clapping. It was a really uplifting experience," Henderson says. "It will go down in history as being one of the major community efforts in a long time." ... Read More →

Today in the Field: From the New Orleans City Council Chambers

Posted on: December 20th, 2007 by Walter Gallas

 

I am in council chambers, where there are police standing between the audience and the council. A fight broke out as they were trying to begin, and people were hauled off. Outside, officers on horseback are blocking entry to the chamber. We heard that tear gas and tasers were being used against the crowd outside. In the meantime, HUD and the Lafitte developers were able to calmly make their presentations ... It's all very surreal.

In my presentation to the council, my points were:

  • There was a limited amount of serious consideration that was given by HUD and HANO to alternatives to demolition during the Section 106 consultation process, and
  • The city is going down a "planning by demolition" path in not just this but other aspects of redevelopment.

I called on the Council to demand that the City Planning Commission (as required by the City Charter) step up to the plate to prepare and recommend to the Council plans for the public housing developments. City planning has been notably absent in the whole process.

I also urged the Council to find a middle ground that incorporates retention, remediation, rehabilitation and re-use of the old, with the best of the new. Five buildings of the same vintage from the old St. Thomas developments were rehabbed in 11 months and opened last month.

(Editors note: The New Orleans Times-Picayune is liveblogging the Council hearings, and the information they are posting is fascinating. Please check it out.)

Notes from the Field: New Orleans

Posted on: December 20th, 2007 by Walter Gallas 1 Comment

 

An apparently-sound house on the salvage list at the owner’s request.I recently spent an afternoon in the field with FEMA historic preservation staff assessing buildings for selective salvage. This was the latest group of 37 contributing properties on the demolition list. There are still many more to come as they are presented by the city and evaluated by FEMA. Michelle Kimball of PRC, and Wilbur Walker, PRC’s warehouse manager also took a shift. While there were buildings which clearly warrant demolition, we also saw a few that we questioned—either because they appeared to be structurally sound or because they were cases of pre-Katrina blight (which means FEMA recovery funds shouldn’t be paying for their demolition).

Repaired & occupied house still on the salvage list.We also visited a house in the Gentilly Terrace neighborhood which was still on the list, even though it was repaired and occupied. I sent an email to FEMA with our challenges. The materials salvaged from these houses will go to the Preservation Resource Center warehouse for PRC and Trust projects and also for public sale.

A Report from the Greenbuild Conference in Chicago – Part 2

Posted on: December 19th, 2007 by Barbara Campagna

 

Presenting the Sustainability Initiative of the National Trust

Two colleagues and I presented the Sustainability Initiative of the National Trust to a room of 250+ Greenbuild-goers on Friday, November 9th. The large number in attendanclincoln-cottage.jpge was a great relief and an indication, I think, that interest in the intersection of historic preservation and green building is not limited or marginalized to the choir of preservationists who have been singing that tune for the past few years. I began the session by asking how many in attendance consider themselves to be preservation professionals – and only a handful raised their hands. But when I asked how many were National Trust members, the hands of about 2/3 of the attendees enthusiastically shot up. Maybe more people are listening than we realize.

We have a multi-component work plan but below are the key issues we presented.

... Read More →

New Plans for Pennsylvania's 1872 Star Barn

Posted on: December 19th, 2007 by Margaret Foster 2 Comments

 

Star BarnOne of the most memorable barns in Pennsylvania has a new owner who plans to move the 1872 Gothic revival structure to a rural site and restore it as an "agricultural expo center."

Seven years ago, to protect the Star Barn and its ancillary buildings from encroaching development, the nonprofit Preservation Pennsylvania bought its 3.6-acre property, listed it on the National Register of Historic Places, and waited for the right owner.

On Friday, the Star Barn property will be sold to Agrarian Country, a nonprofit based in Middletown, Pa., three miles from the barn.

"The Star Barn is just part of a larger plan for Agrarian Country to establish a showcase for agriculture in Pennsylvania," says company president Robert S. Barr, who has restored other historic buildings in the area. "When we move it and convert to a commercial building, we'll fix it up so it'll be available for shows, dinners, banquets, and community theater groups," Barr says. "From the outside, it'll look identical."... Read More →