This Week
A weekly round-up of my favorite preservation related stories from around the web and in the news.
Diana Vreeland
Vreeland in her NYC apartment. Image via Apartment Therapy.
In preservation, we often focus on the exterior of the building and the architectural details of the interior. However, the furnishings and wallpapers and other decorations are important points as well. The history of interior design in the US is pretty fascinating and is filled with quotable women with BIG personalities. Diana Vreeland is one of those women. Her long running career influenced American design and left us with such bon mots as “Pink is the Navy Blue of India!”
To the Vomitory!
Check out those vomitories! #BBN Image via Lexington Center
For the last several weeks, Preservation in Mississippi has been writing an “architectural word of the week” series that has been entertaining and informative. Today, one of the words is vomitory – click through to read the definition of this mighty gross sounding word. MissPres makes the point that it is a great word for football season, but being from Kentucky I have to point out it is a great word for basketball season. The vomitories in Rupp Arena were full of fans just last night!
Raising the Dead in DC
19th-century skeletons uncovered in the 3300 block of Q Street. Image via Preservation Nation
In large cities, it is not uncommon to find that a park or development is built atop the site of a former cemetery. In DC, four 19th century burials were found near a former cemetery that is now Volta Park off of Avenue Q during construction work. Check out the story for more information about how DC grew up around and over its cemeteries! Or check out Scouting New York for info about the smallest graveyard in Manhattan, all that remains of a once MUCH larger cemetery.
Preservation Prodigy II
Linley in front of his Indiana home. Image via PreservationNation
I didn’t think that Preservation Nation could top their story last week about sixth-grader/preservationist Nate Michalak until this week when they profiled 12 year old preservationist Daniel Linley. For his sixth grade science project, Linley proved that the ca. 1920 windows in his home in Elkhart, In are more energy efficient than new windows. Yeah science! With Linley and Michalak already rising stars, I’d say the future of preservation is very bright indeed.
