Tagged: Preservation Nation
This Week
A weekly round-up of my favorite preservation stories from around the web and in the news.
The Homes and Hovels of Literary Greats
William Burroughs’ ‘Bunker’ at 222 Bowery — New York, New York
Flavor Wire: Cultural News and Critique offered us a little virtual tourism this week. Check out their A Google Maps Tour of Famous Authors’ Homes to see where your favorite author spent his/her formative years or cooked up their tallest tales. Though not all the sites offered by the tour are historical (architecturally speaking) and not all of the buildings that sheltered our literary heroes are still standing, the tour is a fun way to spend a few minutes while you count this Friday down to the start of Labor Day weekend.
How We Threaten Our Own Legacy
Knute Berger
A guest post on Preservation Nation by Seattle heritage writer Knute Berger points out that for-profit developers (who are often cast as the greedy antagonists in preservation sagas) are not always responsible for the wrecking ball. The government, public entities and public projects are sometimes the trouble – motivated by the misguided notion that “their will embodies an unquestioned public good” or because they are underfunded and neglect historical places under their care.
In Defense
Elias Garcia Martinez, Ecce Homo (c. 1890)
By now we’ve all heard about the botched restoration of Elías García Martínez’s “Ecce Homo.” While most of us have either reacted in horror or had a good laugh (or both – one must cope somehow!), Art historian, Stefla of Florence and the Historian wrote a great post In “Defense” of a Hack-job Restoration. She points out that the elderly woman responsible for the damage was motivated by love of the piece and it was not an out-and-out act of vandalism, that professional conservators make mistakes (sometimes out of sheer carelessness), and that this situation has brought a great deal of attention to the plight of many Spanish churches – they don’t have the funds to care for their historic frescoes and other works. Perhaps the loss of this one fresco will result in additional funds to maintain others – a blessing in (a tragically furry) disguise.
Cookie Monster Cookie Recipe
I realize that not all food can be linked to heritage and preservation, but it’s COOKIE MONSTER’S RECIPE! It does date from the 1970s so I think we can at least call it vintage. And, of course, there is a case to be made for Sesame Street as a mainstay of American culture… Regardless, I think you should on over to theKitchn and whip a batch of these over the weekend. Go ahead! You can ponder culture and heritage while you do it 😉
(PS Cookie Girl, this is for you!)
Tesla, The Oatmeal, and Preservation
The Oatmeal Cartoon Saving Tesla’s Lab
My favorite story this week comes from NPR. The only remaining laboratory of Nikola Tesla, one of the greatest American inventors, was vacant and neglected but may soon be purchased so that it can be turned into a museum, thanks to an Internet campaign that raised nearly a million dollars in about a week. After Jane Alcorn, president of a nonprofit group called The Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe, put out an SOS for funds to purchase the dilapidated warehouse on Facebook asking her contacts to “send out the word to celebrities or people with deep pockets or anyone they thought might be able to give us assistance,” Michael Inman, a famous online cartoonist also known as The Oatmeal got involved. (Inman had previously published “Why Nikola Tesla was The Greatest Geek Who Ever Lived.) As of this writing, they campaign has raised $1,178,162, surpassing their goal of $850,000. Who knew social media and the internet could be the key to preservation success?!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Preservation in Blogland
Here are few of my favorite preservation related posts from around blogland this week.
- Don’t miss Tom King’s delightfully frank comments on the Department of Interior’s “Listening Sessions.” King never hedges – his cutting and brutally intelligent arguments never fail to make you stop and think about a topic. This week he discusses the battle between the DOI and Native Americans over “sacred sites.”
- A Frank Lloyd Wright house in Arizona is in danger of demolition. Designed for Wright’s son, David, the house features a unique concrete facade and shares the same spiral concept as the Guggenheim. The National Trust for Historic Preservation spotlighted the house and efforts to save it on their blog, Preservation Nation.
- The brutal conflict taking place in Syria has dominated news headlines for months. In the last few weeks, reports have slightly shifted focus from political disarray and lives lost to the destruction of Syria’s infrastructure and its cultural heritage sites. The Global Heritage Fund has published several posts on their blog, Heritage on the Wire, highlighting damage done in Aleppo and other cities. This week, they published a story applauding the contributions of Emma Cunliffe, a 2010 Global Heritage Preservation Fellow, to the discussion. Of Cunliffe, the GHF wrote,”This year, she has shown the world that even in the wake of human tragedy, cultural heritage must not be forgotten.”
- This week on his blog, Time Tells, Vince Michael and Dr. Anthea Hartig, Executive Director of the California Historical Society answer the provocative question: “What is a Historical Society in the 21st Century?” They break it down by subject: society (aren’t we all one society?), archives and artifacts (how are they used?), exhibits and eduction (they make people care), preservation (collections and historic buildings often come as a packaged deal, but they aren’t necessarily good for each other), and place (most historical societies are place-based). Michael’s thoughtful blog never fails to impress and inspire.
Preservation Adventure: Lexington, KY
The National Trust is participating in the 2012 Pacifico Beer summer promotional contest, Make Adventure Happen. They are competing for a portion of a $100,000 prize based on the number of votes they receive.
To raise awareness for the contest, they’ve partnered with five preservation fans to highlight “Preservation Adventures” in cities and states across America. I am not one of those five. I just had so much fun reading their entries, that I was inspired to create a Preservation Adventure for my adopted hometown, Lexington. That being said, feel free to click the link above to vote for the National Trust!
Lexington is located in central Kentucky in the heart of the Bluegrass. It’s a city known for thoroughbred horse racing, bourbon, and basketball. It was once known as the Athens of the West. It was a cultural, economic and political center boasting the first university (and millionaire) west of the Allegheny Mountains, the first library in Kentucky, major manufacturing facilities, Henry Clay (aka the “Great Compromiser” – a Senator and three time presidential hopeful) and ties with Abraham Lincoln (his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln was born and raised here).
Let’s get started!
Stay
Gratz Park Inn via 10 Best
Stay at the Gratz Park Inn. Lexington’s only historic boutique inn is located in the Gratz Park neighborhood, one of Lexington’s most beautiful downtown areas (and its first local historic district). It was built in 1906 by three physicians as a medical clinic and was adapted into a luxury inn in the 1980s.
Be sure to take a stroll around the park after you check in. The park was once a part of Transylvania University’s campus. It is surrounded by grande houses and buildings in several architectural styles, including the circa 1814 Federal style Hunt Morgan House (the Hunt-Morgan family produced the aforementioned millionaire as well as Kentucky’s first Nobel Prize winner), the Neo-Classical Carnegie Library (currently the Carnegie Center for Literacy which was built in 1906 with funds granted by Andrew Carnegie), and the humble Old Kitchen Building (now the home of preservation non-profit The Blue Grass Trust – pop in to say hi to the BGT staff and grab a free walking tour guide).
Eat
Le Deauville via KY Land Sales
If you can bear to pull yourself away from Gratz Park, take a stroll down North Limestone toward downtown. You’ll pass several interesting architectural gems along the way including Mulberry & Lime. Now a home decor store and yoga studio, the house was designed by one of Lexington’s most prominent architects, Matthew Kennedy.
Stop along the way to munch French cuisine at Le Deauville, a steak at Columbia’s (where you can learn all about its history as gambling den), or grab a beer at Lexington Beerworks (this stretch of historic storefronts and apartments is mid-revitalization!) or you can carry on to the downtown core to sample any number of restaurants housed in historic buildings. Try Shakespeare and Company (the first US location for the Dubai chain), the Village Idiot (Lexington’s newest gastro-pub) or Table Three Ten. Or try an old favorite – DeSha’s is the cornerstone of the Victorian Square Shoppes (a block of 1880s store fronts that were internally restructured to form an indoor mall).
Drink
Cheapside Bar and Grill via Bluegrass Foodie
After you dine, walk down to Cheapside Park where you’ll find the Bluegrass Tavern. Enjoy a hand-muddled Old Fashioned outdoors and take in the view of Lexington’s one of a kind old courthouse – at first glance it would be easy to simply call it Romanesque, but take a closer look and you’ll notice exotic Tibetan Revival elements. From the side walk seating you can also enjoy a view of Lexington’s first skyscraper, which was designed by McKim, Meade, and White (and is the future home to a 21c Museum Hotel).
If you find your whistle is still not wet, there are several other great bars nearby that are taking advantage of historical spaces including Silks Lounge, Cheapside Bar and Grill, Henry Clay’s Public House and the Chase Tap Room.
Shop
Hop on a free trolley from one of many convenient downtown locations to check out nearby Woodland Triangle. Wooden Triangle is characterized by locally owned and operated shops – rare and used bookstores, clothing boutiques, a yarn store- there is truly something for everyone. The Triangle (so-called because many of the shops are located on a triangular island formed by Woodland Ave, Kentucky Ave, High St, and Maxwell St) developed as a small commercial district serving the needs of one of Lexington’s early commuter neighborhoods. It was a stop on Lexington’s original trolley route!
Hike
McConnell Springs via City Profile
Preservation isn’t just old buildings, it is also landscapes. Drive out to Raven Run Nature Sanctuary or McConnell Springs to enjoy the unspoiled natural beauty of Kentucky.
Walk, Run, Bike
The Legacy Trail connects downtown to the Kentucky Horse Park, a working horse farm with several museums dedicated to the horse. It winds its way past several historic places, including Spindletop Hall, and through horse country with its distinctive black fences and rolling hills.
Art
Off the beaten track, the Loudon House was built in 1850 following the designs of New York architect Alexander Jackson Davis, it is now owned and operated by the Lexington Art League and is used as office, studio, and gallery space. The in-house artists and exhibitions are always phenomenal. And the house itself is not to be missed – it is considered one of the finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture in the state!
Entertainment
image via Keeneland
Spend the day at the races! Located on beautiful rolling farmland just minutes from downtown, Keeneland Race Course has been operating since 1936 and has been recognized by the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark. If it’s racing season, tail-gate with other Lexingtonians on the surrounding grounds before heading inside to place your bets and to watch the impossibly large and sleek thoroughbreds bound around the course. If its not racing season, stop by anyway! You can place a Simulcast bet or just take in the sites.
If thoroughbreds aren’t your thing, stick to downtown where you can take in a movie at the historic Kentucky Theatre, a Broadway musical, play or concert at the Lexington Opera House (built in 1886) or hear a band at Buster’s Billiards and Backroom (a former distillery warehouse) on Manchester Street.
This list is just the tip of the iceberg. Lexington has even more to offer. Preservationists and history lovers, come to Kentucky! We’d love to have you visit.
Essential Preservation Reading List
The National Trust for Historic Preservation published 10 essential preservation reads on its blog, Preservation Nation, yesterday.
I’m overly familiar (thank you grad school!) with some of the titles, while 
others are new to me. I’m particularly interested in checking out From Animal House to Our House: A Love Story after reading a few great reviews of it around blogland recently . But I was also surprised that a few titles were missing (A Field Guide to American Houses, anyone?).
I was really happy to see that Donovan Rypkema’s The Economics of Historic Preservation: A Community Leader’s Guide made it on the list. Successful preservation more often than not starts at the grassroots and more often than not the most persuasive argument for preservation is an economic one. Rypkema’s guide is very clear and easy for even the most financially-challenged (ahem, me) to understand. I had the good fortune to hear Rypkema speak about the economics of preservation at the University of Kentucky’s 5th Annual Historic Preservation Symposium in 2011, which focused on Adaptive Reuse. He was a dynamic speaker and a lively Q&A followed. Hands shot up all over the room the moment he opened the floor. He was just as articulate and effective as his book when fielding questions and responses to his presentation. I think a lot of people walked away from his session with a back pocket filled with new ideas for approaching preservation.*
Are there any essentials you would add?
*In the interest of full disclosure, I feel that I must admit to being a part of the 5th Symposium’s planning committee and to having lunched with Mr. Kaufman after his session. He was incredibly gracious with the HP Program students and faculty.
Rypkema addressing the panel of experts and standing-room-only crowd at the 5th Annual HP Symposium, 2011
The Olympics and Preservation I: What Happens to Olympic Parks after the Games?
So much goes into preparing for and hosting the Olympics. The host city must construct venues for the events (some are beautiful architectural feats like the Bird’s Nest in Beijing), navigate infrastructure issues (roads and side walks in and around the Olympic park), and then there is lodging and public transportation for the thousands of visitors who flock to the games. London made headlines and drew criticism (who can forget this political gaffe?) in the lead up to the opening ceremonies thanks to traffic issues, problems with security and other kinks that still needed to be ironed out. This illustrated the tremendous amount of time, effort, money and coordination necessary to pull off such an event. All of this with the world watching – for about two weeks anyway.
The Bird’s Nest via innovapedia.org
So what happens to the Olympic Park after the games? These are places where history is made – records won, political tensions brought to the forefront (the Nazi Olympics, countries not invited, etc) and sometimes they are the site of tragedy (1972 Munich Olympics hostage situation). Disuse and lack of purpose is a great threat to historic places.
I did a little poking around on the internet and it turns out that the venues are dealt with in a variety of ways. As would be expected, some continue to be used as sports facilities, to house other large events, tourist attractions or as housing (athlete villages) while others are abandoned/demolished. In some cites just a few of the facilities are maintained while other are deserted or demolished.
Now that the 2012 Summer Olympics have wrapped, the 500 acre Olympic Park is being referred to as a “legacy” and promises have been made to use the facilities to the benefit of Londoners for years to come. In that spirit, here are a few cities who have put their Olympic venues to good use.
Some cities continue to use the facilities for sporting events.
Athens’ 2004 stadium is often used for soccer events and has been set on fire numerous times by soccer hooligans. Melbourne’s 1956 venues are now a part of the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct and are regularly used for sporting events. Munich’s 1972 Schwimmhalle, where Michael Spitz won 7 gold medals is available to swim teams, has been the site of the Munich Triathalon since 2003 and is open to the public.
Schwimmhalle, 1972 Summer Olympics Munich via Allyson Angle
Canada Olympic Park, host of the 1988 Winter Olympics is now a high performance training facility as well as a recreational facility open to the public. It is also used for zip lining and summer camps during the summer. The Lake Placid venue (Winter 1932 and 1980) are similarly used.The National Trust recently published a great slideshow of the Lake Placid facilities here.
Cyclist at Canada Olympic Park via somegoodadventure.com
Some former Olympic venues are currently used for cultural events.
The Magdalena Mixhuca, site of the 1968 Summer Olympics is now a sports and culture venue. The Olympiapark in Munich, host of the 1972 Summer Olympics is a cultural, social and religious venue. It is used for festivals, ice dancing expos, and religious events.
Tollwood Festival at Olympiapark in Munich via Destination Munich
Former Athlete Housing now used by Students.
In Atlanta, the 1996 Olympic Athlete’s Village is now housing for students at Georgia Tech and Clark Atlanta University. Likewise, the women’s Olympic Village in Munich (1972) is also student housing. (In fact, a friend’s mother lived in the facility when she was in college in Munich).
These are great examples of host cities that use the expensive facilities and infrastructure they constructed for the Olympics after the two week event.
Though the powers that be in London have a long way to go to put into place their plans for using the 2012 facilities (including the construction of a new university, turning the Athletes’ Village into apartments, opening an Olympics museum, and other tourist attractions), these examples prove it can be done.
Bricks + Mortar 