Tagged: rustwire
This Week
A weekly round-up of my favorite preservation related stories from around the web and in the news.
Aleppo’s Landmarks Burn
- The Umayyad Mosque, set ablaze over the weekend, is the latest landmark damaged in Aleppo’s walled Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Photo: AFP
“Since the start of Syria’s civil war eighteen months ago, the country’s abundance of cultural heritage sites — which include some of the oldest and most important cultural centers on earth — have found themselves repeatedly caught in the crossfire. Archaeologists around the world have made devoted efforts to assess the damage, but actually protecting the sites has been impossible.” – The Global Heritage Fund
Park Slope’s Pink Brownstone
- Park Slope’s pink brownstone. Image via Animal New York
If you’ve ever been to Park Slope, you probably noticed the Pepto Bismol pink brownstone on Garfield Place. Since it was painted in 1971, it has become an neighborhood icon. Fortunately/unfortunately (it’s a matter of opinion), the pink hued townhouse will soon be painted brown. Check out Brooklyn Paper for more information about the Landmark Preservation Commission’s decision.
Race Impacts Place
My tagline is a little misleading (but it rhymes!). This story (from Rustwire) is more about how people shape their communities through culture (which is connected to race, and ethnicity, and heritage). Until the 1970s, the Buckeye Road neighborhood in Cleveland was a cohesive Hungarian enclave. When it began to integrate, the community was broken apart by blockbusting (and fear-mongering) realtors and developers. Despite the its best efforts to reshape itself into an multi-ethnic and integrated community, depressed real estate prices took their toll. Today the neighborhood stands in stark contrast to the once vibrant community it was.
Preservation Prodigy
- Nate Michalak hard at work. Image via Preservation Nation.
Eleven year old Nate Michalak is already an active historic preservationist. He’s helping his family restore three historic houses in Toledo, Ohio. And he writes a column for Heritage Ohio! He says of his projects, “I think that’s not right that a lot of these kinds of houses are being torn down to make new houses or shopping malls and I wonder, why? Why would you tear down a beautiful old house and make something brand new?” Right on, little guy! Jump over to Preservation Nation for more Q&A with this pint sized preservationist.
This Week
A weekly round-up of my favorite preservation related stories from around the web and in the news.
The Louisville Palace
Louisville Palace Theater image via HerKentucky
HerKentucky highlighted Louisville’s Palace Theater this week, showing that you don’t have to be a “building hugger” or a even a “preservationist” to appreciate the beauty of historic buildings, a beautiful restoration, or what they can mean to a city. The Palace Theater is a Louisville icon. It was originally constructed in the 1920s and was restored in in 1994, after many years of neglect. The theater plays host to classic films, comedy and broadway productions, and is a favorite concert venue. Cold Play, Fiona Apple, ZZ Top, and Melissa Etheridge have played the Palace. And Alison Kraus recorded a live album here.
Is MadMen good for Preservation?
MadMen Cast via FeministWire
I love Mad Men. Who cares about the story – I just want to spend an hour drooling over those incredible mid-century sets every week! Unfortunately, they are just that. Sets. Docomomo (a non-profit organization dedicated to the documentation and conservation of buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the modern movement) points out that the show’s masterminds are really missing out an opportunity to use and showcase real interiors (and exteriors) from the 1960s that still exist, rather than recreating them on a sound stage in California. What say you? Does it matter that they are using sets not the real deal? Either way, it can’t be denied that the popularity of the show has renewed attention to mid-century design.
History of Wedgewood
Wedgewood sherds are not uncommon archeological discoveries at historic house sites and are incredibly helpful for dating the time of occupation. Check out Apartment Therapy’s retrospect to learn about Josiah Wedgewood, his brilliant marketing strategy, political ties, and manufacturing breakthroughs.
Block Party
Could a “Block Party” be the solution for neighborhoods in transition?
Game theory, preservation, and community are blended in this post on Rustwire in a proposal to help neighborhoods in “transition” swing toward home ownership and renewal rather than absentee landlords and neglect. The proposal is this – 1) find a neighborhood in transition with attractive amenities and a number of properties for sale, 2) gather a group of potential buyers to view the houses and mingle, 3) interested buyers sign contingent contracts with “the necessary legalese” to purchase the home of their choice if x number of other “block party” participants also agree to buy a house, thereby negating the fear that the other houses on the block will not be sold to owner-occupants and the neighborhood will transition in a negative way, property values will drop, etc. Check out the original post submitted by Anonymous for a more detailed description. Anonymous, you are brilliant!
This Week
A weekly round-up of my favorite preservation stories from around the web and in the news.
Architecture has dominated the headlines this week. Check out some great stories about Frank Lloyd Wright’s archives, architectural drawing, and the nation’s biggest architectural toy collection below!
FLW moves to NYC
More than 23,000 architectural drawings, about 40 large-scale, architectural models, some 44,000 photographs, 600 manuscripts and more than 300,000 pieces of office and personal correspondence that have been in storage at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West since his death in 1959 are moving to New York City. In an unusual joint partnership between the Museum of Modern Art and Columbia University’s Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, the Wright’s archive will be more accessible to the public for viewing and scholarship. Because of his innovative use of material and form, Wright’s oeuvre represents a particular challenge for preservationists. No doubt, access to his original drawings and notes can only help with preservation efforts!
Architecture and the Lost Art of Drawing
An argument for architectural drawing in a digital world from architect Michael Graves, whose architectural drawings can be found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Cooper-Hewitt. This is an issue that effects preservationists too!
Drawing of Lower Manhattan Skyline (video)
Take a minute (ok – one minute and 20 seconds) to watch UK illustrator Patrick Vale draw the lower Manhattan skyline – freehand! Cityscapes and skylines are close to this preservationist’s heart. Plus, it’s mesmerizing. Just go watch it!
Lessons From the Nation’s Biggest Architectural Toy Collection
A selection from the Architectural Toy Collection will be exhibited in PLAY WORK BUILD in November at The National Building Museum in Washington, DC, reports The Atlantic Cities. The collection was assembled over 25 years by English Teacher George Wetzel. Architectural toys were sold to parents as an education in logic disguised for children as fun. Frank Lloyd Wright’s mother bought into this trend and his genius will forever be connected to the Fröbel’s Gifts set he played with as a child. His son John didn’t fall far from the tree – he invented Lincoln Logs! A history of American architectural toys is a social history – from the he blocks of Richter’s World War I-era “Fortress Series” set (gun turrets and bunkers) to the Sky Rail Girder and Panel Building Set (“Build and Operate Sky Rail Systems of Tomorrow”). Check out the article for more info on this fascinating exhibit!
Rust Belt Cities Best Places to Live
Rick Brown over at rustwire parses this year’s best places to live list. Turns out that despite all of the ruin porn coming out of the rust belt, its cities comprise about a quarter of the list, including first place. Carmel, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis, is the best place to live in the United States. See the rest of the rust belt cities to make the list after the jump.
Bricks + Mortar 