May is National Preservation Month
This May is the third annual National Preservation Month. Sponsored by The National Trust for Historic Preservation, the theme this year is “Making Preservation Work.” There is SO much more to The National Trust’s work than one might think. In addition to saving, maintaining, and making many genres of architecture across the U.S. open to the public, they have a ton of lobbying, organizing, and pro-active programs for saving structures and character of communities. Here are just a few examples of the wide array of work the Trust does:
Saving historic architecture in post-Katrina New Orleans
Providing helpful information about rehabilitation tax credits
Preventing chain drugstores from tearing down historic structures and instead helping them fit into existing downtown fabrics
Providing a Smart Growth Toolkit
Lobbying for transportation enhancements and preventing road building projects that harm America’s heritage
Partnering with HGTV for The Restore America Project. This program awards grants for restoration of historic properties.
Organizing Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios
Being a member is pretty cool. For just $15, you get a subscription to Preservation Magazine, which is really informative and one you’ll want to stockpile. You also get a tote bag you can take to the grocery store and avoid wasting plastic bags, you get in discounted or free entry into over 200 historic places, including Graceland. By the way, if you haven’t been to Graceland, your design life is not complete. There are jungle room, shag carpeting, TV in the dining room and eternal flame references galore that you will miss out on until you go! JOIN TODAY!
top photo from nationaltrust.org
Graceland photo from soultones.com
May 8th, 2007 at 12:21 pm
As a Chicago native, I’ve seen many beautiful old buildings and smaller humble homes demolished, only to be replaced by cookie cutter “luxury condos”. Upon seeing an empty lot, myself and many others I’ve heard have a tendency to say “Gee, I wonder what they’ll build? Maybe more luxury condos!”
In the years since I lived there, the various owners of the Victorian graystone I grew up in (in Lakeview) built a huge garage in the back, later added a giant 2 story deck and replaced the front stairs and railing with a very modern (and ugly) one. But at least it’s still standing! The Bucktown area has gorgeous little brick workman’s cottages that are in serious danger of disappearing altogether, and the remaining ones sit between 4 story storklike skinny condo buildings.
I have to admit we live in a new, modern condo in a “one of a kind” building that replaced a seriously dilapidated triangular building, and it’s definitely not cookie cutter (ever live in an isoceles triangle?), but as fans of beautiful, original details, my boyfriend and I are excited to be putting in an offer on a 1947 Cape Cod in Sauganash that is completely original (save for the kitchen that was redone with modern amenities in period style). But we see the McMansions there too…
May 9th, 2007 at 7:21 am
Hi Veronika! It is so hard to see so many places disappear - I feel like the charm that brings these McMansion lovers to our neighborhoods is being destroyed by them. McMansions may have their place, but not on 1/10th acre lots!
The other thing that cracks me up is when blogs are razed to make room for “loft” dwellings. I think it’s funny to call new apartments/condos “lofts,” when lofts were originally built in existing buildings as an adaptive reuse.
If you haven’t already, you might have fun checking out “Making it Lovely” - it’s a blog by flickr contributer Pink Loves Brown, and they are redoing a bungalow in the Chicago area. The Making it Lovely blog tracks their projects, progress, and ideas.
Becky