1.) I read a very interesting article about a married couple that are pros in preservation, who bought and restored a 1880 Maryland house. They designed the home to be energy efficient and wheelchair accessible for their son. They worked with their local historical commission to be sure that they preserved as many materials as possible, and did not change the front of the home. They enclosed a side porch and turned it into a hallway so their son’s wheelchair could fit, and they also constructed a new elevator in the back of the home so their son could go upstairs. The home uses a modern geothermal system to heat and cool the home. The family also added on a new kitchen, and a studio in which their son could have his physical therapy. They built the home so it included “sustainable preservation.” The homeowners, Logan and Paca both have a background in preservation, and included their experiences in the restoration work at their own home.
http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2011/march-april/designed-for-living.html
2.) The National Trust for Historic Preservation site provides information for those looking for a job in historic preservation. The site is user friendly, and you may search for jobs by title, or just look at openings by state.
http://www.preservationnation.org/careercenter/?gclid=CLLNydmzjKgCFchg2godlhFKDA
3.) For those of you who may travel over the summer, below is a site that includes historic hotels, and of course you may search by state. The site includes over 200 hotels, they are over 50 years old, or are sites of historic importance, or architecture.
http://www.preservationnation.org/travel-and-sites/travel/historic-hotels.html
“Sustainable preservation” (as mentioned in the first article) seems to me like it should be the primary objective of any preservation project. Whereas a dilapidated home with narrow hallways, etc. would have served no purpose for Paca and Logan’s family, they created a livable space while retaining as much historical integrity as possible. I wonder, if a homeowner in the North End became wheelchair bound and needed to widen the hallways, would this be allowed?!
Since I got to stay in 2 historic hotels over Spring Break I now highly recommend the experience. It’s good there is a website to look up these places because I was very tempted to steal the lovely book at one of the hotels that showcased these beautiful places.
This is all great, and I have thought of many of the same things as my husband and I try to preserve our 1941 Tudor Revival house. But this post just reinforces a thought in me about how preservation. It seems that preservation is only for the people who can afford to do it. What about the rest of us? What are our options? Or is what we do not preservation, and only thriftiness?
Sorry about that last post, I hit the submit button without thinking! I defended my master’s project today and my brain is mush. I apologize.
I wanted to comment on the National Trust for Historic Preservation link with the story about the couple that restored their Victorian home. I have thought about many of the same things that it mentions as my husband and I try to restore the new house that we bought. But unlike the couple in the story, we do not have that much money. How could we hire professionals to do the work for us? The story just reinforced one of the aspects of preservation that I keep hoping is not true. It just seems that historic preservation is only for the people who can afford it, and who can pay the specialists to do the work. What about everyone else who wants to participate? Am I just cheap because I have to strip the paint off of my own wood windows? What will happen when I need to take out those massive windows and fix them? Am I doing historic preservation, or am I only thrifty?
I LOVE the historic hotels! I am sad to see that the Safari Inn in Boise did not make the list though.