#historic-preservation

#historic-preservation

Architecture lovers hoping to boost their knowledge base and share their love of community and the built environment can find a weekend full of walking tours, workshops, and more at Archtober Newburgh. The month-long Archtober celebration, organized by the Center for Architecture, has a busy calendar within the five boroughs, but for the third year a full slate of events is being offered to celebrate and raise awareness of Newburgh's heritage.

As San Francisco leaders finalize their plan to make way for thousands of new homes, they have heard the same criticism: New construction could dramatically change the quaint and quirky character of San Francisco neighborhoods. On Wednesday, the Planning Department and Supervisor Connie Chan will host a community forum to discuss designating 10 neighborhood buildings as historic landmarks there. The event will inform Mayor Daniel Luries Family Zoning Plan, which includes a landmark designation program.

It's such an honor to be the one to give it a refresh while paying homage to what it was.

Kingston, New York's Four Corners is celebrated for its craggy stone structures: it's the only crossroad in the country in which all of the buildings date to pre-Revolutionary War days. They're well-preserved, zoned for residential and commercial use, and not entirely time warps: Number 45 Crown Street is the new headquarters of Sawkille, Jonah Meyer and Tara DeLisio's artisanal furniture company, a longstanding Remodelista favorite.

Although I'm an architect with a care for historic fabric, the function just didn't work for us. We're tall people, and the sink was so low and had a small leaking issue. The toilet, while amazing in its pink glory, used so much water. And the shower head was at about shoulder height on my husband - not a desirable shower experience.

We're continually growing and changing, but we also preserve a lot of what makes this city architecturally distinct and unique, from different periods over literally hundreds of years,

"When we first stepped in, it was in rough shape-leaks, outdated systems, the works," says Heather of the ramshackle New Mexico property, located in an eclectic, heritage-stamped neighborhood once home to Los Cinco Pintores, a group of early 20th-century painters. Still, despite the cold and heavy vibe, there was something about the home and its creative energy that spoke to the Qualls.

Electric Bowery's renovation of a historic Pasadena, California residence began not with demolition or dramatic gestures, but with careful attention to what already existed. The challenge was determining how to respect its American Craftsman roots while shaping spaces that could coexist with contemporary life. The solution emerged through a dialogue between eras, where new additions spoke to original structures without mimicking their accent.

Shortly after lightning sparked dozens of wildfires in California's Sierra Nevada foothills this week, author Stephen Provost received news that devastated him. Fire was sweeping through Chinese Camp, a Gold Rush-era town that a group of Chinese miners founded in the 19th century after they were driven out of a nearby settlement. The town's almost 100 residents were forced to evacuate and news reports showed flames consuming historic buildings.

After moving to Marfa in the 1970s, Judd purchased 22 buildings in the small Chihuahua desert town and transformed them into spaces to live, work, and display art. Among them are a former military complex turned residence and galleries for his large-scale pieces, an adobe house for his paintings and collection of antique Swedish and Shaker furniture, and an old Safeway for his art studio.

Project to project, the two endeavor to build conceptual through lines, referencing past successes without resting on repeats. "We always want to create new recipes, but we have ingredients that we know work," reflects Giancarlo. "Maybe we'll add a new spice here, a new sauce there. In this field, you create your own rules, but you can also break them."

Lucile Lloyd was a prominent [Works Progress Administration] muralist; she did work all among the schools in this area," said concert promoter Wilkerson. "There are photos of her in menswear smoking up in the rafters back in the 1930s. She had a tragic life, and ended up committing suicide. We thought all of the panels she did here were gone.

"There would be a string and they then hook it, and you would just ride it up and down, and that was fun," said Zamora-Solak.

Noakes Cross Farm is a 14th-century Grade II-listed farmhouse in Essex that has undergone a sensitive renovation to adapt it for modern living. Part of Fenn Wright's Signature collection of distinctive homes, the project carefully balances rarely seen historic features with practical contemporary spaces. The result is a property that perfectly blends medieval structure and detailing with light-filled, functional family living areas.

Firefighters battled a three-alarm blaze that broke out at an abandoned youth center early Friday morning, authorities said. The fire started at the building that formerly housed the Mexican American Community Services Agency, or MACSA, Youth Center on the 600 block of Sinclair Drive, according to a social media post from the San Jose Fire Department. The blaze was called in at 1:08 a.m. Firefighters performed defensive operations and were able to keep the fire from spreading beyond the building, authorities said.

According to the station, firefighters starting receiving calls about a fire in the town around 3 a.m., with the reports initially indicating there was a large brush fire on the side of Route 11 or Lakeshore Drive. Crews found the fire at the castle, at 59 Lockes Hill Road, but the flames quickly spread to the surrounding brush, burning about 2-acres, according to WMUR.

Currently, the city of Austin is working to negotiate ownership of the trestle, and until (ownership is established) it's not really appropriate to move forward with a bunch of alternatives for designing and rehabilitating this asset when it's not 100 percent clear that the city has complete ownership.

Welcome to another installment in the Rag's Historical Photo Challenge. The image above was taken somewhere on the Upper West Side, sometime in the past. Can you figure out where, when, and what it shows? Look closely; this week's challenge photo, like the others in the series, includes clues that will help you identify the scene, if you're a dedicated UWS history sleuth.

Here at Property Watch, we love Portland's "everyday houses": the common foursquares, ranches, and bungalows that line our streets and make up much of the city's housing stock. While they tend to be less showy and ornate, they're no less important, says architectural historian Thomas Hubka, for "their significant contribution to the over-all quality of our city's quality of life." Even more so when they become the subject of a creative makeover, like this jewel box of a bungalow in the Roseway neighborhood.

The Old City of Fongshan County, the oldest preserved walled city in Taiwan, reflects over two centuries of socio-economic change. In line with the client's goal to regenerate the site, an elevated walkway was implemented to maintain minimal visual and physical footprint while enabling modern exploration. This walkway, with its varied design, adapts to different needs along the city wall and integrates design elements into a single linear structure.

Garnier also calls limewash "as DIY-friendly as it gets." It's traditionally applied to porous and absorbent surfaces, such as drywall, plaster, stucco, cement, brick, and concrete. She praises the "beautiful tonal variations" in a limewash texture, saying, "When the lime begins to dry, it just starts blooming, giving you the highs and the lows of the colors." (N.B. Our story on Everything You Need to Know About Limewash Paint is one of our most popular of all time.)

A sign for Green-Wood is already in place on one wing of the new L-shaped building at 750 5th Avenue, which was designed by Architecture Research Office. The bright green of the historic building pops against the sleek terra-cotta panels of the two-story building, and the onion dome of the greenhouse still manages to dominate the corner. Landscaping, by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc., is also in place. A green roof tops the one-story glass wing that connects the greenhouse to the new structure.

The Hammer House sign on Wardour Street harkens back to the building's former use as the home of Hammer Film Productions, known for its horror movies.

Linda Marticek, a long-time resident, fears that the proposed 40-foot billboard would disrupt her peaceful neighborhood, impacting her home and the nearby historic church and cemetery.

The Sunnyvale Art Club is holding a juried art show Aug. 16-17 at the Sunnyvale Public Library, featuring 90 works of art.

Carroll has overseen the designation of nine historic districts and nine individual landmarks in Brooklyn, including the first historic district in Bushwick and several significant sites.