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preservation + restoration

Tuesday Feb 03, 2009

In The Nick of Time...Ford's Theater Rises Again

OB-DB527_Ford1_DV_20090203171651.jpg Most American students well-versed in history know the story of President Lincoln's assassination in the Ford Theater. What they might not know is how the building has barely survived. About 30 years after the fatal night (April 14, 1865), the government bought the building for offices; excavation in the basement caused a wall to collapse. From that point, the building was called "cursed," which didn't help in efforts to restore the historic structure. Speed forward in a time machine to May 2007, well after the theater was to original use. It was announced that the Ford would be renovated in time for Lincoln's bicentennial this year. This too, was long before Lincoln admirer President Obama was a major contender in the elections. Typical of so many renovations, there was some stalling on bids and contracts, leading officials to worry that work wouldn't be done in time for festivities. Thankfully, paperwork and whatnot were settled quickly. The biggest change in a new entrance adjacent to the old. The new spae contains a lobby, gift shop, even a elevator to parking and the upper theater floors.

The $50 million project received monies from private, corporate and public sources - well before the current economic crisis. Now all the spiffing up is done. Bicentennial kicks off Feb. 8, at the Ford, of course.

Thursday Dec 25, 2008

Moviehouse Magic Makes Momentous Comeback

foxoak.jpg To look at the Fox Oakland today, it's hard to believe that the 1928 Oakland, Calif. theater was nearly demolished to make way for a parking lot. It's also survived a 1990s attempt to turn it into a multiplex. Now, thanks to the ardent support of local preservationists, the East Indian style movie palace will reopen February 5. It won't be showing movies, however; instead it will be a venue for live shows, paying homage to the likes of Bing Crosby, Ginger Rogers, Frank Sinatra and the Jimmy Dorsey band who appeared on stage years ago. The Fox showed first-run movies until 1962, and second-run flicks until 1973. The theater was used for other events until the city purchased the building in 1996 for $3 million. Here's to a successful reopening of a fabulous theater, and a great piece of architecture.

Thursday Dec 04, 2008

Repairs Planned for Former Studio of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney

GV whitney.jpgThe ghost of arts patron, museum founder, and sculptor Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (looking rather sculptural herself in the ca. 1895 photo at right) can rest a little easier tonight. Her once glorious and now crumbling Greenwich Village sculpture studio, located in the backyard of the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture (NYSS), will soon undergo much needed renovations. The New York Times reports that Whitney's 90-year-old former workroom, rife with what an NYSS representative described as "worrisome cracks," has received a $50,000 grant from the World Monuments Fund to finance repairs that will include "stabilizing the delicate crumbling corner [of the ceiling] with vegetable-fiber paper, acrylic adhesive, and temporary beams." In early 2009, historic preservation students will research the studio's original decor, which included "cobalt-blue windows depicting bats, fish, and dragons amid seaweed and constellations." Whitney, who died in 1942, was apparently quite a fan of sea creatures. According to B.H. Friedman's 1978 Whitney biography, the bathroom of her Long Island studio (she also had studios in Paris and Newport) included "a sunken marble tub [that was] turned into the 'Jules Verne' nacreous grotto full of fish and marine life."

Monday Nov 24, 2008

United Nations HQ to Undergo $2 Billion Renovation

UN HQ.jpgWe admit to watching The Interpreter on mute to better scrutinize the threadbare Modernist zeal of the United Nations headquarters, situated on 18 acres worth of Manhattan. Now comes word that—like many an aging star after a close-up—the 56-year-old UN HQ is gearing up for a face lift. Slated to begin early next year, the five-year, $2 billion renovation will "strip the the [39-floor Secretariat] building down to the pure, flat surfaces that made it innovative when it opened, while replacing the outdated innards like air-conditioning, lighting, wiring, and plumbing," notes The New York Times. And so it's out with the asbestos and in with the photovoltaic cell-studded glass, but what about all that art?

Large items affixed to the walls of the Secretariat will be encased in their own structures with heating and air-conditioning while the rest of the interior is exposed to the elements. These include...two large murals by the Cubist artist Fernand Léger, who was eventually barred from the United States for his association with the Communist Party. President Truman, on first spotting the murals, is said to have commented that one looked like a bunny coming out of a hat, and another a fried egg.

Thursday Oct 16, 2008

The GSA and Historic Preservation

montgomery for home page_R2F31E_0Z5RDZ-i34K-pR.jpg The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), an independent federal agency established in 1949 as the government's procurement arm and landlord, plays a critical role in preserving the buildings that symbolized national ideals, says Jim Williams, the GSA's Acting Administrator. The oldest buildings in GSA's inventory date to 1810. They include impressive custom houses, post offices, and office buildings constructed of simple brick and stone. Eight percent of GSA's historic buildings were constructed before 1900 and most are still in use.

Some of the greatest structures were created between 1900 and 1941, with more than half the historic buildings in GSA's inventory constructed during the Great Depression. Historic buildings occupy about 25 percent of GSA's federally owned space. Tenant agencies include most of the entities that conduct the public's business: the U.S. Courts, the Social Security Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and many more.

continued...

Wednesday Oct 15, 2008

For the Love of Historic Preservation

10-08-Summit-Chapel.jpg Some families support education, others health care, still other cancer research, but at least one is putting its wealth and weight behind historic preservation in Indiana. A decade ago, the Efroymson family headed by Lori Efroymson-Aguilera, started a fund for historic preservation projects. The Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) program administers the program and funds initiatives statewide. Since 1998, projects have received 156 grants totaling about $2.6 million. Most of these funds have spurred further restoration.

Volunteers in Vallonia have worked for years to save a 1914 hotel, holding fundraisers and sending out flyers. A $13,000 grant from the Efroymson Family Fund gave the group the additional leverage they needed. Now they're still having fish-fries but the hotel's fate is secure. Family funds have also helped save the partially dilapidated 1828 Askren House in Indianapolis, allowing officials to repair the roof and masonry, and eventually sell it after restoration was complete. Other important structures have also been saved from demolition. "I can point to landmarks that would not be standing without Efroymson support," says Historic Landmarks' president Marsh Davis of the Efroymson Family Fund. So if you're in Indiana and you're trying to save a building, now you where to go.

Tuesday Oct 14, 2008

Remembering Movie Palace Magic

302.jpg It's been said they don't build 'em like they used to, and that's most certainly the case with movie theaters. Instead of glorious edifices that truly showcase the best of the widescreen films, today we've got bland multiplexes for the masses. Landmarks Illinois wants to share what it was like back in the day when designing movie theaters was a calling, even a specialty. Sculptor/architect/designer Alfonso Iannelli (1888-1965), a Frank Lloyd Wright associate, is one of those people. He was famed for his movie theater ornamentation at cinemas such as the Pickwick in Park Ridge, Ill. and the Catlow in Barrington, Ill. He is also known for designing posters for vaudeville acts at the Orpheum in Los Angeles, and he collaborated with Wright on Midway Gardens and designed several pavilions at the 1933 Century of Progress World's Fair in Chicago. Builder Sam Guard, who worked as a student in the 1950s at Iannelli's Park Ridge workshop, will discuss the artist's works on Thursday afternoon in Chicago. For more information, click here.

Monday Oct 13, 2008

A Viking in Vogue

interior-stabilization1.jpg

It's a good deed that Erik Larson, author of The Devil in the White City, could appreciate. The Viking Ship duplicate that sailed from Norway to the U.S. in 1893 to prove that Erikson and his Vikings could have reached North American shores before Columbus is finally being fixed up. The vessel had been part of the Columbian Exposition that year, the same mega-event that Larson used as a backdrop for his bestseller.

The ship's post-exhibition life was largely spent on land in a Chicago park until a local group offered to take and fix it up. That plan didn't materialize. Landmarks Illinois finally put the deteriorating hull on its 2007 endangered list. In the last 12 months, the boat, now in Geneva, Ill., has been slowly being repaired. Liz Safanda and the Preservation Partners of Fox Valley (PPFV), have worked together to and many others to bring the ship back to life with the assistance from a Partners in Preservation grant and local fundraisers. A steel
cradle was altered with new supports, the ship was returned to its original position, a dozen frames added to support the stressed structure. Finally, a new ramp was added so visitors could look at the ship, up close and personal like Larson might have liked to do.

Tuesday Sep 30, 2008

Nicolai Ouroussoff Pens Demolition Wishlist

demolition man.jpgIf wishes were wrecking balls...well, then Manhattan would have some gaping holes courtesy of Nicolai Ouroussoff (who wouldn't look half-bad in a hard hat, we must say). The New York Times' Man on Buildings recently penned a demolition wish list for Gotham, because, Ouroussoff notes with a Dickensian flair, "Even the most majestic cities are pockmarked with horrors." Although notable for its restraint when it comes to the AT&T building ("Its farcical Chippendale top was an instant hit, and a generation of architects grew up believing that any tower, no matter how cheap and badly designed, could be defended if you added a pretty fillip to the roof"), Ouroussoff's list is both ruthless and amusingly annotated. Here's what he'd just as soon see vaporized:

  • Penn Station and Madison Square Garden. "One of the city's most dehumanizing spaces: a warren of cramped corridors and waiting areas buried under the monstrous drum of the Garden."
  • Trump Place. "A cheap, miserable contribution to an area of the city already in need of some mending, this luxury residential complex is about as glamorous as a toll plaza."
  • Javits Center. Sorry Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, but this building "cuts Midtown off from the waterfront," while a "black glass exterior gives it the air of a gigantic mausoleum." Why not repurpose it for "housing [rather] than as a shed for dog shows and car fanatics"?
  • Annenberg Building, Mt. Sinai Medical Center. Resembling "either a military fortress or the headquarters of a sinister spy agency," this hostility-evoking structure is the product of "a vision conceived without compassion."
  • 375 Pearl Street. "A unique kind of horror," it frequently compels Ouroussoff to "throw [his] cellphone at the building."
  • Astor Place "would seem more comfortable in a suburban office park."
  • 2 Columbus Circle. Shield your eyes, lollipop fans, for he finds the new Museum of Arts and Design "a mild, overly polite renovation that obliterates the old while offering us nothing breathtakingly new."

  • Friday Sep 05, 2008

    Picture it, Siciliy, Where Houses Cost One Euro

    sicily.jpg

    We're almost glad that Sophia Petrillo didn't live to see this one: hill-top houses in Salemi, Sicily are going for a mere $1.50. The catch? The homes were damaged in an earthquake 40 years ago, and once you've forked over that euro, you'll have two years to restore your new home—according to the town's standards and using local architects, designers, and workers. And did we mention the labyrinthine bureaucracy? This sounds like a job for a can-do spirit and a whole lot of stucco!

    The program is the brainchild of Salemi's colorful mayor, Vittorio Sgarbi, an art critic and former deputy culture minister that the Times of London describes as "noted for his outspoken views, not to mention his distinctive wavy hair" and "a television celebrity...and man-about-town with a host of friends in the worlds of politics and show business." And the plot thickens: photographer Oliviero Toscani is somehow involved: he's Sgarbi's adviser on "creativity and human rights." Peter Gabriel has reportedly already expressed interest in one of the deeply discounted houses. Good thing he's handy with a sledgehammer.


    Previously

    Montpelier's Big Reveal, Finally

    Extreme Makeover, the Los Angeles edition: Moving Richard Neutra

    An Old Theater Grows in Brooklyn

    Going Against the Grain in Minnesota

    'Greening' Isn't Always So Good

    Back to What's Happening with Paul Rudolph's Yale Restoration

    Elsewhere in Paul Rudolph Restorationville: Back to Yale

    Saving Paul Rudolph on a Budget

    Tennessee's Paramount Theater Celebrates Milestone

    A Preservation 911

    Buffer Zone to Avert Death Spiral for Smithson Jetty

    Watch out Hidden Murals, the T-Rays Are Coming!

    Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty Threatened By High Oil Prices

    Mickey Mouse in the Presidio?

    Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200 En Route to the Liberty Hotel

    Facadism Redux: How Many Planners Does It Take to Skin a Landmark?

    What's a Hamburger Joint To Do?

    Woodstock, Ill. not Woodstock, N.Y. is the Place To Go

    Barn Again: the Japanese Way

    A Clarion Call to the Faithful: Saving Old Houses of Worship Whether or Not You Believe

    Not Quite a Blow to Mankind, but a Vermont Ski Resort is Replacing Its Single-Chair Lift

    Mystery Movie Theater No. 19 Where Are You and Who Are You?

    Tom Wolfe, Steadfast Preservationist

    The Perfect Place To Shoot Your Eye Out, Kid

    All Things Preservation-Related

    Mr. Peanut's Birthplace Razed!

    This Is a Very Worthwhile Cause (We're Supposing)

    Thinking About New Orleans

    For Shame, Two Columbus Circle

    So Those Are The Lollipops That All The Fuss Is About

    Two Columbus Circle: All Y'all Preservationists Can Suck It

    Chuck Close Also Likes Two Columbus Circle

    Two Columbus Circle: It Really Comes Down To Whose Lunch Is Better

    Graphic Designers To The Rescue Of Graphic Designers

    Remember That Whole Two Columbus Circle Thing? We Kinda Hadn't, Until Now

    Childs' Own Medicine

    I Am Still Two Columbus Circle And No One Seems To Care

    I Am Two Columbus Circle

    Young Landmarks Event Tonight

    Eames Office Events

    Hudson Valley House Tour

    Rewarding Bad Behavior

    Wasting Urban Land?

    Young Landmarks Update

    Park Plans, Greenlighted (Mostly)

    Young Landmarks

    NYT on Lapidus

    Will a Phoenix Lapidus Rise from The Ashes?

    Crimes Against Urbanity (This Time It's Personal)

    Home Sweet Dome (Inside Edition)

    Read more on UnBeige >

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