PROPOSED COMMUNITY PRESERVATION PROJECTS Fall, 2011
Adirondack Architectural Heritage, Inc. 1790 Main Street – Civic Center 312 Keeseville, New York 12944 Project Contact: Steven Engelhart Telephone: 518-834-9328 E-Mail: aarch@aol.com
Web Site Design.
This project involves the addition of digitized information to AARCH’s
web site, including articles, briefs, and other printed resources that
are already in the public domain or for which permission could be
obtained. The information will be added to the section of the web
site titled “Resources” and will thus be available to clientele.
National Register Nominations.
Adirondack Architectural Heritage is seeking assistance in preparing
National Register nominations for the following buildings or
districts. Individual or Team Projects.
1.
Estes House (Ausable Chasm, Essex County). This is an 1850s stone
house that is now the home of the North Star Underground Railroad
Museum, near the Ausable Chasm tourist center in Clinton County.
See:
http://www.northcountryundergroundrailroad.com/museum.php for photos
and more information.
2. Keene Valley Historic District
(Essex County). This is a village district with approximately
twelve buildings. A draft statement of significance has already
been prepared, and descriptions of the buildings is now required.
3.
Ligonier Point (Willsboro/Essex County). This is a fascinating
shorefront property with a stone quarry, remains of wharf and marine
railroad, quarry master’s house and other related buildings, and an
incredibly intact farmhouse and outbuildings. This is a site
remarkably rich in historic resources and with much available
documentation.
4. Libraries of the North Country.
This would be a thematic nomination of ten or twelve historic library
buildings. The public community libraries of the ten county area
collectively known as the North Country, share a similar cultural and
architectural heritage. These institutions grow out of a common
community desire to foster education and intellectual curiosity and in
most cases the distinctive architecture of these libraries reflects the
importance of libraries in the community fabric. The purpose of the
nomination is to elevate the status of these public libraries within
the community and to give the institutions access to new sources of
conservation funding for their preservation and restoration. The scope
of work consists of undertaking all necessary historical research, site
work, photography, and writing to prepare a National Register
nomination form in accordance with the appropriate National Register
Bulletin(s). Funding is pending.
5. Crown Point Green Historic District. This is a small district in Crown Point (Essex County). Funding is pending.
6.
Westport District. This project involves the completion of a
nomination for a large historic district in the southern part of
Westport (Essex County) that includes a lot of open space, farms, and
other historic resources. Much has been done already by Bill
Johnston, and remaining work involves photography, building
descriptions, and organizing the nomination into final form.
The Big Heavy World Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 428 Burlington, Vermont 05402-0428 Project Contact: James Lockridge, Executive Director Telephone: 802-865-1140 E-Mail: jim@bigheavyworld.net Web Site: VMLS.org
1. National Register Nomination.
The L.S. Gordon Store in Starksboro, an early 20th century, 1 1/2 story
frame commercial block, is being rehabilitated by the Big Heavy World
Foundation, Inc., for use as an archival and library collection of
Vermont music. The owners are interested in establishing an
historical record of the building and are considering nominating it to
the National Register. Starksboro Village is already an historic
district listed on the State Register of Historic Places.
Individual Project.
2. Interpretive Wayside Exhibit – Green Mountain Cold Spring Creamery.
The Big Heavy World Foundation has recently acquired adjoining land
once occupied by the Green Mountain Cold Spring Creamery, founded in
1898 and an important industry in Starksboro for almost 100
years. Although the building is no longer standing, the site
offers an important opportunity to reclaim that history through
interpretive exhibits. The creamery manufactured butter from
cream that local farmers would deliver after separating their milk at
home, storing it in cans in the farm water box. In the summer they'd
deliver their cream every other day; in the winter every three days or
so. In the 1920's the use of trucks increased for transportation and
the large industrial cities of southern New England became accessible
to farmers in northern Vermont. The creamery began to process whole
milk and deliver it to Boston in 1929. In the mid 1930's it expanded,
enlarging its building, buying new equipment, and acquiring the land on
the east side of the road, the site of the proposed wayside exhibit.
The
creamery changed ownership through the decades and was known at
different times as the Monkton Creamery Company and Mountain View
Creamery. Dairy farmers from Starksboro, Monkton, Bristol, Lincoln, New
Haven, Huntington, and Williston brought their milk to the plant. In
the 1950's farmers began installing bulk tanks to store milk and the
creamery purchased a truck to haul milk directly from farmers to the
plant. The Green Mountain Cold Spring Creamery processed Vermont milk
products through every era of the dairy industry, adapting to changes
in transportation and technology and contributing to the economy and
history of Starksboro. Former creamery owner X.X. Robinson contributed
generously to the expansion of Robinson Elementary School, which now
bears his name.
Burlington Planning Department Burlington City Hall Mary O’Neil, Associate Planner Telephone: 802-865-7556 E-Mail: mconeil@ci.burlington.vt.us
1. Old North End Surveys.
The Historic Sites and Structures Survey information for Burlington’s
Old North End is incomplete. Some surveys list only
representative examples, and some streets are only surveyed on one
side. Vermont’s Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the
Vermont Division for Historic Preservation would like us to move toward
a general historic district of the Old North End. Ideally, we could
break this area up into quadrants for a COMPREHENSIVE re-survey and
compilation of work done by many. Maps are available for these
districts, which represent the city’s highest priorities. Teams
of Two.
a. Resurvey of Old North End.
Northeast quadrant: East of Elmwood Avenue, North of North Street, West
of North Willard Street.
b. Resurvey of Old North End. Northwest quadrant: West of Elmwood Avenue, North of North Street.
c.
Resurvey of Old North End. Southeast quadrant: South
of North Street, west of North Willard, North of Pearl and East of
Elmwood Ave.
d. Resurvey of Old North End. Southwest quadrant: South of North St., West of Elmwood Avenue, North of Pearl.
2. Neighborhood Survey.
Similarly comprehensive surveys are needed for The Addition, comprising
Pine Street west to the railroad tracks, South of Flynn, and North of
Home Ave. (1890-1950, residential and industrial.)
Individual Project or Team of Two.
Historic Harrisville. Inc. P.O. Box 79 Harrisville, NH 03450 Project Contact: Linda Willett, Executive Director Tel: 603-827-3722 / historicharrisville@msn.com
Covenant Report.
Historic Harrisville, Inc. currently holds covenants protecting
approximately seventeen buildings in Harrisville. More than a
decade has passed since these buildings were inspected and a current
report is needed. The project will involve revising and updating
the inspection report form and developing innovative methods for
tracking the status of these important buildings. Individual
Project
Historic Windsor, Inc., and the Preservation Education Institute Post Office Box 1777 Windsor, Vermont 05089 Project Contact: Judy Hayward, Executive Director Telephone: 802-674-6752 / histwininc@valley.net
Historic Sites and Structures Survey.
This survey will focus only on historic stained glass in Windsor and
will require preliminary research regarding the history and types of
19th and early 20th century stained glass that found in Windsor.
Individual Project. Funding available.
New Hampshire Preservation Alliance Post Office Box 268 Concord, New Hampshire 03302 Project Contact: Jennifer Goodman, Executive Director Telephone: 603-224-2281 / jg@nhpreservation.org.
The
New Hampshire Preservation Alliance is the statewide non-profit
historic preservation organization. The graduate student(s)
engaged in the following projects will report to the organization's
executive director, Jennifer Goodman, who has extensive experience
working with students and other volunteers. Projects will be
designed to meet our mutual objectives and result in useful
products. Projects are central to our mission and work plan, and
they will advance the cause of preservation in New Hampshire.
With the exception of survey fieldwork, or meetings at the Alliance's
office with staff or to review files, tasks can be accomplished largely
from any "home base."
Historic Barn Preservation Project: Survey and Public Policy Tasks.
The New Hampshire Preservation Alliance is currently providing
technical and financial assistance to barn owners trying to save,
stabilize, or re-use historic agricultural structures. This
project is designed to help reduce the loss of these significant and
rapidly disappearing landmarks in New Hampshire and to promote historic
preservation objectives and the goals of the Preservation
Alliance. This program draws heavily from similar efforts in
Vermont. The project will involve document the existing and lost
(as possible) barns in a New Hampshire town (to be selected) to create
a model for a current statewide survey efforts. Work will include
preparing a much-needed fact sheet from the survey findings that can be
used for advocacy and fundraising work. In addition, it will
assist the project committee in exploring how agricultural buildings
are taxed and in developing a pro-preservation administrative or
legislative proposal to address current problems. The development
of educational and promotional programs for historic barn owners and
contractors is also necessary. Students will work with the
Historic Barn Advisory Group, staffed by leaders in agriculture,
tourism, and preservation, as well as members of historical societies,
heritage commissions and other local leaders. Individual Project
or Team of Two.
Preservation Burlington P.O. Box 481 Burlington, Vermont 05402 Project Contact: Ron Wanamaker, Executive Director 802-865-6056
1. Burlington Growth.
There are many efforts by the Burlington to make the city a vibrant
urban center. While Chittenden County is growing at an
exponential pace, sprawl is taking its toll on the city. There is
an affordable housing crisis, the city's population is declining, and
the housing stock is in a state of rapid deterioration. There are
municipal efforts to combat sprawl by encouraging revitalization of the
Town Center, efforts to increase density through zoning changes, and,
in general, efforts to make Burlington a sustainable city. These
actions are all effective tools, but at what cost? This project
will emphasize the need for affordable housing, infill development,
density increases, and other initiatives to interact with historic
preservation. Team of Two.
2. Survey of Neglected Properties.
Demolition by neglect has become a difficult problem in communities
that try to project historic properties through local design review and
historic district ordinances. Tracking these buildings is
difficult, and this survey will provide an important starting point for
reversing this unfortunate practice.
Rokeby Museum Route 7 Ferrisburg, Vermont 05456 Project Contact: Jane Williamson, Director 802-877-3406
1. Sheep Farming in Addison County.
As part of continuing efforts to interpret its agricultural history,
Rokeby Museum seeks information about the large sheep farms in Addison
County during the 1830s. The names of these farms can be gleaned from
Abby Hemenway’s gazeteer and from other county and town
histories. The sizes of these farms and their flocks of sheep can
probably be obtained from town grand lists. Historical and extant
buildings relating to sheep farming are also important, and information
about some of these buildings should be available at the Vermont
Division for Historic Preservation. The information should be
assembled into a written report that will hopefully provide insight
about the sheep barn that once existed at Rokeby. Individual
Project.
2. HABS-Type Documentation.
The eight outbuildings at Rokeby lack the type of documentation that
would be needed should any of the buildings be destroyed by fire or
other cause. Documentation of a single building would qualify as
one project and should include proper photography, measured drawings,
written description, and narrative history of the building.
Swanton Village c/o Ron Kilburn, Zoning Administrator and President, Swanton Historical Society P.O. Box 711 Swanton, Vermont 05488 802-868-3325 swanza@adelphia.net 1. National Register Nomination – Swanton Railroad Depot.
This building has been relocated and rehabilitated with funding
obtained through the Enhancements Program at the Vermont Agency of
Transportation, and is now part of the town’s historic sites
interpretive center.
2. Report and DVD: Historic Bridges of Swanton.
Swanton’s history is closely tied to the Missisquoi River, and a large
number of important bridges are vital parts of that history. The
historical society has proposed a project to document these many
bridges, telling the story of the role these bridges have played in the
town’s industrial and transportation history. The written report
will be accompanied by a DVD. Individual Project.
Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation 103 South Main Street Waterbury, Vermont 05676-9989 c/o Frank Spaulding Telephone: 802-241-3660 frank.spaulding@state.vt.us
1. Inventory of Historic Park Buildings by Type – Open Picnic Shelters.
The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation faces an aging
park system. Many of the structures still in use today were
constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930’s.
Unfortunately a continuing rise in construction costs coupled with
shrinking budgets means that not every structure can be saved.
How does FPR set priorities for saving historic properties? Is
the Shelter at Stillwater Campground more important that the Shelter at
Allis State Park?
FPR would like to begin the process of
cataloging these historic structures by category rather than by park,
beginning with open pavilion picnic shelters. Though we know
where they are, we have not conducted a comprehensive inventory of
these shelters. We would like to at a minimum determine the
following: Which of the typical shelter plans was used for
each? What distinguishing changes did local CCC crews make to
individual shelters? What modifications have occurred since that
time? Do current park plans call for changes in the use of these
shelters? What is the current condition of the shelters?
2. Biographical Research – Vermont Architects.
A number of important architects designed buildings for the Vermont
Department of Forests and Parks, beginning in the CCC era and
continuing into the most active period of growth of the state’s park
system between 1950 and 1970. More information is needed about
these individuals because many of their buildings will be considered
historic in the very near future. The project will involve
researching their backgrounds and influences, and the extent to which
they may have influenced other architects who began working for the
department during the 1970s. Interviews of Rod Barber, one of the
department’s architects who died recently, are available as a beginning
point for research. Vermont’s governor will soon appoint a
commission to address the future of the park system, and information
about these architects will be valuable for any reconstruction,
rehabilitation, or replacement projects. Establishing links between
designers and specific structures, picnic structures for example, will
be especially valuable because variations occur even among similar
designs, suggesting that different architects brought different
abilities, interpretations, materials, and standards of care to each
project. Individual Projects
a. Merrick Smith.
Smith worked for the department, left, but then returned before
eventually moving to Colorado. He designed the Brighton
Beach-house, which was under construction when Rod Barber began working
for the department. Understanding Smith’s background and the factors
that influenced his designs will help the department interpret his work
as it becomes eligible. His role in influencing Barber’s work
will also help us understand design changes and will hopefully provide
a foundation for a programmatic agreement with the Vermont Division for
Historic Preservation resulting in a method of interpreting this
continuum of design.
b. David Fried. Fried became
the department’s architect during the waning years of the CCC era, and
he had a unique influence on the designs at the time, placing his mark
on several ski lodges, as well as lodges at Crystal Lake and
Maidstone. A few of these designs depart from the standard
Adirondack style of the earlier CCC days. Some research has been
conducted, but more is needed to uncover various influences.
Matching his name to specific structures in the parks will help us
understand the differences in design and construction techniques that
he employed and would influence and streamline our plans for
restoration
c. Robert Simon. Simon played a
very prolific role during the CCC era and continued to work for the
department into the Rod Barber era.
Vermont Division for Historic Preservation National Life Building Drawer 20 Montpelier, Vermont 05602-6501 Project Contact: Josh Philips Telephone: 802-828-3046; e-mail: Joshua.Phillips@state.vt.us
1. Vulnerable Barns Analysis.
The Vermont Barn Census seeks to create a statewide inventory of
Vermont's historic barns that will lay the foundation for further
efforts to preserve them. Along with data collection, the Barn
Census will analyze the number, type, and condition of barns throughout
the state. This project uses existing survey data from the 1970s
through 1990s along with current conditions to determine the rate of
loss, deterioration, and alteration of significant farm buildings
within a town in Addison or Rutland Counties. Analysis of
multiple towns with different characteristics (i.e. suburban, exurban,
rural) is possible for a group project.
2. Vulnerable Barns Poster. Similar to the Vulnerable Vermont poster by UVM preservation students.
Vermont Division for Historic Preservation National Life Building, Floor 2 Montpelier, Vermont 05620-1201 Project Contact: Devin Colman Telephone: 802-828-3043; e-mail: devin.colman@state.vt.us
1. Historic Sites and Structures Survey.
For more than fifty years, world-renowned landscape architect Daniel
Urban Kiley (1912-2004) lived and worked in Charlotte, Vermont. Kiley’s
modernist landscape designs garnered him international acclaim, but
little is known about his architectural work. Between 1945 and 1961,
Kiley designed approximately twenty-five buildings throughout Vermont,
including several houses, a shopping center and a marina. The goal
of this project is to research, identify and document Kiley’s
architectural and landscape work in Vermont. Research should include a
trip to the Dan Kiley Archive, which is housed at Harvard’s Frances
Loeb Library. The final product will be an illustrated report
describing Kiley’s Vermont commissions, which projects were actually
built, and what condition they are in today. Individual Project
2. Multiple Property Nominations - National Register of Historic Places.
The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation has identified topics
for which historic contexts must be developed before multiple property
nominations can be prepared. These topics include post offices,
hospitals, theaters and opera houses, airport facilities, gas stations,
motor courts and motels, commercial ski areas, general stores, and the
World War 2 Homefront in Vermont. Team of Two
Co-Sponsors: Vermont Division for Historic Preservation & Vermont Historic Bridge Program, Vermont Agency of Transportation National Life Building Montpelier, Vermont 05602-6501 Project Contact: Bob McCullough
Digital Map of Vermont Historic Truss Bridges with Printed Pamphlet.
Create web-based map of Vermont’s historic truss bridges to help
commemorate the loss of the Lake Champlain Bridge. This project
would provide information on date, construction, features, history, and
a photograph of each bridge. All of the information could be
gleaned from the archives of the Vermont Historic Bridge program and
existing National Register nominations, publications, and other
websites. Travel to each bridge would not be required. This
would be an excellent opportunity for any student with a particular
interest in bridges, heritage tourism, and/or digital GIS survey
technology, and would result in a highly visible and useful product
that would be identified as the student’s work. Individual
Project
Vermont Urban and Community Forest Council Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation 103 South Main Street, Building 10 South Waterbury, Vermont 05671-0601 Project Contact: Danielle Fitzko 802-241-3678 danielle.fitzko@anr.state.vt.us
Self-Guided Architectural / Urban Forest Tours.
This project will combine walking tours emphasizing architectural
history with similar tours designed to identify urban tree
species. The Urban and Community Forestry Council will serve as
the project sponsor and coordinate with Vermont towns interested in
obtaining tour maps and brochures. The council may also identify
participating parties to develop the information about tree
species. Alternatively, students may be able to collaborate with
students from the University of Vermont's field botany program.
Projects will involve the survey of a selected town's architectural
resources, identification of a tour route, short written paragraphs
about buildings included on the tour, and preparation of a map.
Sample pamphlet is available for inspection. The towns of
Rutland, Chelsea, and Hinesburg have expressed interest. Students
may also work with city foresters in certain communities.
Individual Project or Team of Two (with student from the School of
Natural Resources)
