• McMansions bring tensions to old neighborhoods

    A good article by Kytja Weir in last week’s Charlotte Observer, on the constant butting of heads between historic preservationists who look at a neighborhood as an organic whole and selfish me-firsters who want the freedom to do whatever they want with their own property, damn the neighbors and everyone else. Gee, can you tell which camp I fit into? An excerpt:

    Tim Griffin, the association president, had invited builders,
    architects and others, trying to inspire his neighbors about how to
    renovate their homes without changing the feel of the newly popular
    neighborhood.

    "I’m just so adamant about no more McMansions," he said.

    But
    he knows his neighborhood has no power to restrict renovations. "We’re
    not a homeowners’ association. We’re not a historic district. So the
    next best thing is to educate."

    The neighborhood of small homes,
    many dating from the 1930s, is starting to feel a tension already
    experienced in Charlotte’s older neighborhoods around uptown such as
    Dilworth, Myers Park, Elizabeth, Plaza-Midwood and Wesley Heights as
    people with bigger tastes move in.

    Today Americans seek more space than their parents. In new developments bigger homes can be built without hindrances.

    But
    the desire for more space creates a tension in some older
    neighborhoods, built for the needs of the past. Neighbors there find
    themselves walking a line between preserving the past and maintaining
    property rights, promoting growth yet controlling how it takes shape.

  • Preservation Brief 33: Historic Stained Glass

    I find that all of the National Park Service’s Preservation Briefs are interesting, and several have been especially useful in my own home repair projects; take, for instance, brief #33, which I had reason to consult this past month. It’s a general primer on historic stained glass, written specifically for those of us with stained glass windows or panels in our old homes and the need to either maintain or repair them. Neal Vogel & Rolf Achilles‘ essay on historic stained glass windows is full of extensive information on history, dating, identifying and documenting, composition (even going a bit into chemistry and other materials sciences issues), ways to halt deterioration, tips on photographing stained glass and various repair techniques. If you have stained glass in your home, you need to read this. And, like all the other briefs, it’s full of useful technical information but not written in an overly-technical style; it’s accessible, readable and (as always) interesting.