• Crow House named to National Register of Historic Places

    Crowhouse
    American ceramicist and painter Henry Varnum Poor‘s Rockland NY home – known semi-affectionately as “crow house,” after the birds that harassed Poor during the construction of the structure – has been added to the NRHP. Oddly, the town that hosts it – Clarkstown NY – either refused or was unable to purchase it themselves, so a neighbor (either richer or more interested in historic preservation), the town of Ramapo, is in the process of buying it from current owner Arthur Wagner. Wagner bought it a year ago from Peter Poor, son of the artist, for $1.15 million; let’s hope he didn’t feel a need to make a profit off the public by selling it at a huge mark-up.

    The brick home includes some interesting Tudor and castle-like features, including archways, circular stairways, exposed beams, and plenty of hand-crafted furniture made specifically for the site. According to visitors, the hand-made ceramic doorknobs, tiled windowsills and other stone and ceramic inlays are especially attractive; all the decorative ceramics were made by Poor specifically for this project at a kiln on the property. Much of the furniture is American Arts & Crafts.

    The New York Times ran an article in 2006 on the race to save the building, which Wagner originally planned to destroy; it includes several photographs.

    photo courtesy of the Preservation League of New York State

  • preservation status debated in Decatur

    Paul Donsky has an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the seemingly endless conflict between preservationists and those who fear that historic status will restrict their ability to alter their own property:

    Residents in the Oakhurst section of Decatur are proud of the tidy bungalows that line the neighborhood’s streets.

    Run-down homes, many dating to the early 20th century, have been
    painstakingly restored, preserving the clean lines and sturdy porches
    that typify the Craftsman bungalow style.

    Some residents say the
    modest, boxy houses are such an integral part of the neighborhood’s
    character that they must be protected, particularly at a time when
    "teardowns" and "McMansions" have become part of the real estate
    lexicon.

    Now, three residents have filed papers asking Decatur’s Historic
    Preservation Commission to make part of Oakhurst a historic district,
    which would prevent most of the older homes in the area from being
    knocked down. Several old homes have already been bulldozed, they say,
    and many others are at risk.

    But others in the neighborhood say the protection would come at too
    high a price. They worry that new rules might prevent them from
    expanding their homes as their families grow, and they grouse about the
    prospect of having to get approval for run-of-the-mill home improvement
    projects.

    read the entire article

  • 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.

  • “like watching Ann Coulter debate Al Franken”

    Picture_3
    Neighbors in the Decatur, Georgia neighborhood of Oakhurst are definitely not agreeing to disagree about a proposal to turn their area into an official historic district. Scott Henry fills us in on the story, something that may not be all that hard to imagine for many of you who live in historic districts, whether recognized or not:

    Threats. Intimidation. Yard signs. Snotty e-mails. Yes, the knives
    are out in Oakhurst, where the proposed creation of what would be
    Decatur’s largest historic district has resulted in a nasty
    neighborhood-wide squabble in which many homeowners have been forced to
    choose sides.

    Terry Michel, a real estate agent who says she supports voluntary
    design guidelines rather than city imposed building restrictions, says
    she’s stopped discussing the issue with neighbors because the rhetoric
    on both sides has become too overheated.

    “The vitriol is off-putting to me,” Michel explains. “It’s like watching Ann Coulter debate Al Frankin (sic).”

    So what is it about a historic district that has so many peoples’ knickers in a wad?

    Mainly, the argument comes down to control over one’s own property.
    If a house is included in the district, then the owner would need to
    get a “certificate of appropriateness” to tear it down, build an
    addition or make significant exterior changes. Construction plans that
    aren’t seen as keeping within the historic character of the
    neighborhood – say, replacing a 1920s Craftsman bungalow with a
    modernist stucco triplex – may not be allowed.