July 23rd, 2010
J.D. Magee house from southeast, July 22, 2010, showing cypress columns removed in foreground.
The framer has really moved fast, and as you can see from yesterday’s photos, the roof is on–at least the felt part. The wraparound porch has been removed and will be reconstructed to be more like the original. The four majestic columns have been taken down for restoration and the capitals are safely inside the house. We’re currently getting prices on the painting. The new lead paint rules are something we’ll need to learn about. Shingles should be coming before too long.
J.D. Magee house from front, July 22, 2010
Tags: painting
Posted in APL News, News - Rosetyme | No Comments »
June 17th, 2010
This morning took a tour with Blake Riley of Jeff Luther Construction of the fast-moving progress at the J.D. Magee home. The framers are going to town on the roof framing, and by next week the decking will be going on. Here’s some photos of the way it looked this morning. I remember when one of the rooms had 5 feet of debris in it.
Posted in APL News, News - Rosetyme | No Comments »
May 5th, 2010
Here are some shots from today. Joaquim Soria’s I-concrete guys have worked their magic. I never thought that the staining and scoring would replicate so well the original quarry tile. The columns are in and being installed. Have a look…
This is looking north from the south side of the arbor
Columns are beginning to be installed.
Posted in News - Swenson House | No Comments »
May 5th, 2010
We are still enjoying thinking about how much fun yesterday was at the Hunter Welcome Center. Bruce Shackelford, our keynote speaker, gave a fascinating look at the market for collectibles from the appraiser’s point of view. That includes some hilarious observations about his work as a guest appraiser for the popular PBS television series, “Antiques Roadshow.” Bruce went on to give some sage advice about the cultural value of historic preservation. We’re grateful for Bruce coming back to Abilene.
Cindy Deegan spoke some poignant words in her acceptance of the $700 first place prize for the Deegan’s home at 302 Riverside Dr. The house was vacant for more than four years before the Deegans adopted it and went to work. Sons Robert and John helped, often driving in from Austin. “We love broken things,” Cindy said. See the winning houses here.
Don’t miss next year, with another set of interesting homes. It will be Tuesday, May 3, 2011.
Tags: beautiful house award, Heritage Stewardship
Posted in APL News | No Comments »
April 19th, 2010
The APL is announcing this week that the Texas Trails Council of the Boy Scouts of America will receive the Heritage Stewardship Community Service Award at the annual luncheon on May 4.
“The Preservation League at the Swenson House has benefited greatly from a number of Eagle Scout leadership projects which have enhanced the grounds,” said Bill Minter, Executive Director of the League. “Beginning with Hudson Beard’s restoration of the fish pond, which had not had any water in it for more than 60 years, there have been five Scouts to date who have completed their projects,” Minter said. “We are so grateful for the work these Scouts have done, and want to recognize the good that the organization does through the area governing council, the Texas Trails Council.”
Tickets to the luncheon are available for $45, or a table of eight for $500. Reservations may be made online or by calling the APL offices at 325-676-3775.
Tags: Heritage Stewardship, Scouts, Swenson House
Posted in APL News, News - Swenson House | No Comments »
March 31st, 2010
Increasing numbers of Americans are opting to live in close-in communities, preferring walkable neighborhoods and neighborhood schools. The proportion of home building that occurs in central cities has doubled since 2000 in 26 metro areas, writes Jonathan Hiskes in Grist.
In Memphis: new homes compatible with early 20th century designs
Recently in Memphis, we toured the historic Midtown area, home to the Evergreen historic district. Along with the mix of early 20th century homes was a brand new development of homes that were designed to be harmonious with the surrounding community. The shot at right shows one of them. Every lot was sold and every home was occupied by people who are taking great care of them. Such a shift in development trends is great for preservation!
Tags: construction, downtown living, trends
Posted in APL News | No Comments »
March 24th, 2010
Initiated in 2009, the Beautiful House Award recognizes homeowners who have made improvements to their homes in a historically compatible manner.
The work can be either from the recent past or simply a recognition of good maintenance practices over a long period of time.
The intent is to recognize families who have increased their home’s attractiveness and its contribution to the overall desirability of the neighborhood.
Today’s young families can rarely afford a new $150,000 “starter house” in one of the outlying neighborhoods. They need encouragement and examples of successful rehabilitations in older neighborhoods. This will contribute to a realization of the city’s infill goals, and it is more environmentally sustainable.
The result is more stable neighborhoods and increasing the ratio of homeowners to rental property in our historic neighborhoods.
Tags: beautiful house award
Posted in APL News | No Comments »
March 23rd, 2010
I recently ran across some reading you might be interested in about how the “new normal” economy might affect historic preservation. Donovan D. Rypkema is a real estate and economic development expert with Place Economics in Washington, D.C. In his article for the National Trust Forum, “A 20/20 Vision into the Future: Preservation in the Midst of Economic Chaos,” Rypkema identifies twenty trends he believes will shape the future of historic preservation. Among the observations are…
- There is beginning to be a significant push for, and acceptance of, density in development.
- A rapidly increasing shift to using public transportation
- A renewed interest in neighborhood schools
- More multigenerational households
- A rather ominous use of historic designation as a NIMBY tool
Rypkema goes on to identify ten risks for the future that need to be addressed carefully. For example, the “green building movement” people need to be educated that there is nothing green about tearing down a historic building to replace with a “green” building. The article is available here
in PDF format. While you’re visiting our site, why not go over to our Home page and sign up for our e-mail newsletter? You can do that in about 10 seconds on the left side of the page. We never share our email lists with anyone.
Posted in APL News | No Comments »
March 19th, 2010
We’re finally underway on the stabilization of Rosetyme. We had to remove the back 25% of the house because of the fire damage. When we did, we exposed an interior foundation that wasn’t the strongest, so things started moving around.
Blake Riley (left) and Charles Fowler, P.E. looked at the back wall foundation on March 23.
This will delay the framers starting on the roof for a while, while the engineer designs a foundation wall to go under the back wall (below) that will stabilize the rear of the house.
Now it will be necessary for our engineer to design a foundation wall to replace these pilings along the north side of the house, so the roof plate will be straight.
If you would like more information about this project of the Abilene Preservation League, or would like to know how you can help, please email us.
Tags: construction, J.D. Magee Home, Rosetyme
Posted in News - Rosetyme | No Comments »
March 12th, 2010
It’s been a long road getting here, but the original arbor that was on the south lawn of the Swenson House is under construction! Yesterday’s photos show the forms and rebar all set for the pouring of the slab. Set in a Greek cross shape, the arbor was originally constructed with columns taken from the front of the home in 1928 when a brick portico and columns were added. We have preserved the original cypress columns, but are planning to use new materials for the columns and beams due to the cost of rehabilitating the old ones. Some of the original wood from the arbor can be seen at the southeast corner of the lawn where for his Eagle Scout project, Shawn Butler constructed a pergola.
The arbor will provide a beautiful setting for weddings, receptions and parties of all kinds on the south lawn. Thank you to Bill Emory, an engineer at CADCO Architects-Engineers and a Swenson neighborhood resident, for his many hours volunteering to do the plans for the arbor reconstruction. The lead donor for the arbor reconstruction will be announced at a later date, but we are very grateful. Estimated time for construction is about sixty days.
Update on March 12: here are some photos of the pour:
Tags: arbor, construction, Swenson House
Posted in News - Swenson House | 1 Comment »
