Category Archives: APL News

1866 Belmont Boulevard

Historic for Sale: 1866 Belmont Boulevard

The home, which is known as the Stowe/Smith house on the Abilene Historical Register,  is a charming updated home in a beautiful area. This home has historic overlay zoning, which enables the owner to receive a 20% reduction on the City portion of their ad valorem taxes each year (or $200, whichever is greater), plus being able to amortized approved expenditures on the exterior.

More information on the listing is available at the full record page of the Multiple Listing Service. The Realtor is C.J. Chaney with Coldwell Banker/Panian & Mash Realtors (325-725-6641).

August 11th for freshening up Swenson Yard

Hello all–In August, believe it or not, the sun starts its move toward fall. I know, I know, it’s almost imperceptible. But sometimes the mornings are a little cooler!

So we’re throwing another opportunity to come help out at the Swenson House to get the grounds in great shape for a beautiful fall and the weddings and events that are scheduled for this beautiful venue (and those that will be scheduled… have you scheduled your party?)

Our new Swenson Grounds Committee chair, Lauren Clark, is organizing this work day, and so far she and our intrepid volunteer Martin Jensen have lined up nearly 20 volunteers!

8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
1726 Swenson Street
North 18th and Swenson is one block west of Grape Street.

Free Hot dogs for lunch!

Here’s a list of needs:
Martin Jensen is going to break up the grounds into 5-6 areas.  Lauren is recrutiting 5-6 chiefs to be in charge of each area.  Martin will provide the list of what to do.  We are going to concentrate on clean up.

Lauren needs 5 pair of medium gloves for the teenagers and I need 5 pairs of large men’s gloves;
Lawnmower(s) and edgers. Rakes, bags, cookers of hot dogs (we have a grill). Pick-ups or trailers to haul stuff off.

If you want to help, please email Lauren. Thanks!

Befores and Afters!

One of the very best ways to demonstrate the benefits of historic preservation is to show a bunch of photos of what might be called “hopeless houses,” that were later turned into comfortable and beautiful homes. Thanks to This Old House Magazine, you can see 32 examples of this from all over the country. All of them are surprising and many delightful. Click the link below for the whole set.

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/home-renovations

Pick up a paintbrush Saturday at Rosetyme

This Saturday, June 16th we’ll be having a work day at the J.D. Magee house at 1910 North 3rd Street. This is thought to be the oldest house in Abilene that was built with both electricity and running water. As you may remember, it suffered a tragic fire in 2008. The Preservation League has nearly finished stabilizing the house, and will be finding a new owner for the property now that it is dry and safe.

Work day – Saturday, June 16th


9:00 am to 1:30 p.m.
1910 North Third Street

This is only the second time we have had a volunteer work day there… mainly because the framing and a lot of the clean-up was just too much for volunteers. Jeff Luther Construction Co. has done a great job of getting the building stabilized, and now we are going to work on finding a new owner who can finish the job to make the house into a home again with the care it deserves.

Everyone volunteering Saturday: you’ll need to sign a release, and you’ll need to let us know what your skills/interests are. You can let us know that by taking a short survey. Click here to take survey

Rosetyme Priorities list including tools and labor type

1a skilled trim painters with sash brushes and blue tape and step ladders

1b not so skilled painters with 3 inch and 4 inch brushes and step l;adder

1c flexible persons using spray shields or rollers and pan near ground

1d flexible persons using caulking frames, sponges and rags

1e painters using 3 and 4 inch brushes on ladders and at heights

2a handy persons using cordless drills on hands and knees

2b if needed see 1c

3a light to moderate lifting and carrying

3b ladder climbing and chainsawing and stacking brush

3c operate push mower and weed eater or rakes

Volunteers may provide tools for tasks.

What a weekend! Have a festive Seuss time.

Beginning with tonight’s ArtWalk and running through Sunday, Abilene’s very first Children’s Art and Literary Festival, or C.A.L.F. for short, is happening. With a wealth of learning, reading literacy events for the whole family, this is a great opportunity to see what Abilene can do. From Lynn Barnett and crew of the Abilene Cultural Affairs Council to Bird Thomas, Darla Harmon and crew at the Center for Contemporary Arts,  Judy Deaton and Laura Moore at the Grace, to Debbie Lillick and crew at the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature, everyone deserves a pat on the back for their efforts. Everyone has knocked themselves out to give visitors the best experience imaginable, and keep them coming back in the next years.

For more information about the festival, visit the Cultural Affairs Council’s Web site.

Lincoln – Historic AHS is going on the National Register!

Lincoln-Historic AHS now on the National Register

Lincoln-Historic AHS now on the National Register

On May 19th the Texas Review Board for the National Register of Historic Places met in Georgetown, Texas to consider six nominations of properties to the Register. Abilene’s nomination of the former Abilene High School to the list was approved for forwarding to Washington and the Department of the Interior, which is the agency in charge of this prestigious list.

Many thanks to Abilene’s Historic Preservation Officer, Molinda Parker, for authoring the nomination. The panel could see that the property, which has been the site of education in Abilene since 1889, was certainly historic and had great community support. Now the challenge is to study the feasibility of various redevelopment options. Stay tuned for more information about these. If you would like to send us a comment or be on our Lincoln mailing list, please send us an email with your thoughts. Thanks!

Sign up for the Rosetyme-J.D. Magee home workday on June 16

Ready to get your hands dirty in historic preservation?

You can help get the historic 1903 J.D. Magee house ready for a new owner. On Saturday, June 16 we are going to have a special Volunteer Work Day to do some freshening up for curb appeal to mark the end of the stabilization period.

If you would like to be included, please take our short survey. Thanks!

Update: Radford Grocery Co. fire site

This is the place for the latest info about the property in Abilene at 101 Oak Street. On February 20th the building suffered a disastrous fire. The remaining North wall was pushed over into the ruins by the city due to public safety concerns.

We (the Abilene Preservation League) are collecting inquiries and forwarding them on to the owners. If you came by on Saturday the 25th and spoke to us about your interest in a particular piece of salvage, your interest has already been forwarded to the owner. If you have a question currently, please email us and we will forward to the owner.

In the interim, please note the following:

  • The site is in the process of being secured. A fence is going up today.
  • Nothing may be removed from the site without the permission of the owner.
  • If you are interested in a quantity of brick, please do email us and state the quantity, whether you have the capability to clean and transport them, and other details.
  • Please do not cross the foundation wall or walk on top of any piles of brick and debris that may be at the site, whether on the sidewalk or not. Safety is paramount.
  • If you have an inquiry that is about something other than brick such as the iron grilles that protected the basement windows: Most were preserved and removed to a safe place. It may be some time before it is known whether they will be available or not for sale.

Any announcements will be posted here as soon as they are available. Thank you to all who came on Saturday Feb. 25th to help start the clean-up. We appreciate your help!

Bricks for Bucks… help start the cleanup of the Matera fire

Last Monday Abilene suffered a terrible loss… known as the Matera Paper Building, the majestic structure at 101 Oak Street burned and was declared a total loss.

On Saturday, February 25th, working with the  building owners, we will start the cleanup process by having the first Bricks for Bucks day. Starting around 9:00 a.m. and ending at 3:30 p.m., the Abilene Preservation League will be on site to let Abilenians pick up bricks and help the cleanup process by clearing the sidewalks.

This is a fundraiser for the Abilene Preservation League and Love and Care Ministries, so we will be asking for a donation if you would like a brick or several. A suggested amount is $2.00 per brick, but if you would like to give more, or less, that is OK. The older part of the building is made out of what we think is Thurber brick, made in the famous ghost town along I-20. The “addition” made in 1917 was made out of brand-new Abilene brick, known as “Abilene Common,” and is stamped with our city’s name.

We would like to enroll all people who donate as supporters of the APL so we will be asking for your email address and you will receive a complimentary one year membership in the APL.

If you have in mind a patio or a driveway, needing hundreds or even thousands of bricks, there are plenty. But we may not be able to fulfill your order in one day! Volunteers  will be on site to take your request down and we will be back in touch with you within the next week.

What is the intended purpose of the funds raised? Well, for one we need to provide better security lighting at some of our historic structures, which would help deter additional losses of buildings. As a donor, you will also be benefiting Love and Care Ministries, which has a 17 year history of great work helping Abilenians all economic circumstances.

Additional information will be posted here as it becomes available. We thank you for your interest in this project!

A model for new residential in Central Abilene

We can look over to McKinney for some excellent examples of both historic preservation and economic redevelopment of the older parts of the city. Note that I’m not calling McKinney “a suburb of Dallas.” It has its own distinctive downtown and was named one of Money Magazine’s 5 Best Places to Live recently.

One thing that caught our attention was that along to go along with the city’s vibrant historic downtown, there is new residential construction happening. The two photos below are from a listing for a house that was built in 2011, has been on the market for 42 days. It’s designed to both be compatible with the Craftsman inspired bungalows that Abilene and McKinney have lots of, and provide the open plan design of living with kitchen that is so popular today.

This house is 1,850 square feet and a smaller footprint, which surveys say is often desired by empty nesters and young couples.

When looking at this, one has to wonder: what is keeping this type of investment from being made in the neighborhoods of Central Abilene? Ideas such as Enterprise zones, combined with historic preservation, have been used in McKinney. What about an enterprise zone near Lincoln Middle School and including SoDA (South Downtown Abilene)? Let’s try to encourage builders to line up behind strengthening the core of our city!