This summer's Forum Journal responds and examines some of the trends in historic preservation. Read Donovan Rypkema's 20/20 Vision into the Future, and how Statewide and Local Partners are reacting to the economy in their localities. Anita Durel looks to options for museums and historic sites,...
FJ_Summer_09.pdf
A disturbing new pattern of demolitions is approaching epidemic proportions in many historic neighborhoods across America: • In two neighborhoods just outside Dallas, Tex., more than 1,000 historic early 20th-century homes have been purchased, bulldozed, and sent to the dump, making way...
We meet in a city that is the very symbol of reinvention. For us, Pittsburgh is also a living laboratory—the place where preservation pioneers have developed and perfected many of the techniques that are now part of every preservationist’s toolkit. I encourage you to take full...
Americans seem to assume that bigger is better, especially when it comes to their homes. In 1970 the average new single-family house in the United States was 1,400 square feet; today it`s ballooned to 2,225 square feet, even though families are shrinking. And it`s not just size they`re after,...
The problem of teardowns isn’t going away. The National Trust sounded the alarm back in 2002 when it put “Teardowns in Historic Neighborhoods, Nationwide” on its list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. The listing warned: “Across the nation a...
Over the past few months, we’ve all experienced some restless nights, disheartening conversations, and anxious moments as we consider the effects of the current economic downturn on the future of the programs and places we care deeply about. Local preservation organizations and historic sites,...
At the height of the real estate frenzy, and when the economy was booming, a cartoon in the New Yorker depicted a couple at the front door of a house saying, “Do we say they have a ‘lovely home’ or a ‘great piece of property’?” That sentiment has held true for the past decade in many...
by Adrian Scott Fine A view of some homes in the La Brea area of LA. | Credit: Adrian Scott Fine In late March of this year the Los Angeles City Council adopted two Interim Control Ordinances (ICOs)...