Norman Alston Architects

Highland Park rejects Preservation.......again.

It's not as if I'm surprised. As noted in Dan Koller's article in Park Cities People, efforts to establish some sort of organized, predictable and effective preservation program in Highland Park have been set back yet again by the Town Council. In this case, it is an effort to get professional help to conduct a study on possible preservation steps that has been rejected, indicating how deeply the aversion to historic preservation runs here.

Understand, virtually none of the paradigms of preservation that we work with routinely in other venues apply here. This community, adjacent to Southern Methodist University, is historically associated with many of Dallas' most notable and successful citizens. Always among the most affluent areas, development began in earnest in the 1920's and has produced some of the best examples in the Dallas area of virtually all of the major stylistic movements since that time, especially Spanish Mission Revival. That so many have survived is testimony in large part to the personal success and  associated resources of so many of the community's citizens.

Somewhere along the line the advantages available to historic preservation in Highland Park have become the primary threat to the survival of many of these buildings. The stylistic leadership exhibited in the early days has more recently contributed to the spread of some pretty bad ideas. The unfortunate habit of painting perfectly good brick traces it origins to the Park Cities and became fashionable due to its association with these beautiful and exclusive neighborhoods.

The biggest threat, however, and the one some of the good folks in Highland Park are seeking to address, is that of tear downs. Long, long before the term "McMansion" became popular, property owners in the Park Cities discovered that their older homes were far smaller and seemingly less stylish than what was permitted for new construction. Rising property values made it economically advantageous to tear down the potentially historic houses and construct new, larger ones. This means very big money in Highland Park and with it, highly motivated and politically savy opponents to any effort that might impede that income stream. I doubt this actually comes to a surprise the preservationists in Highland Park. Good luck to them.

Highway rest areas have their preservationists too.

Waltzing across Texas on our highways is a way of life around here, but with the 4th of July Holiday upon us, many more are set to be on the road the next few days. That's probably why the Wall Street Journal published a story today about the trend among states to close so many of their highway rest areas in a budget-trimming move. The rationale is that so many private fuel stops and restaurants have cropped up that the humble rest area is no longer needed. To the surprise of many, this has not been well received. Truckers associations and the AAA, among others, have begun touting such steps as a threat to highway safety.

The gem of this article to me was to find the web site, Rest Area History.Org, which is dedicated to documenting the history of highway rest areas and preserving them.

As I read the article, I found it strangely inconsistent with what I had experienced lately. It seemed to me that rest areas in Texas were enjoying a resurgence, with large new facilities having recently opened near Belton and Sweetwater. Sure enough, later in the article, Texas is noted as a state bucking the trend, going as far as adding wi-fi hot spots to most of the state's rest areas. TxDOT maintains this interactive map showing locations of the state's rest areas, including a photo gallery of many.

If you're out and about, check out the big new ones in Bell County and Nolan County.

Statue of Liberty to reopen the crown on July 4

The observation deck in the crown has been closed since 9/11, so it's nice to get back another little bit of life as we knew it before that day. At the National Parks Service site on the Statue of Liberty, information is available that shows that things may not be quite back to normal, as there will be airport like security screening prior to boarding the ferry.

I also understand that advance reservations are required and that visitors to the top  will be limited to 10 at a time, with a maximum daily limit of 240. And once you have your ticket, passed through security and waited in line, there is always the climb of 354 steps. Let's see, 354 steps, even at only 7 inches each, is still more than 206 feet, or about 17 or 18 stories. The people who do this should be admired because they will have overcome much to be there.

Austin Energy Audits: Commentary in the Advocate Magazine's Back Talk Blog

Yesterday I read a piece in the Wall Street Journal that recounted how the City of Austin has enacted an ordinance that requires home sellers to obtain energy audits in order to sell their homes. Unfortunately, I see this as just another example Green actions getting out in front of Green thinking, a subject that seems to come across my desk alot these days.

In my role as a guest blogger on the Advocate Magazine's Back Talk Blog, I have posted my thoughts on this subject and what it may mean in the larger effort to improve energy efficiency and sustainability.

The post can be found at the following link:

Energy Audits: Will Dallas require them?

Texas Governor's Mansion: Capstone restoration funding in place.

This article from the Austin American Statesman notes that Federal stimulus money has been secured to finalize the restoration of the Governor's Mansion. I'll let the article speak to the details. Almost as interesting, however, are the comments posted at the end of the article. Even with this building, you will see caustic commentary to the effect that fixing the mansion is a waste of taxpayer money. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, it's just that I thought that this project would be as close as we get to one that could be immune to such complaints.

The comment I find the most concerning, however, was posted by CommonCents on 5/23. In it, a plea is made to discard the historic concerns and construct the building to "...the highest of LEED Green building certifications." I point this out because I am convinced that we are only just beginning to see the coming struggle between the value of historic integrity and what some will view as the social responsibility of sustainable practices. Supporters of sustainable design are clearly ready to match supporters of historic preservation, passion for passion, blow for blow. I have already experienced this first hand.

Last Titanic Survivor Dies

Ok, this is not really a historic preservation or architecture news item, but our preoccupation with history around here would not allow me to let this news item simply pass by. Millvina Dean, of Southampton, England, passed away on May 31, 2009.  She is the very last survivor of that great tragedy.

Two points to this story that I find poignant are that she was on the ship because her parents were trying to reach Kansas City where her Dad had visions of starting a new business. Following the sinking and the death of her father, her mother made it as far as New York, but they immediately returned to England. As it turned out, Ms. Dean spent the rest of her life in the town that launched that fateful ship.

The other point is that she died on May 31, the very day the unfinished Titanic was launched in 1911.

I point this event out because it marks the time when an important historical period or event moves completely into history. This transition is not typically so well defined. No longer are there people with us who were actual participants and we must now rely soley on our records and our artifacts to tie us to the time. While she was only 2 months old and remembered nothing of the event, her passing conveys to me a sense of loss that another important aspect of our history and culture has irreversibly slipped away. I suppose the feelings are magnified because the loss is that of a living, loving person, but the underlying concern seems to be the same that is felt when historic buildings and artifacts are destroyed and we recognize that it will never be quite the same again.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Ms. Dean's family and friends.

2009 Preservation Achievement Awards this Friday.

 Every year Preservation Dallas holds their Preservation Achievement Awards program to recognize outstanding accomplishments in all facets of historic preservation in Dallas. This year is a bit different because the event was pushed back several months, apparently to allow time for the newly restored and expanded Woodlawn to be completed and to serve as the venue for this year's program. Woodlawn is perhaps better known as Old Parkland Hospital, on the corner of Maple and Oak Lawn. It's restoration and adaptive reuse by Crow Holdings is the end of a multi-year saga where Parkland tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully to find a new use for the building. Things looked bleak for the building for awhile before the deal with Crow was done.

The event is this Friday, June 5 and concludes a breathless season for PD, with both the Spring Architectural Tour and Celebrate Downtown having taken place within only a few weeks prior to the Achievement Awards.

Tickets and additional information can be obtained from Preservation Dallas.

Airborne Architects

As if we were not having enough fun working with beautiful historic buildings, now even the trip to visit the site can be a little shorter and a lot more fun. After a remarkably long, but thoughtful effort, I achieved my Private Pilot, Single Engine, Land certificate in April.

Achieving this goal has long-sought after benefits for our architectural services. One of the unique characteristics of historic preservation centered practice is that there is almost always an existing building with which to interact. This painfully obvious observation nonetheless represents a fundamental difference from a "standard" practice where totally new buildings are conceived. Yes, one should visit the site prior to design of a new building, but the bulk of the work is initially performed in offices, sometimes hundreds or thousands of miles from the building site. Our practice, by contrast, involves a great deal more involvement with the building site for documentation of existing conditions, historic research and ongoing verification of building issues.  Most meetings, even during the design phase, are accomplished on site or in the vicinity. It only stands to reason.

Memorial Day 2009

Remembering those to whom we owe so very much.

Celebrate Downtown Dallas this Saturday

It's the hot time of year for preservation in Dallas. Two weeks ago was the Preservation Dallas 2009 Spring Architectural Tour featuring homes from 5 different decades. Last weekend was the venerable and still popular Swiss Avenue Mothers Day Home Tour. (Both of which, I might add, included the Parks/Lind Estate).

This Saturday, historic architecture in Downtown Dallas is featured in Celebrate Downtown 2009 Art and Architecture Tour, a joint offering from Downtown Dallas and Preservation Dallas. It's from 3 to 7 pm and gives participants an opportunity to experience some of the most recent and exciting developments in the Downtown area.

You can download the tour map here.