Historic Preservation is often Bottom Up, Grassroots and Personal
With a “replacement as the last option” approach preservation can be cost effective and sustainable as we bank the embodied energy in our built environment by maintaining and repairing what was left to us by prior generations.
The Vault Wine Bar
Main Street Shelby
The Value of Cared for Older Buildings, Neighborhoods and Downtowns
Restored heritage structures create an authentic sense of place, weave us into our community story, enrich our quality of life and give our county an advantage when attracting visitors, investment and new businesses.
WHAT STYLE is My House?
Your home has a story to tell.
Often “styles” emerged as a reaction to popular culture, politics, the economy, available materials, world events and social movements.
Who knew brick and wood had so much to say!
While many homes fit neatly into one category or another, often hybrid blends occured as homeowners with freedom of choice and expression picked and chose their favorite elements and combined them.
Certain eras see this even more so than others, leading to many structures being placed into enormous categories, such as Victorian or Colonial Revival.
OPEN Architectural Style Guide
We have referenced ‘The Houses We Live In‘ by Jeffery Howe and ‘A Field Guide to American Houses‘ by Virginia and Lee McAlester when building the style guide and recommend both for further reading, while ‘The Elements of Style‘ by Cromley & Calloway is great for terminology support.
RICHLAND COUNTY NEIGHBORHOODS, DISTRICTS AND LANDMARKS
HERE for Neighborhood Guide
We are also searching for history lovers to add their knowledge to an expanding interactive map hosted on the free app Clio.
Created by scholars for public benefit, Clio is designed to connect us to the history and culture surrounding us, providing concise summaries as well as time capsule entries, turn-by-turn directions, and links to relevant sources for more in-depth study.
TAP to enter Clio
So….what are the Standards for Rehabilitation and why should I be using them?
Rehabilitation as defined by the National Park Service
“The process of returning a property to a state of utility, through repair or alteration, which makes possible an efficient contemporary use while preserving those portions and features of the property which are significant to its historic, architectural, and cultural values.”
While only necessary and regulatory for projects receiving Historic Preservation Tax Incentives, (usually income producing properties) they also provide an excellent foundation for “best practice” seeking property owners and stewards and can prevent chain reaction effects caused by improper repair.
So . . . Where do I find this Resource?
Right here.
The Standards are massive, 252 pages, though informative and well illustrated.
LUCKILY FOR US the City of Mansfield and their Preservation Commission not only created a (now out of print) book to simplify them, but has given us permission to make it available to you here on the website!
A great, big thank you to all who contributed to this original publication, its conversion and to those who agreed to increase its accessibility by allowing the transition to digital format.
If you like technical reading you can find the full version by following this link;
VIEW the full Standards
In the midst of a project you would like to share? Enjoy encouraging your like-minded neighbors? Head on over to Facebook and join our free group Richland Restorations to post your old house living adventures, trials, learning experiences and progress!
The National Register…List…Fund…Protect
Authorized by the National Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register was created to join and support public and private efforts in the realm of preserving our built environment and archeological sites. The National Park Service is responsible for reviewing nominations submitted by states, tribes and other federal agencies, and listing those determined to qualify.
In addition, the “NPS” also offers guidance towards listing and usage of possible benefits and incentives, although it is ideal to coordinate on local and state levels (with the “SHPO”, State Historic Preservation Office) first. There are currently approximately 94,000 properties listed on the “NRHP” representing 1.8 million contributing resources.
Tap HERE for the NR listings of Richland County
Kit House Hunting
Richland County is likely full of kit houses…between our high level of growth in peak kit house building decades, our proximity to railroads and the fact there was a Sears homes sales office on Bartley Ave. in Mansfield…kit houses should abound.
There is even a model named The Mansfield. Just look at those clipped gables, focal chimney, arched door and ribbon windows. There’s got to be one somewhere.
To aid in identification we have created an entire Pinterest board chock full of catalog images, categorized by feature, alphabetically, to help you find these homes.
Contact:
julie@richlandpreservation.org
tracy@richlandpreservation.org
*or* PM through Facebook.
COPYRIGHT 2021
Richland Preservation Action
Have fun & link away!