Author: PHW

Winners Announced for Treasure Hunt Contest

At PHW’s Annual Meeting on Sunday, eight winners were drawn from a pool of 30 correct entrants. The lucky winners are:

  • Dalton Youngbor of Winchester, recipient of a $20 gift certificate to Bluebells, $25 gift certificate to the Village Square, and a pack of PHW note cards.
  • Mary Tucker of Winchester, recipient of a $20 gift certificate to Bluebells, $25 gift certificate to the Espresso Bar and Cafe, and a pack of PHW note cards.
  • Robin Grenke of Stephens City, recipient of a $20 gift certificate to Bluebells, $25 gift certificate to Piccadilly’s Public House and Restaurant, and a pack of PHW note cards.
  • Tina Huse of Winchester, recipient of a $20 gift certificate to Bluebells, $30 gift certificate to the Dancing Goat Restaurant at the George Washington Hotel, and a pack of oversized postcards of Edward Beyer’s “A View of Winchester” from PHW.
  • Crystal Dunn of Winchester, recipient of a $25 gift certificate to the Village Market Bistro, a two CD set of the audio guided driving tour “Follow the Apple Trail,” and the book Beside a Valley Road by Stewart Bell, Jr.
  • Whip Dutton of Winchester, recipient of a Winchester T-shirt from the Winchester-Frederick County Visitor’s Center, $25 gift certificate to The Final Yard, and a pack of PHW note cards.
  • Marilyn Heath of Winchester, recipient of a $25 gift certificate to Brewbakers and a small framed watercolor of the downtown by Eugene Smith.
  • The DeWitt family of Winchester, recipient of a five person pass to the Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum and the book Winchester: Limestone, Sycamores & Architecture from PHW.

Many thanks are due to the Winchester Star for its generous sponsorship of the contest form in the newspaper and the Old Town Development Board for gathering the excellent slate of prizes. Special thanks are also due to the businesses of Old Town Winchester who donated prizes: Bluebells, Brewbakers Restaurant, The Dancing Goat Restaurant, Espresso Bar and Cafe, The Final Yard, Eugene B. Smith Gallery, Piccadilly’s Public House and Restaurant, The Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum, The Village Market Bistro, The Village Square, and The Winchester-Frederick County Visitor’s Center.

The elements on the treasure hunt are:

  1. Brick cornice and entablature at Piccadilly Printing Co., 32 E. Piccadilly St.
  2. Grate under front porch, Godfrey Miller Home, 28 S. Loudoun St.
  3. Hiram Masonic Lodge pediment, 118 N. Loudoun St.
  4. Rouss City Hall, construction date block, 15 N. Cameron St.
  5. George Washington Hotel, decorative belt course, 103 E. Piccadilly St.
  6. Door knocker, 157 N. Loudoun St. (A second eagle door knocker was found by intrepid treasure hunters at 108 W. Cork St.)
  7. Wachovia, parapet decorative elements, 201 N. Loudoun St.
  8. Union Jack Pub,  Lion’s head parapet cap, 101 N. Loudoun St.
  9. Luciole, construction date in lunette above the Cork St. side window, 139-141 S. Loudoun St.
  10. Murphy Beverage Company, bull’s eye window block, 167 N. Loudoun St.
  11. Fanlight and window, the Weaver Building, 1-3 S. Loudoun St.
  12. Espresso Bar and Cafe, window hood, 163-165 N. Loudoun St.

This contest was so much fun we’re planning to host another soon. Keep an eye out for another architectural treasure hunt this fall!

PHW’s 47th Annual Meeting

As we near the end of May – and with it National Preservation Month – PHW is closing out the month with a culmination in fun activities related to historic preservation.

First, have you completed your Architectural Treasure Hunt? You have until Friday, June 3 at 5 PM to drop your forms at PHW, either by email, snail-mail, or in person. Click here for the contest form (pdf). Reports from contest entrants are that you should allow yourself about three hours to stroll downtown looking at the buildings – and it’s fun!

Then, on June 5 at 3 PM is the Annual Business Meeting at the Hexagon House. PHW will be electing seven new board members, reviewing the past year, and presenting our yearly preservation awards. We are planning to hold the business meeting on the back lawn, so dress for the weather. (In case of rain, we will move indoors.)

Following the business portion of the meeting, you have two options for further entertainment. The outdoor option is the Italianate walking tour of Winchester, which will be previewed for the first time. At approximately 4 PM, tour groups will depart from the Hexagon House. Tour time is expected to last from one to one and a half hours and is approximately one mile in length. The suggested donation for the tour is $5 per person. It is open to the public. Click here for the walking tour post.

Indoors at the Hexagon House, PHW will host a light reception. For those unable to attend the full walking tour, there will be a display of the Winchester Italianate architecture on the walking tour. Look for the lime green papers around the Hexagon House for a self-guided tour of the building while you socialize indoors.

The Italianate Trend in Winchester

A Guided Walking Tour
June 5, 4 PM at the Hexagon House, 530 Amherst St.

Join Ashlee Anderson, student intern for Preservation of Historic Winchester, on a guided walking tour of Old Town Winchester highlighting Italianate structures for her capstone project.

minihexhouse The Italianate style is one of the best-represented architectural styles in Winchester, and this tour will show you the grand mansions, commercial properties, and modest homes, spanning high-end expressions to vernacular representations.

The tour will start following Preservation of Historic Winchester’s Annual Business Meeting at 3 PM. Expected departure time is 4 PM for the walking tour. Meet at the Hexagon House, 530 Amherst Street, Winchester. The tour is expected to last one to one and a half hours.

Suggested donation is $5 per person. Proceeds benefit Preservation of Historic Winchester.

For more information, contact Preservation of Historic Winchester at (540) 667-3577 or phwi@verizon.net

Guided Civil War Tours

Guided Civil War Walking Tours are now available on a regular basis, June through October, in Historic Old Town Winchester and the Historic Frederick County communities of Stephens City and Middletown. New this year is a guided walking tour of Kernstown Battlefield and a guided driving tour of Cedar Creek Battlefield.

The tours are a project of the Winchester-Frederick County Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee, and are coordinated by the Winchester-Frederick County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“This is a great way for individuals, families, and groups to explore the culture and history of our area,” said Sally Coates, Executive Director of the Winchester-Frederick County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“Also to be considered is the fact that walking is a wonderful low-impact form of exercise,” she added. “The walking tours are fun, informative, and healthy.”

Most of the tours are designed to last about one hour.

Each experienced tour guide helps participants understand the Civil War from the civilian’s prospective. Featured are stirring stories of the townspeople, their homes and businesses.
Continue reading Guided Civil War Tours

Fort Loudoun Day & Rouss Day, May 21

As a reminder, Fort Loudoun Day and Rouss Day will be held Saturday, May 21, rain or shine.

Tours start at Fort Loudoun, 419 N. Loudoun St., at 10 am to 1 pm, with a ceremony at 12:30 pm. Visit frenchandindianwarfoundation.org for a complete schedule.

In the afternoon, partake of the Rouss Day events. Click here for the full event schedule. PHW will have a refreshment table at Rouss Fire Hall, 3 S. Braddock Street for the re-dedication event at 2-3 pm.

Also look for the following Old Jake items for sale at Rouss Fire Hall at a table manned by the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley:

OldJakePin Boxed Jake Cookie Cutter $5
Old Jake Lapel/Hat Pin $8
Old Jake Weathervane Ornament $24
Postcard .95
Old Jake Boxed Notecards $12
Green Ball Ornament $12

Click here to read the Rouss Day coverage by the Winchester Star (login required).

Taylor Hotel Financing Under Review

Vic Bradshaw, reporting for the Winchester Star, updated the status of the partnership between the City and Wishneff Group for the rehabilitation of the Taylor Hotel.

[Jim] Deskins said the application [for an advance on anticipated grant money from Housing and Urban Development] was revised numerous times to give it the best chance for approval. If it is turned down or if the Wishneff Group is unable to obtain historic tax credits for the work, the project will not be undertaken and the city government likely will tear down the building.

The application, he said, focuses on the public facilities to be created – the farmers market and performance area. It also pledges that at least 51 percent of the jobs in the space resulting from the project will go to low- to moderate-income residents.

According to sources, the HUD application should be processed in 90 days, with the historic tax credit application taking about the same time to review.

Find out more about Section 108 Community Development Block Grants from HUD at www.hud.gov.

Learn more about historic tax credits at www.nps.gov/hps/tps/tax/.

Click here to read the full story (login required).

GIS Project Showcase

PHW’s intern Ashlee Anderson is one of the students presenting at the Gifted Independent Study Student Project Showcase, May 16, 6:30 PM at Sherando High School.

The event will highlight Miss Anderson’s work at PHW, in which she put together a walking tour of Italianate buildings in Winchester. She will lead the first tour for the public on June 5, following PHW’s Annual Meeting. Look for more information on the walking tour soon!

Click here to read more about the Showcase event.

Battle of Front Royal & Battle of Winchester

As part of the 149th Anniversary Program of the Civil War, the Warren County Committee of the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission are sponsoring two programs in May, highlighting “Stonewall” Jackson’s 1862 Valley Campaign. The event focuses on the Battle of Front Royal and the Battle of Winchester.

Monday, May 23rd, 2011: Battle of Front Royal

Historical Overview: 12:00pm-1:00pm

Battlefield Tour: 1:00pm-4:00pm

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011: Battle of Winchester

Historical Overview: 12:00pm-1:00pm

Battlefield Tour: 1:00pm-4:00pm

• Both programs begin at the Warren Heritage Society located at 101 Chester Street in Front Royal

• Tickets: $10 per tour

• Contact the Warren Heritage Society: (540) 636-0702 or the Warren Rifles Confederate Memorial Museum: (540) 636-6982 to reserve tickets

Preservation Virginia Informational Meeting Follow-Up

An informational meeting was held yesterday to discuss the Preservation Virginia Conference. The annual event will be held this year in Winchester, September 25-27, based out of the George Washington Hotel. The event, scheduled to coincide with Civil War Weekend, hopes to draw 200 people to Winchester and showcase the revitalized downtown and surrounding areas.

“Historic preservation is an economic development tool,” said Elizabeth Kostelny, executive director of the 6,000-member Preservation Virginia. “We want to introduce preservation to people who haven’t thought about it as economic development. Winchester is a great way to show that off.”

. . .

Some think of historic preservation as saving monuments and relics, [Bob] Stieg said, but the broader vision is that it “undergirds economic revitalization. It’s not just cute old buildings, but structures used by people.”

The annual awards will also be presented at the September conference in Winchester. Nominations are welcomed; for more information, contact Preservation Virginia at 804-648-1889 or online at www.preservationvirginia.org

Find the full story by Val Van Meter at The Winchester Star (login required.)