Author: PHW

State Officials Visit Downtown

State officials from toured downtown Winchester on Monday as part of a two-day trip around the theme of “Prosperity Through Preservation.” Historic tax credits were discussed in conjunction with Winchester’s success stories, such as the Lovett building, as well as the ongoing projects at the Solenberger building and Taylor Hotel, among others.

Rebecca Layne of the Star reports:

[Doug] Domenech [Virginia secretary of natural resources] was often unable to hold back his enthusiasm, at one point describing the downtown as “the place to be.”

“It’s very impressive what’s happening here,” he said. “You’ve got the right combination of public and private commitment. There’s a real vision here to transform the downtown.

“We’re here to discover ways the Department of Historic Resources can be involved more in Winchester,” he went on, adding that the DHR administers the tax-credit program.

Jim Deskins, executive director of the Economic Development Authority and economic redevelopment director for the city, led much of the tour. “What the whole revitalization is about is reaching back into the past and dusting it off and putting it back into the future,” he said.

Click here for the Winchester’s Star coverage of the tour downtown (login required).

Click here for the related Open Forum by Bob Bartley (login required).

Click here for TV3’s coverage of the plans for the Taylor.

$100 Million Milestone for Old Town

Winchester’s downtown was recently recognized by the Main Street program as the first in Virginia to reach $100 million in private investments. The watershed project, as cited by Karen Helm, executive director for the Old Town Development Board, was the Feltner Building at 9 Court Square in the mid-1990s.

Though less than $12 million total (without adjustments for inflation) had been invested downtown in the previous decade, then-President Wilbur M. Feltner got the bank to invest $2.5 million to renovate the building.
. . . .
“After a successful completed project,” Helm said, “there’s more of a sense of security that if somebody comes and makes an investment down here, they’ll get a return on their investment. I don’t think anybody likes to be the first to have confidence in an aging downtown, but Mr. Feltner did.”

Read the full article by Vic Bradshaw in the Winchester Star here (login required).

Find Old Town on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Old-Town-Winchester-VA/

Patsy Cline Memorabilia on Display

Celebrating Patsy Cline, Inc. (CPC) announces the opening of a new Patsy Cline exhibit at the Winchester-Frederick County Visitor Center, 1400 S. Pleasant Valley Road, Winchester, VA, beginning Saturday, April 9, 2011.

This special display was made possible by Ann Denkler, Professor of History at Shenandoah University. “These are exciting times for our organization,” notes Judy Sue Huyett-Kempf, Executive Director, Patsy Cline Historic House, as renovations are underway at 608 S. Kent Street. “This showcase of Patsy Cline items has never been viewed by the public and builds excitement for the anticipated opening of the Historic House.”

The exhibit is comprised of some original personal documents and collections mixed with reproductions of items belonging to Patsy Cline. The special exhibit will remain on display until the official opening of the Patsy Cline Historic House.

The Visitor Center is opened daily from 9 am – 5 pm. For more information on happenings in our community, visit www.VisitWinchesterVa.com. Don’t forget to follow the progress at the Patsy Cline house on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Patsy-Cline-Historic-House .

Architectural Historians Survey Historic District

A team of architectural historians from EHT Traceries were interviewed yesterday by TV3 News. The historians are surveying the buildings as part of PHW’s and Winchester City’s ongoing efforts to update the National Register nomination for the historic district.

To them, the buildings are a glimpse into a past life. It’s a source of pride. [Lauren Trice, EHT Traceries Project Assistant,] says “when you walk out and people see you out there looking at buildings, you sort of instill a sense of pride in them. It’s like yeah I live in Winchester I live in the Historic District, people care about this.”

Click here for the full story.

BAR Annual Report

Winchester’s Board of Architectural Review (BAR) presented its annual report to the City Council on March 15. The report detailed the ways the BAR works to fulfill the objectives of Winchester’s City Council, outlines the relevant ordinances, and enumerates the applications approved, denied, and withdrawn from 2006-2010 among other data.

If you missed the meeting, click here to see the slide presentation (pdf).

VA’s Most Endangered Historic Sites 2011

Preservation Virginia is accepting nominations for its 2011 Virginia’s Most Endangered Historic Sites list. The list is issued annually to raise awareness of Virginia’s historic sites at risk from neglect, deterioration, lack of maintenance, insufficient funds, inappropriate development or insensitive public policy.

Nominations must be received by April 7, 2011. Application information and forms may be found by visiting: http://www.preservationvirginia.org/EndangeredSites/

The Taylor’s New Look

News on the future look of the old Taylor Hotel were revealed on March 26 by Vic Bradshaw of the Winchester Star.

When the work is completed, the property should have:

A three-story, 7,500-square-foot building facing the Loudoun Street Mall with a restaurant on the ground floor and about five apartments upstairs. . . .

The pavilion and lawn space, which could seat 400 to 500. The city government will pay $42,500 annually to lease the space until the commercial loan is paid down to $600,000. At that time, the pavilion and open space would be conveyed to the city at no cost.

A nine-bay farmers’ market that vendors can pull their trucks into and sell from. When the site is not in use as a market, up to 150 people could be seated there for performances.

A seven-story, 14,000-square-foot building bordering Indian Alley in the renovated former fly tower. The partnership would lease the first floor for retail or possibly restaurant use.

Read the full story here (login required).

Simple Gifts Dinner

Preservation of Historic Winchester is proud to sponsor the Simple Gifts Dinner, to be held March 26 at 7 PM in the Hopewell Meeting House, Clearbrook, Virginia. The meeting house, built in 1759, has been in continuous use since its construction. After 250 years of service, the interior plaster is in need of a complete restoration. The dinner is part of the fundraising efforts for the Hopewell Meeting House plaster project.

The event will include an informational presentation by PHW Board Member David Logan of Vintage, Inc.  Mr. Logan will explain the magnitude of the project, which is beyond that of a normal patch and repair. The dinner will be a traditional colonial affair by candlelight, accompanied by fiddle tunes and Shape-Note music of the Valley.  The dinner and presentation is $75 per person. All the proceeds from the event will go toward the interior restoration project, scheduled to begin in the spring of 2011.

To attend the Simple Gifts Dinner,  please include your name, address, telephone number, number of guests, and a check payable to Hopewell-Centre Society of Friends. RSVP by March 14 to the Hopewell-Centre Society of Friends:

Hopewell-Centre Society of Friends
Carol F. Melby, Clerk
3240 Cedar Creek Grade
Winchester, VA 22602

If you cannot attend the dinner but wish to contribute, donations may also be made to the above location. Help the Hopewell-Centre Meeting Society of Friends reach their fundraising goal of $100,000 to restore the oldest place of worship in the Northern Shenandoah Valley. Thank you for your support!