Author: PHW

Friday Smorgasbord: Podcasts, Mycology and More

Around the InternetHappy Friday! We have a mix of links and history to share with you this week that we found interesting, without a particular theme.

Next City put together a list of 7 Podcasts Urbanists Should Be Listening to Now. For historic preservation focused topics, try the recommendations from Preservation in Pink, HiFi History, Strong Towns podcasts, Historic Preservation by the National Park Service, and National Center for Preservation Technology and Training podcasts. Let us know if you have come across any other good podcasts on history and preservation related topics.

For something off the beaten track, this article at Atlas Obscura on an almost forgotten mycologist Mary Banning had a surprise Winchester connection. Banning worked in near isolation cataloging and illustrating fungus around her native Maryland for twenty years. Her life’s work was sent to a leading scientist in the field, but was lost and forgotten for 100 years. While the tale alone is worth a read, it was most surprising to see that in her final years, Mary Banning lived in a boarding house in Winchester.

Alexandria Gazette Jan. 15, 1917A quick look in the 1900 census records confirms she was living at 127 North Cameron (then Market) Street. The house was originally the home of William “Bake” Miller before its conversion to a boarding house by sisters Martha (Mattie) and Virginia Wall (1, 2). By the 1900 census only Martha was still alive to run the boarding house. Martha’s brother and bookstore proprietor Thomas Wall and his wife were in residence, along with Mary Banning and four more boarders. An obituary for Thomas Wall which ran in the Alexandria Gazette on January 15, 1917 mentions his book and stationery business, but mostly recounts his close call with General Sheridan and his service delivering mail through the Shenandoah Valley during the Civil War.

Finding these small connections not only brings to light the amazing stories of the former occupants of a relatively obscure historic Winchester building, but also grounds those tales to a physical location which still exists and can be seen and visited today.

Mark Your Calendars: Rouss Day 2017

2017 Rous Day PosterCelebrate the birthday of one of Winchester’s most generous benefactors on Friday, February 10, 2017 between noon-2 PM at Rouss City Hall, 15 N. Cameron St. Tim Youmans will begin the event with historical tours of the building beginning at 12:15 PM. This will likely be the last public tour of Rouss City Hall in its current configuration prior to renovations set to start later this year. Mayor Smith will officially greet attendees coming to City Hall between 1 and 2 PM. Chuck Swartz, AIA from Reader & Swartz Architects will be available to answer questions about the proposed major interior renovations to Rouss City Hall, including exhibits showing the proposed floor layouts available for viewing in the Mayor Elizabeth A. Minor Council Chambers. As usual, birthday cupcakes will be available for attendees.

Also, don’t miss the Charley Rouss items on display in the showcase at the entrance to the Handley Archives in the lower level of the Handley Library, 100 W. Piccadilly St., on display through the month of February.

Friday Photos: More Kurtz Building Interiors

Kurtz BuildingHappy Friday! This week, we added 59 photos to the Kurtz Building album, primarily documenting the asbestos inspection and the mechanical systems inspections. Many of the photos from this batch were taken in very poor lighting conditions. While these are not stellar photos by any means, they are fantastic to show the contrast of the before and after appearance of the Kurtz Building. You can catch the new additions at the end of the Kurtz Building album or on the top of the Flickr photostream. Happy viewing!

Around the Internet: Contemplating the Future of Historic Preservation

Around the Internet Like the world as a whole, historic preservation itself is a changing field with expanding goals and priorities. The book review How to Reinvent Historic Preservation by Amanda Kolson Hurley is more than just a dry look at two recent publications about historic preservation, but also a bit of a retrospective on this change in priorities. This is one of the primary angles to The Past and Future City. Hurley explains, “The new preservation movement cares about neighborhoods as much as individual buildings. . . It looks beyond architecture for reasons why a place resonates, often finding them in social history.” Although lengthy, the full article is worth a read to gain perspective on the evolution in historic preservation which has been taking place since the late 1990s and early 2000s.

You can see how some of the ideas discussed in Hurley’s book review were put into practical application at our closest National Trust site, Belle Grove Plantation, with A Different Kind of History Lesson at Belle Grove Plantation by Kelly Schindler. She recounts her experience spending the night in the historic site in some of the same conditions experienced by Judah, an enslaved cook at the plantation in the early 19th century.

We hope you were able to join in the webinar on Thursday discussing the future of the historic tax credit on the federal level (the event was recorded and should be available for review at the National Trust’s website soon if you missed it live). In the meantime, the Trust put out the article Three Buildings Saved by the Historic Tax Credit. You may also want to check out the Historic Tax Credit Coalition website, especially the Rutgers Annual Report on the Economic Impact of the Historic Tax Credit for 2015 and the Historic Tax Credit Impact Maps, to get some facts in hand to support the historic tax credit.

Around the Internet: Becoming an Expert

Around the InternetIt’s a new year, and with the new year often we make resolutions to be better or more engaged with a cause. It can be hard to find tips on how to be a better preservationist or historian – like many things in life it is something you learn best by doing instead of reading about it – but we have found three guides to help you become an expert and speak more eloquently and authoritatively on issues you care about.

1. On Becoming a Local Go-To Person
Last year, Gracen Johnson shared her experiences about becoming a go-to person for interviews concerning local development issues. She lists five things which propelled her into being a go-to person in her community. There are no real shortcuts but to put in the time and research and networking, plus have a dash of luck on your side, but if you too see a vacuum, face your fears and start by writing that op ed piece or volunteering for a board position or committee. You never know what may come of it.

2. Applying What You Know: Reading the Built Environment
Have you ever wondered how some architectural historians just seem to “know” about when some change might have been made to a building? It can seem like magic the first time you see this in action, but it is really just a skill that comes from reading the environment and knowing the broad context of architectural movements. Kaitlin O’Shea walks you through her thought process in reading the environment in an unfamiliar city in this blog post. See if you can pick up any tips from her for your own built environment expeditions.

3. “Addressing the Threat to the Federal Historic Tax Credit and Setting the Preservation Policy Agenda for the 115th Congress.”
Here is one issue that comes up quite often for preservationists – what is happening on a national level that could affect local preservation issues? The National Trust for Historic Preservation has a free webinar to help you get caught up on the latest challenges facing the federal historic tax credit. On Thursday, January 19, 2:00–3:00 p.m. ET, join preservation partners and National Trust President and CEO, Stephanie Meeks, for a presentation of the most pressing policy issues facing the preservation community in the months ahead. You may also want to check out their archive to review past webinars on preservation issues, heritage tourism, grants, and more.

Friday Photos: Interior Kurtz Building Images

The Kurtz BuildingHappy Friday! This week, we have added 52 new photos of the Kurtz Building to our Flickr album. The images are dated from 1989 and early 1990 as we began the initial work to document the existing conditions and undertake the structural stabilization efforts. You can find all the Kurtz photos scanned to date in the Kurtz Building album, or scroll back through the recent additions at the top of the Flickr photostream. Happy viewing!

Saying Goodbye to 2016

A Happy New YearFor our last PHW blog post of 2016, let’s find out how to send off this year!

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has put together a list of 11 Preservation Wins and Losses in 2016. Locally, you can refresh your memory for the 2016 PHW Preservation Award Winners, reflect on the loss of the Winchester Towers, and recognize the ongoing efforts to save the Clowser House in Frederick County and bring life back to three historic structures after the fire on the south end of the Loudoun Street Mall last February.

To see the year out in a safe and family-friendly atmosphere, head to downtown Winchester on December 31 for the 30th Annual First Night Winchester celebration. Events take place from 10 AM to midnight, culminating in the apple drop and the fireworks display to ring in the new year. Buttons are $10 each, with free admission for children 10 and under. Find the full list of activities, locations, performers, and where and how to purchase your buttons at the First Night Winchester site.

If you are planning the celebrate at home, the Encyclopaedia of Superstitions we looked at for Christmas has a few suggestions to help bring in the good luck for the New Year. A plum tree branch should be placed over the front door to encourage fruitfulness and beauty. If you’d like to try a little fortune-telling, “lay a green ivy leaf in a dish on New Year’s night, cover it with water and set it in a safe place until the fifth day of the year. If the leaf is then still green and fair you will be safe from any sickness all the year; but if you find black spots on it, you may expect sickness.” For more interactive and enjoyable party entertainment than watching a leaf for five days, The Book of Games and Parties for All Occasions offers the game “Old Year’s Follies and New Year’s Resolutions,” which derives from the game Consequences (think of an early type of Mad Libs):

“The hostess provides a number of sheets of paper as confession blanks, one for each guest. At the head of one set of blanks she writes, ‘I [name of guest] hereby confess that in the year that is past I committed these among many follies:’ Upon the second set of blanks she writes, ‘I [name of guest] bitterly repenting my follies of the year that is past do hereby firmly resolve:’ Each paper is folded so that no name is visible and passed around in turn for each guest to write a folly and a resolution. Allow two minutes to each guest for writing follies and two for resolutions after which the papers are opened and read. The highly amusing follies and resolutions ascribed to the different guests will create the greatest merriment.”

While you are partying, whoever has the last glass of wine or other spirits from the bottle has had the “lucky glass” and will be successful throughout the next year. It is of course a tradition to sing a rendition of Auld Lang Syne just before midnight. To finish off your New Year’s Eve party, try opening your windows and doors at midnight to let the bad luck out and the good luck in, and make lots of loud noises to scare out those pesky evil spirits. Your neighbors will undoubtedly be thrilled with your shenanigans.

Stay safe, celebrate responsibly, and we will see you in 2017!

Good Wishes for the New Year
Vintage postcard from CardCow.com.

Around the Internet: Christmas Edition

Around the InternetMissing your Friday Photos fix? Shorpy Historic Picture Archive has a whole category devoted to vintage Christmas photos between the 1850s-1950s. Although not local to Winchester, the Church of the Nativity image was particularly striking.

Christmas Cutouts 1Christmas Cutouts 2Perhaps you need a small artistic project to take a breather from the hectic holiday crunch? Here are two sheets from the School Art Magazine of December 1920 which are ready for you to adapt to your decorating needs, color, and cut out. Click on the images to download them at full size.

Holiday music has become an intrinsic part of the Christmas observances. To quench your need for vintage carols in an authentic format, the Library of Virginia has shared a set of sheet music from Hotel Richmond on their blog this week. However, if you find belting out a tune a little on the tame side, the Atlas Obscura writers have turned up some genuinely dangerous Victorian parlor games to amaze and astound you. While they may be authentic, we would not suggest recreating Snapdragon or full contact Blind Man’s Bluff today!

A Christmas FeastIf folklore is more enticing than roughhousing or games of truth or dare, the Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World for 1903 has a few choice tidbits for anyone hunting down forgotten Christmas traditions. To forecast the weather, “on Christmas day take twelve onions . . . and put salt on each one.” Each onion is designated as one of the twelve months of the year. Check the onions again on Epiphany (January 6); if any salt remains piled on an onion that month is said to be dry, while if all the salt has melted that will be a wet month. To boost your health, tradition says “to bathe on Christmas day will secure freedom from fevers and toothaches.” To increase your financial success for next year, “if you put all the silver you possess on the table set for the Christmas-day feast, the light shining on it from the Yule-fire will bring good luck and cause the silver to increase.” Doubling up on this luck, it is also said to be particularly fortunate when Christmas falls on a Sunday, as it does this year. Find these and many more Christmas-themed superstitions starting on page 324 of the PDF of the encyclopedia!

Christmas Feast Above all, warmest wishes for a wonderful holiday season, from the PHW family to yours!

Around the Internet: Shopping, Holiday Hours, and More!

Around the Internet PHW will be taking a winter vacation from midday on Wednesday, December 21 through the New Year, opening as usual on Monday, January 2.

Still looking for a present for an architecture-aficionado in your your life? The Clowser House Committee is selling matted, signed and numbered prints of the Shawneeland Clowser House with the water wheel house in the foreground. These were done by artist Michael Martin (www.michaelmartinart.com) and sell for $30 each. A limited number are framed, as well, for $40. Buy one now in the Handley Regional Library Archives. Proceeds from the sale of the prints is going back to the ongoing efforts to save the Clowser House. The print and more information about the fundraising efforts can be found on their Facebook page.

Have you ever wondered what a country store around 1840 might have had for sale? JF Ptak Science Books found a pocket sized guide published in 1836 that lists all the staples you were likely find, from tea and coffee, pork and beef, fabrics, shoes, pails and kettles, and even a few books. Find the full post, with the full list of items, at the JF Ptak Science Books blog “What Things Cost in the U.S. in 1836.”

As we alluded to in some of our 2016 Holiday House Tour stops this year, Midcentury Modern is gaining traction in historic preservation circles. Relax after Christmas with a new PBS documentary on Eero Saarinen, architect of St. Louis’ iconic Gateway Arch, Dulles International Airport, and the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. The documentary will premier on Dec. 27, 8 PM on WETA and is 1 hour in length.

Last, if you have not done so yet, there may be enough time to check a few more winter maintenance issues off your to-do list. Take a look at the Northern Virginia Magazine’s To-Do List to see if you are ready for winter.