Comments
As we start the new year I am glad to see that people and organizations are still working hard to save historic old houses around the country. I believe that these people and organizations may be a little more successful over the next several years, as the main threat to historic old houses is usually new development. It seems like new development will be slower for a while. The home building industry has slowed down drastically, commercial construction has slowed due to retail sales slowing, and money for development has become more difficult to obtain. I just read an article about the over supply of apartments for rent, and how rents are being discounted to lure customers, so perhaps new development will slow down for for the near future, and we won’t have so many historic old houses standing in the way of progress.
I came across a good website belonging to a historic foundation in Stayton, Oregon. The foundation is currently restoring an old house that belonged to one of the original settlers of the town. It is in the Queen Anne style, and was built in 1902. The old house is being restored with funds that the foundation has been able to raise, and labor and materials that have been donated. One thing I like about the website is that they are posting pictures of the progress they are making on the old house. I think that is a good idea, as it lets people who have made donations see where their money is going, and what a difference it has made. The pictures probably help attract new donations for the cause as well.
I happened upon another site belonging to the group Plymouth Preservation. Having just finished a book on the Mayflower, and the original settlers of Plymouth Colony, I initially thought the group was based in Massachusetts, but actually they are in Plymouth, Michigan. They seem to be partly a realtor group, and partly a historic foundation group. They appear to be well organized, and have found buyers for some historic old houses in the area that needed new families.
Anyone who lives near Cheyenne, Wyoming may want to help an old house enthusiast working to save some historic homes. The old houses in Cheyenne are in a historic district near the historic Governor’s Mansion, and seem to be in the way of a medical complex which would like to expand. The old house enthusiast who wrote the editorial believes there are other options for expansion available. A medical complex located in or near a historic area ought to know that there might be problems with expansion.
