PreserveCast

Documenting the Physical Vestiges of Slavery and Tenant Farming with Jason Church

Preservation requires a solid and significant understanding of our past – and on this week’s PreserveCast we’re talking with Jason Church, a National Park Service preservationist who is leading an effort to expertly document the powerfully important physical vestiges of slavery and tenant farming. As these humble and simple structures fade away, work like this takes on a new level of importance and significance.

All across America, the physical evidence of slavery is being lost to the ravages of time and indifference. Without expert documentation – there’s a real chance we could lose all memory and understanding of these important buildings. That’s why Preservation Maryland is partnering with the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training to laser scan structures on Maryland’s eastern shore as a part of a broader national effort – a topic we knew we had to bring to our listeners.

Resurrecting Age Old Trades at Guédelon

In Burgundy, France, around forty workers are taking up an extraordinary challenge: to build a fortified castle using the techniques and materials used in the Middle Ages. It’s almost a surreal project and today we’re talking with Sarah Preston, a bilingual tour guide at Guédelon, a site that is literally resurrecting age old trades in the name of preservation, history and understanding. 

I was introduced to Guédelon by a previous PreserveCast guest, Peter Ginn – who participated in “Secrets of the Castle,” a BBC series which explored the challenges of building a castle using only medieval techniques. Peter connected us to Sarah Preston, today’s guest, and the rest is history. 

The Frontier Cabin Story with Joe Goss

If these walls could talk is an old refrain used by lovers of historic places and buildings, and thanks to the in-depth research and loving care of today’s guest, a historic log cabin in West Virginia’s historic panhandle is talking again.

Joe Goss is a somewhat unlikely preservationist – an engineer with decades of experience in large-scale infrastructure projects – but the purchase of a historic, circa 1780 log home in Shepherdstown, West Virginia tested his skills and critical thinking to the utmost. On this week’s PreserveCast we’re talking preservation, research and logs with a passionate advocate for one home’s story.

Repairing, Restoring, and Preserving with Master Craftsperson Amy McAuley

Talented tradespeople make preservation physically possible. Today’s guest is Amy McAuley, the preservation joiner at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, where she uses hand powered tools to repair, restore and preserve one of America’s most historic homes. As we celebrate Women’s History Month, we’re talking with a talented female tradesperson who is doing her part to keep the traditional trades alive.

Shattering the Glass Ceiling of Trades Training with Lisa Sasser

Without trained hands able to restore buildings – we can’t “do” preservation. It’s just that simple. Today’s guest is a true trailblazer in the preservation trades; an accomplished historic architect, accomplished tradesperson and notably, the first woman to complete the National Park Service preservation trades training program. On this week’s PreserveCast, we’re talking with Lisa Sasser about women in the trades and the future of trades training in America.

PreserveCast Ep127: Elizabeth Finkelstein, Preservationist & Instagrammer, Makes Historic Real Estate Circa Awesome

Born in an 1850s Greek Revival home that was lovingly restored by her parents (and having attended more country auctions than she can count), Elizabeth Finkelstein’s love for crown molding and decorative ironwork runs in her gene pool. After high school, she left the quiet of the countryside for the bright lights of the big city to entrench herself in New York’s great history and architecture. While there, she earned a Masters in Historic Preservation and spent years working in the field of professional preservation advocacy (and started a few geeky architecture blogs to boot!).

A licensed tour guide, professor and architectural historian, Elizabeth is also Country Living Magazine‘s official real estate columnist. Through @circahouses and @cheapoldhouses, Elizabeth is proud to maintain two of the most popular Instagram feeds devoted specifically to historical homes for sale. The wildly popular, viral feed @cheapoldhouses has been featured in New York Magazine, The Financial Times, Money Magazine, Buzzfeed, and numerous other influential publications.

Elizabeth and her husband Ethan fantasize simultaneously about owning a Brooklyn brownstone and buying a big, old farmhouse somewhere far, far away. In the meantime, CIRCA keeps them dreaming...

PreserveCast Ep125: Building a Legacy in the Preservation Trades with Dr. Harrison Goodall

Dr. Harrison Goodall has over forty-eight years of experience with historic structures and facilities management and nearly sixty years of experience in training and education throughout the country. As a contractor, volunteer, and purveyor of preservation materials, Harrison has been involved in preserving hundreds if not thousands of historic structures around the nation. A 2016 award from the National Park Service documented that Goodall completed over 135 volunteer historic preservation projects in 55 national parks and over 40 of those projects took place in Grand Teton National Park, where he has volunteered consistently since 1976. On This week’s PreserveCast, we’re sitting down to talk with a preservation trades legend about the future of craft and the lessons learned restoring America’s most iconic places.

PreserveCast Ep116: [Healthy, Hip & Historic] What the Future Holds for Historic Preservation and Community Revitalization with Storm Cunningham

As this current international pandemic has changed the everyday ways that we interact with each other and our communities, it’s clear that our environment has important physical and psychological effects on us all. Preservation addresses the physical material of our built environment – and those materials’ potential positive or negative health impacts – so too, does preservation address an emotional connection to a time and place in history.

This five-part special podcast series, Healthy, Hip & Historic on PreserveCast will feature five preservation visionaries that will place our preservation work in a broader context, identify challenges, and illuminate solutions for linking historic preservation and healthy communities.

Preservation Maryland brought Storm Cunningham, an author whose work is leading the way for partnerships between preservationists and environmentalists, to our annual statewide conference held in 2016 in Frederick, Maryland. Storm Cunningham is the publisher of Revitalization News online, and the author of "The Restoration Economy," "reWealth," and the forthcoming "Planetary Renewal: A Strategy To Reverse Our Decline."

As a regional partnership planner, he has facilitated comprehensive revitalization processes, not just a vision, project or plan which help places enhance their economy, boost the quality of life and increase climate resilience by repurposing, renewing and reconnecting their natural built and socioeconomic assets.

Storm joined our group of preservationists, planners and heritage tourism and museum professionals to show the group how they can think differently about who they partner with and what benefit comes from those partnerships. If we want to make the world a better and more sustainable place, we need to breakdown the silos each discipline has wedge themselves.

One example Storm will share was a potential relationship between “water people” and “solar people.” Instead of saying “we have nothing in common,” think about your goals and how they overlap. “Solar People” want solar panels to make clean energy and “water people” want to get safe and clean water long distances. Water evaporates unless it is covered, so why not cover the water channels with solar panels? This is a win-win. More energy and less water loss.

PreserveCast Ep112: Horses, Houses, and History in Saratoga Springs with Samantha Bosshart

Nestled in the verdant fields and forests of the Hudson Valley, Saratoga Springs is a historic jewel of New York State – a place where the past is evocative and ever-present. The unique and charming character of Saratoga Springs didn’t happen by accident – like many places it’s the result of dedicated preservationists, like today’s guest, Samantha Bosshart who leads the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation. On today’s episode, we’ll talk about preservation work in a small town with the nation’s oldest sports venue. Giddy up; we’re talking horses, houses and history on this week’s PreserveCast.

Samantha Bosshart joined the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation in 2008 and under her leadership, the Foundation completed a $750,000 restoration of the Spirit of Life and Spencer Trask Memorial; undertook a comprehensive cultural resource inventory of the Saratoga Race Course, and successfully advocated for the Foundation to review capital improvement projects to ensure the preservation of the historic character of the oldest sports venue in the country.

Prior to leading the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation, she held positions at the Historic Albany Foundation and Galveston Historical Foundation. Samantha is a graduate of both Indiana University and Cornell University where she received her Masters of Arts in Historic Preservation Planning.

PreserveCast Ep. 107: Training a New Generation in the Traditional Trades with Moss Rudley of the National Historic Preservation Training Center

Saving the historic fabric of America's national parks is a massive job, and it requires a wide range of skills. Teaching those skills, and passing down the historic trades within the National Park Service is the responsibility of the National Historic Preservation Training Center. Established in 1977, and headquartered in Frederick, Maryland, the center is the Parks Service's premier preservation training center.

Today's guest, Moss Rudely, is the superintendent of the center and a historic mason by training. And in 2018, Preservation Maryland signed an agreement with the center to launch a new initiative, The Campaign for Historic Trades, which is designed to expand the Center's apprenticeship program. So grab your safety goggles and hammer because, on this week's PreserveCast, we're talking about the role of this unique Center and their efforts to train America's next generation of historic tradespeople.

Moss Rudley is a native of Greenbrier County, West Virginia, where he was raised on a working cattle farm filled with historic vernacular structures.  He was first exposed to the trades and the field of historic preservation through the care of hand-hewn log structures of the Scots-Irish and German. A graduate of Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, he has been with the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Training Center since 2000. A historic mason by training, after over 17 years with the Center he was promoted to Superintendent in 2017. 

PreserveCast Ep. 106: David J. Brown Reflects on 20 Years at the National Trust for Historic Preservation

Few names over the past twenty plus years have been as synonymous with the National Trust for Historic Preservation as David J. Brown. David served as the Chief Preservation Officer for the Trust and has worked with several CEOs to implement a complex, difficult and costly mission to save America’s historic places. As David has recently departed the Trust and begins writing his next chapter, we had a chance to sit down with this influential preservationist to talk about where he’s been and where he’s headed on this week’s PreserveCast.

David J. Brown led National Trust’s comprehensive preservation efforts, with four decades of experience in working to save historic places and build thriving, livable communities. He played a key oversight role in the implementation of the National Trust’s Preservation10X strategic vision, including the National Treasure campaigns that helps protect some of America’s most significant and threatened historic places. He guided the Trust’s advocacy work on behalf of the country’s most important preservation laws and incentives. And he supported local preservation leadership by providing the preservation community with effective, high-impact training offerings.

Prior to his work with the National Trust, David served as the founding executive director of the Preservation Alliance of Virginia, where he produced one of the nation’s first studies on the economic impact of preservation, and as director of the Historic Staunton Foundation in Virginia. He was among the first graduates of the Historic Preservation Program at Middle Tennessee State University and has a Masters in Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

PreserveCast Ep. 105: The Catoctin Furnace Historic Building Trades Program with Elizabeth Comer

When you think of industrial furnaces you may think of the late 19th or early 20th centuries and places like Baltimore, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh. But, the history of American industry goes back much further – and one of the earliest industrial sites in Maryland is located in the foothills of Frederick County at the Catoctin Furnace.

Today’s guest, Elizabeth Comer, a professional archaeologist, is a member of the Board of the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society – an organization dedicated to preserving and interpreting this unique story. Elizabeth is instrumental in coordinating the Historical Society's Historic Building Trades Program in partnership with Silver Oak Academy, a residential boarding school for at-risk teens overseen by the State of Maryland Department of Juvenile Services. Participating students learn valuable construction skills while working alongside preservation experts gaining marketable real-world job skills that attract potential employers in preservation, conservation, museums, and the trades – or may even inspire students to start their own company. The partnership between the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society and Silver Oak Academy embodies the mythology of the phoenix rising from the ashes as the symbol of renewed life for both the historic buildings and the young people who take part in their preservation. 

Make sure you have your blast shields down...we’re headed into the furnace on this week’s PreserveCast.

PreserveCast Ep. 100: Preservation Incentives with Bill MacRostie of MacRostie Historic Advisors

It takes a village to make a preservation project a reality – and in today’s complex financial environment it also takes an expert in tax credit law to take a project from idea to completion. Today’s guest, Bill MacRostie is one of the nation’s leading experts in that complex but critical field. Sharpen your pencil and grab you calculator, because we’re talking the dollars and cents of preservation on this week’s PreserveCast.

In private practice for more than 30 years, Bill MacRostie has advised clients nationwide on projects ranging in size and type from the multi-phased $175 million mixed-use project in Detroit, Michigan to a $1.5 million hotel rehabilitation in Santa Rosa, California. For the 14 years that NPS certification project review was conducted in regional offices, Bill worked extensively in every regional office and most major states around the country.

Bill MacRostie is now a senior partner at MacRostie Historic Advisors where he advises clients on historic rehabilitation tax credit design and regulatory issues. In addition, he also serves on the board of directors of the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association and previously served on the board of Preservation Action.

PreserveCast Ep. 98: Preservation Around the World with Melanie Lytle of Restoration Works International

Do you enjoy international travel, historic buildings, and helping to restore important places? This week’s guest works to connect those interests through her work as Executive Director of Restoration Works International, an organization whose mission is to restore buildings of cultural significance and provide cultural exchange and understanding. Make sure you have your passport ready and lock that tray table in the upright position – we’re headed overseas this week to talk international preservation on PreserveCast!

Melanie Lytle is the Executive Director of Restoration Works International, an organization which uses national and international volunteer tourism as the catalyst for its mission to help communities around the world protect their cultural heritage sites and prosper through preservation and renewal of their history. A trained architectural historian, prior to her current position, she served as the Executive Director of the non-profit Maryland Association of Historic District Commissions. Melanie is a graduate of Goucher College's MA in Historic Preservation program.

PreserveCast Ep. 94: Training a Volunteer Workforce to Save Historic Places with Towny Anderson of HistoriCorps

Towny Anderson has over 40 years of experience with historic preservation. He has restored historic properties first as craftsman, then contractor, and later developer and owner. He was an independent scholar, cum laude graduate of Middlebury College and attended the Preservation Leadership Training program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Anderson served as Vermont’s first appointed State Historic Preservation Officer, as a Director of the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers and as Chair of the Vermont Historic Preservation Advisory Council. He is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum. Anderson co-wrote groundbreaking statewide legislation encouraging reinvestment in Vermont’s historic downtowns. He was a founding board member of MainStreet Steamboat Springs. Two of his certified historic rehabilitation projects received National Trust Preservation Honor awards. Appointed Executive Director of HistoriCorps in August 2012, Towny Anderson is bringing together everything he loves about historic preservation – buildings, people, beautiful places, and education.

PreserveCast Ep. 88: Incorporating Contemporary Sound in Historic Spaces with Ian Hoffman

Reusing and restoring historic places requires many specialized skill sets. For historic theaters and music venues, a major component in that process is making the space sound right. It’s no easy task and for today’s guest, Professor Ian Hoffman, it’s a job that has taken him across the globe.

Ian is an architect and acoustic designer. His career is focused on understanding the interactions of sound and space in the built environment. For over 25 years, Ian has made significant contributions to the design, renovation, adaptation, and restoration of buildings for music, theater performance, and assembly. 

Ian is also a faculty member in acoustics at the Johns Hopkins' Peabody Institute. The courses he teaches range from architectural acoustic design and analysis, acoustic measurement, acoustic modeling, noise control, and psychoacoustics.

Today Nick and Ian discuss​ the challenges of incorporating modern sound into historic spaces while still maintaining its visual charm. 

In this episode you will learn: what an acoustician is and what they do; the intersections of music, engineering, and architecture in historic spaces; the challenges that come with incorporating contemporary sound while maintaining the nostalgic charm in historic theaters, former vaudeville houses, and music venues; and why we still attend live concerts, shows, and plays even though we have easy access to digital recordings

So listen closely, we’re talking historic acoustics on this week’s PreserveCast!

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PreserveCast Ep. 87: Myth Busting Historic Tax Credits with Renee Kuhlman

The term "policy" is usually associated with facts, figures, and dry, boring statistics. Today’s guest, Renee Kuhlman, proves that association wrong.

In her 19 years at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Renee has provided advocacy training, written articles, and briefs on policy issues, and has worked with preservationists around the country to effect real and meaningful change. As the current Director of Policy Outreach, Renee has been assisting legislators and advocates across the country with the adoption, expansion, and protection of state-level and federal-level historic rehabilitation tax credit programs.

Most recently, she has been involved in a multi-year campaign to protect historic tax credits, which are some of the most important tools available to the preservation community. Renee also works on a campaign to enact dedicated funding for the maintenance of historic resources in our national parks.

In this episode, Nick and Renee discuss: what a historic tax credit is and why you should care; the deconstruction of negative myths surrounding historic tax credits and how they benefit communities; how real estate developers and you can benefit from both federal and state-level historic tax credits; the role local grassroots organizations played in saving federal historic tax credits last year; resources you can access to advocate for; and how to improve or increase your state's historic tax credits; and how our national parks hold more than just beautiful outdoor scenery/

As you can see, it's not just all stats and figures on this week's episode of PreserveCast!

 

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PreserveCast Ep. 85: Modernizing Historic Annapolis with Karen Theimer Brown

For today’s guest, heading back to the eighteenth century is a daily occurrence and a requirement. Karen Theimer Brown is the vice-president of preservation at Historic Annapolis, a non-profit organization tasked with protecting, preserving and interpreting the history of Maryland’s capital city. Founded in 1649, Annapolis remains one of the most authentic and intact colonial towns in all of America.

For Karen and her colleagues at Historic Annapolis, it’s a full-time job to protect that authenticity from rising tides and pressure to grow. Grab you Old Bay and get your crab mallet ready. We’re headed to Naptown to talk preservation’s past and future on this week's PreserveCast.


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PreserveCast Ep. 76: Preservation Buffalo Style with Jessie Fisher

Buffalo. The very word conjures up visions of snow drifts and shuttered factories –but the reality is much different. Today, Buffalo is a city on the rise and the rich history of this city by the lake is playing a starring role in its renaissance. Today’s guest, Jessie Fisher, is leading the city-wide preservation group charged with identifying, protecting and promoting that heritage. Fortunately, you won’t need your snow shovels for this interview -- its June and it’s a fine time to talk about all things Buffalo on this week’s PreserveCast. 

Listen here: https://www.preservecast.org/2018/06/18/preservation-buffalo-style/

PreserveCast Ep. 73: Brittany LaVelle Tulla and Historic Charleston

What do you think it takes for a historic location to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site? This week’s guest, Brittany LaVelle Tulla, thinks that her home and her passion, Charleston, South Carolina, has what it takes. Join Nick as he and Brittany talk all things historic preservation in one of the most famous historic towns in the country, including Brittany’s own business as an architectural historian, her work with the Charleston Young Preservationists, and the dynamic and unique challenges facing a town that many see as a total preservation success. This is PreserveCast!

Listen here: https://www.preservecast.org/2018/05/28/brittany-lavelle-tulla-historic-charleston/

 

PreserveCast Ep. 72: Keeping Original Windows with Sam Pardue of Indow

Living in a historic home can be an incredibly rewarding experience, but also, an incredibly trying one. It seems there is always some new challenge rising up out of the woodwork, especially when it comes to original wood windows. Some professionals will say the only way to improve the efficiency of your windows is to replace them, no matter if you want to preserve craftsmanship that’s lasted decades, if not centuries. Today’s guest, Sam Pardue of Indow Windows, was faced with just that problem, and he ended up creating a solution that is now being applied to windows across the country. As part of Preservation Month, we want to bring you up close and personal with a technological innovator and his invention. Step right up to the glass on this week’s PreserveCast!

Listen here: https://www.preservecast.org/2018/05/21/keeping-original-windows-sam-pardue-indow/

PreserveCast Ep. 68: Lewis Contractors: The Big Picture of Preservation Projects

For some of the larger historic buildings out there, it can take a number of craftspeople and specialists to properly restore and preserve them. But few have the knowledge and ability to organize stone masons, window craftsmen, and countless other trade specialists who may otherwise be used to working independently. One of those few is with us today; Tyler Tate is the President of Lewis Contractors, a construction company that partially specializes in historic institutional buildings. Tyler spoke with Nick about details of some of the many unique projects his company has been involved in, like the Washington Monument in Baltimore, the Brice House in Annapolis, and more. We won’t try to ~build~ anticipation any longer, this is PreserveCast!

Listen here: https://www.preservecast.org/2018/04/23/big-picture-preservation-tyler-tate-lewis-contractors/

PreserveCast Ep. 67: Adventures in Preservation with Judith Broeker

As the winter comes to a close, you may find yourself dreaming of some relaxation time. Sure there’s the beach or camping, but have you ever considered a trip where you can help repair 500 year old stone towers in Eastern Europe? If your answer to that question is yes, this is the podcast for you. Judith Broeker, the co-founder of Adventures in Preservation, facilitates volunteer trips across the globe, connecting preservation craftspeople and experts with individuals who are ready and willing to lend a hand, and travel too! Judith and Nick discuss how these trips are funded, how projects are chosen, and the ways that these trips can assist historic communities, on this week's PreserveCast!

Listen here: https://www.preservecast.org/2018/04/16/adventures-in-preservation/

PreserveCast Ep. 66: Abandoned America: Historic Photography Off the Beaten Path

As historic preservationists we often can feel a sense of despair whenever we see a building that's been abandoned for years or even decades. Our guest today, Matthew Christopher of Abandoned America, knows just that feeling. That's why he is dedicated to gaining access to abandoned buildings and spaces across the country, and photographing what he finds inside. Matthew's images have appeared in countless esteemed publications, and he has photographed abandoned sites ranging from old mental hospitals to public utility buildings to theme parks. Don't go away! Matthew and Nick discuss how he picks his sites, why he thinks these buildings end up so mistreated, and how photography and greater exposure can sometimes help turn things around. 

Listen here: https://www.preservecast.org/2018/04/09/abandoned-america-historic-photography-off-the-beaten-path-with-matthew-christopher/

PreserveCast Ep. 62: The Enchanted Forest at Clark's Elioak Farm

If you’ve ever wanted to dive deeper into classic fairy tales, you may have enjoyed Maryland’s once famous attraction the Enchanted Forest. But what happens to all of the buildings and unique concrete structures of a 1950s amusement park when it closes? In this case, they found a second life as part of Clark’s Elioak Farm, thanks to the efforts of the petting farm’s owner, Martha Clark, as well as the many who volunteered. Stick around to learn about the history of this Maryland icon, the story of a roadside attraction being saved by the community around it, and what it takes to maintain a massive concrete shoe. This is better than a bag of magic beans, this is PreserveCast!

Listen here: https://www.preservecast.org/2018/03/12/the-enchanted-forest-at-clarks-elioak-farm/