President's Message

Dear Friends of Waterford,
 
I hope you've had an opportunity to see the Old School classroom building lately. Much work has been done! The renovation is about 50 percent completed, with windows going in this week and interior and exterior prime coats being applied. Some roof problems have been discovered, but we still hope to have the Old School classroom building ready for this year's Fair.
 
We are heartened by the growing enthusiasm for the new Old School auditorium plans.

Thanks to Tom Edmonds, president of the Waterford Citizens Association, for inviting us to present the Old School auditorium plan (shown here) at their meeting on June 3. Hans Hommels, Old School Steering Committee chair, showed the revised plan and explained how it had been modified since the Foundation's April 15 annual meeting. Many discussions with neighbors and with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (VDHR is the building's easement holder) have resulted in improvements and refinements to the plan.
 
As you know, there are many stakeholders involved in the Old School - including you, our neighbors and Foundation members, VDHR, and the County's Historic District Review Committee. The Old School auditorium plan must meet current zoning and building codes which were not in place in 1928 when it was built, including the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. All these stakeholders and their requirements must be satisfied in our planning process and this will take many more months to accomplish.
 
And so, the Old School auditorium plan shown here is still evolving and is still subject to revision as it moves through the state and county approval processes. Along the way, we will continue to listen to suggestions from the community, and once we have received approval by VDHR, will arrange another opportunity for you to see the plan before it is presented to the county's Historic District Review Committee.  
 
On another note, Nancy Doane and I spent a delightful June 5th at the newly restored President Lincoln's Cottage in far northwest Washington at the annual meeting of the National Historic Landmark Stewards Association. Our speakers were Frank Milligan, Director of President Lincoln's Cottage; David J. Brown, Executive Vice President, National Trust for Historic Preservation; J. Paul Loether, Chief of the National Historic Landmarks and the National Register Programs for the National Park Service; Erin A. Carlson Mast, Curator & Site Administrator, President Lincoln's Cottage. We made some excellent contacts with speakers and members. Paul Loether, you may recall, wrote the eloquent letter of support for the Waterford National Historic Landmark in response to the campaign to dedesignate us. We also had a very educational tour of President Lincoln's Cottage, newly restored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and focusing on Lincoln as humanitarian and statesman. I highly recommend your visiting this historic site. It's inspiring!

Your friend,

President

Below are drawings of the Old School and proposed addition from the south and north elevations.