E. A. Poe House

The E. A. Poe House roof is a true standing-seam metal roof. This is one of the most durable roof types for historic buildings and because of its construction affords some of the best protection against the elements. The metal pans of the roof are bent along each side and abut both sides of the cleats that are aligned parallel with the slope of the roof at regular intervals and are fastened to the sheathing. The edges of the pans and cleats are crimped twice in the field to provide a weather tight seal. Unlike new standing-seam metal roofs, there is no through-the-roof fastening of the material to the roof deck where water can eventually penetrate. Unfortunately, through the years, the terne coating has slowly eroded and the metal has pitted in several locations.   

Field Formed Standing Seam. Architectural Sheet Metal Manual, courtesy of Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractor's National Association, Inc.

To extend the life of this superior roof, an elastomeric coating will be applied to the metal. This technology has been successfully used for decades and will allow the historic material to remain in place for future generations. The material forms a seamless, watertight, and UV-resistant membrane over the entire roof. To install, the roof is cleaned and prepped; rust primer applied; foundation coat applied (and reinforcing fabric if specified); and the finish coat(s) applied. The finish coat is reapplied every ten years to extend the warranty.

You may ask, why not just replace the historic standing-seam metal roof with a new metal roof? There are several reasons. First, the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and the Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings state that historic building materials and features should be (1) identified and retained; (2) maintained; (3) repaired; and finally (4) replaced in kind, but only when too deteriorated to be repaired. The elastomeric coating is a technology that allows the life of the historic roof to be extended without loss of character. Second, new prefabricated metal roofs do not have the same detailing of historic standing-seam metal roofs. The new roofs have prominent ridge caps that rest atop the seams when compared against the subtle crimped ridges of a historic standing-seam roof.

Standing Seam at Hip or Ridge. Architectural Sheet Metal Manual, courtesy of Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractor's National Association, Inc.

Third, new roofs are secured directly through the metal roof into the roof deck, creating vulnerable areas that are subject to leaks. Lastly, the cost of applying the elastomeric coating is less than replacement cost for a new standing-seam metal roof. A possible option would be to fabricate the roof from terne-coated stainless steel or copper. Both of these options are more expensive than the terne-coated roofing that is no longer available. However, copper may not be appropriate unless the historic roof was copper. Terne-coated stainless steel may be an option as it can weather or be painted.

By Claudia Brown

Historian Matthew Brown

Largely developed between the Civil War and World War I, Oakwood is Raleigh's oldest neighborhood and the capital city's oldest National Register historic district (listed 1974) and locally zoned historic district (designated 1975). Three boundary increases (in 1987, 1988, and 1989) that expanded both the National Register and zoned district produced inventory lists, but the nomination for the original district covering approximately forty blocks and comprising roughly 415 properties was prepared in the early years of the program when an inventory list was not required, and consequently the State Historic Preservation Office (HPO) had relatively few survey files on district properties. Addressing this inadequacy and populating HPO survey database records for all of Oakwood's properties is a project that the HPO has long desired, and at long last it has been accomplished.

Normally a project of this magnitude would be sponsored by a local government and funded by both the sponsor and a federal matching grant from the HPO. For the Oakwood Historic District, however, a comprehensive architectural survey update of the neighborhood was undertaken as a volunteer effort - more a labor of love - by Matthew Brown, a neighborhood resident and the historian of the Society for the Preservation of Historic Oakwood (SHPO). Matthew is an experienced researcher who has been with the Department of Cultural Resources' Publications Section for twenty-one years. In 2004, he began systematically researching each and every property in Oakwood, conducting title searches, tracing owners in city directories, and searching newspapers, tax records, and numerous archival collections.

Anna Ball Stronach House at 601 N. Bloodworth Street

As a self-taught architectural historian eager to update the records of the HPO, the SHPO, and the Raleigh Historic Development Commission, Matthew contacted the HPO's Survey and National Register staff in 2012 for a tutorial in using the HPO's survey database. This Spring he submitted a fully populated database and digital photographs for all of Oakwood's 588 properties, including the expansion areas. Matthew also submitted as a separate document a thorough inventory list containing all of his research, including the transcripts of his deed, city directory, and newspaper searches that detail the history of each property as well as identify architects and/or contractors for more than 140 properties, including one hundred built prior to 1940.

At long last Oakwood has the documentation it deserves. Many thanks to Matthew Brown for a remarkable job!

First Phase of Panther Branch School's Restoration Completed 

By Claudia Brown

Celebration of local landmark designation at Panther Branch School

On Sunday, April 12, 2015, Panther Branch School was the focus of a celebration of both the completion of the first phase of its restoration and its designation as a Wake County Landmark. Beautiful spring weather graced the dedication ceremony attended by school alumni, Wake County commissioners Caroline Sullivan and James West, and members of the surrounding community, JLBC Alliance, Inc., and neighboring Juniper Level Baptist Church, which owns the former school building. The dedication began with prayer by Deacon Wilbert Clark, followed by remarks from the attending Wake County Commissioners. Deaconess Langston shared her heartwarming reflection of attending the Rosenwald School as a child. The dedication ended with Harold Miller affixing the Wake County Historic Landmark sign on the front of the building.

  

Documentary photo of Panther Branch School from Fisk Rosenwald Database

Located at 9109 Sauls Road about eight miles south of Garner, Panther Branch School (also known as Juniper Level School) was built in 1926 with funds from the Julius Rosenwald Foundation, contributions from the local African American Community, and support from the Wake County School Board. As one of only six Rosenwald schools surviving in Wake County, where twenty-two were constructed between 1918 and 1931, Panther Branch School was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2001 and designated a Wake County landmark in 2013. After the three-teacher school closed in 1952, it was used sporadically over the years and underwent a number of alterations, including the installation of very small windows in place of its original large, character-defining multi-paned windows.

  

After Panther Branch School was listed in the National Register, members of Juniper Level Baptist Church and numerous alumni became interested in restoring the school building. In 2013, alumna Barbara Ann Perry succeeded in launching the effort that led to completion of the exterior renovation, including removal of the small, inappropriate windows and replacing them with replicas of the original windows. Rehabilitation of the building, including repairs to the floor structure, is continuing under the direction of HPO Restoration Services Branch staff and Raleigh architect David Maurer. Once the school has been completely renovated, it will be used as community outreach center providing counseling and health care services, tutoring, basic job skills training, and referrals to appropriate resources, with a focus on at-risk youth.

Panther Branch School and St. Matthews School will be featured on the tour of Wake County's Rosenwald schools to be held on Thursday, June 18, 2015, during the National Rosenwald Schools Conference in Durham. For more information on the tour and the conference, see this page.

Historic Wilmington Foundation Releases its Annual List of 10 Most Threatened Cape Fear Historic Resources

On May 27, George Edwards, executive director of the Historic Wilmington Foundation, released this year's list of the ten most threatened historic resources in the Cape Fear Region. A similar list has been released each of the last several years as part of the foundation's Preservation Month activities in an effort to increase awareness of important but threatened historic resources in and around Wilmington. This year's list includes the expected buildings and cemeteries, but also three general categories-wooden windows, Rocky Point school buildings in Pender County, and Pender County's Rosenwald schools-also considered in "threatened" status. A "watch list" of five properties, including brick streets in the Wilmington Historic District, was also announced. For more information and to see the full list visit this page or this page.

Saluda Works to Preserve its Historic Depot   

Saluda Depot, then and now

Once the stopping point for trains preparing to climb the notoriously steep Saluda Grade, Saluda was a tourist hub in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The dangerous route has not been used by trains in decades but the depot still stands as a reminder of Saluda's busier days. Locals are hoping to raise the funds needed to purchase the depot and rehabilitate the building for use as a local history museum. Saluda Historic Depot, the local non-profit organization spearheading the effort, has raised $30,000 toward a matching grant of $50,000 offered by an anonymous donor. For more information about their preservation efforts and the town's history visit this page.

 

91 Biltmore Ave. before and after its rehabilitation as Wicked Weed Brewing. After photo courtesy of Carolina Epicurean, LLC

A growing trend for microbreweries and craft beer, especially popular in North Carolina, is contributing to historic preservation across the state. Breweries tend to renovate and rehabilitate historic buildings with large open spaces rather than build from scratch. Renovating rather than building offers a quicker turnaround and can be more affordable for breweries. Historic buildings also can provide in-town locations where available property can be limited. Asheville is home to several breweries and all but one is located in an older building. For more information about this reuse visit this page.

Public-Private Partnership May Save Colonial Inn in Hillsborough  

  

Colonial Inn

After years of watching the Colonial Inn in Hillsborough deteriorate, local citizens may have found a solution to save the approximately two-hundred-year-old inn. A report authored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Government provides several options on how to fund the building's restoration.

On January 12, the Hillsborough Board of Commissioners voted to pay $8,500 to the school's Development Finance Initiative to analyze different models for making the Colonial Inn attractive to private developers. DFI works exclusively with local governments with the goal of attracting private development and investment in community projects. According to Mayor Tom Stevens, it was felt that "The cost of the rehabilitation would make it prohibitive for the town to just take it [the Colonial Inn] on as a solo project." Enter the possibility of a public-private partnership to reopen the building, perhaps as a restaurant and offices. For more information visit this page or this page.

  

Louisburg Architectural Tour Guide Published

New State Highway Historical Marker Placed for "Greensboro Massacre"

Greensboro Massacre marker at unveiling. Photo courtesy of www.news-record.com

For the full marker text, visit this page of the NC Historical Marker website.    

For Your Entertainment and Edification...  

• Ideas for preserving and reviving historic cemeteries

• Have you ever noticed the small notch in the NC/VA state line near Halifax and Gates counties? Read this for the history of the notch

• A list of the ten oldest campus buildings in America (UNC's Old East made the list)

• A Special Toolkit Series: How to Save a Place has been released by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It is a primer for people who love places but aren't sure how to save them. Read the toolkits blog entries here.

• The National Trust for Historic Preservation recently posted a series of articles about Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act:

• Section 106 Works 
• Section 106, Protective Covenants, and Sale of Historic Post Offices 
• Section 106: Through Your Eyes 
• Worst Practices for Section 106 Consultation 
• NHPA Section 106 and Tribes: A Look Back and Paths Forward 
• Nike Site Summit: Making Section 106 Consultation Work 

Events, Awards, and Grants

For statewide events lists, visit the HPO Facebook events list, Preservation North Carolina events list, or a June 2015 - August 2015 calendar of events and workshop and conference list courtesy of the Federation of NC Historical Societies.

2015 Advisory Council on Historic Preservation training schedule Visit this page for registration details and pricing. Please contact Cindy Bienvenue by email if you have any questions. 

2015 National Center for Preservation Technology and Training workshop and event list is available here.  

Attention, Preservation Commissions!   The UNC School of Government offers training to quasi-judicial boards.  Visit their website for more information and the training schedule.

June 11 National Register Advisory Committee Meeting, 10 AM - 3 PM, 3rd floor conference room, Archives and History Building, 109 E. Jones St., Raleigh. Open to the public.

June 17-19 National Rosenwald Schools Conference: Sharing the Past → Shaping the Future, Durham. Riding the wave of the wildly successful 2012 Centennial Rosenwald Schools conference in Tuskegee, AL, the National Trust for Historic Preservation is partnering with the NC Department of Cultural Resources, Preservation Durham, the Conservation Trust of North Carolina, and others to sponsor a second national Rosenwald schools conference that will feature thirty educational sessions, poster sessions, field sessions at area schools, and other thematic tours. Registration is now open. For more information and to register, see this page. Click here to sign up to receive conference updates by email.

June 17 "A Gathering of Gatherings: The State of African American Museums and Heritage Work in North Carolina," 4 - 7 PM, Hayti Heritage Center, 804 Old Fayetteville Street, Durham. Join Michelle Lanier, Director of the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission, for the culminating event of the Gathering Place Project. A Gathering of Gatherings serves as a pre-conference event for the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Rosenwald Schools Conference. Museum professionals and heritage practitioners will gather to experience a roundtable discussion on the state of African American heritage work in North Carolina. To register and RSVP, download and print this form, and email it to Schree Chavdarov at Schree.Chavdarov@ncdcr.gov.  

June 17-20 National Underground Railroad Conference, "Into the Light: Striving for Freedom," Hilton Head Island, SC. For more information about this conference organized by the National Park Service, contact Diane Miller, National Program Manager, National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program, 402-661-1588, diane_miller@nps.gov or Sheri Jackson, Southeast Regional Coordinator, 404-507-5635, sheri_jackson@nps.gov. For more information visit this page.

June 23-28 Association for Gravestone Studies 38th Annual Conference, Westfield, MA. For more information visit this website.

July 16 "Blue Ridge Parkway: The Mission Era and More," 5:30 PM, Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center Auditorium, 195 Hemphill Knob Road, Asheville (also known as Parkway Milepost 384). The Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County (PSABC) will host a presentation on Blue Ridge Parkway structures and the imminent award of National Historic Landmark status. Speakers Steven Kidd and Cynthia Walton will discuss how the Parkway style evolved via the successful collaboration of engineers, landscape architects, and historians. Generous sponsors include Terry and Ted Van Duyn and the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center. PSABC members and all area residents are invited. A $10 donation is suggested. For more information, please contact Jack Thomson by phone at 828-254-2343 or by email at director@psabc.org.

September 16-18 Save the Date! 2015 Annual Preservation North Carolina Conference, Salisbury. Keynote speakers will be Don Rypkema and Tom Mayes.  Go ahead and book your hotel room now - click here for details.

September 16-19 American Association for State and Local History Annual Meeting and Online Conference, Louisville, KY. Information is available at this page.  

October 8-10 2nd Annual Slave Dwelling Project Conference, North Charleston, SC. The conference's mission is to convene attendees from around the United States and abroad to exchange ideas and resources and to share perspectives and solutions for preserving extant African American slave dwellings for future generations. For more details go to this page.  

November 3-6 Save the date for PastForward 2015, the National Trust Annual Conference to be held this year in Washington, DC, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel. Sign up for PastForward 2015 updates.

New Prize for Social Sector Innovators The J.M.K. Innovation Prize is a new initiative of the J.M. Kaplan Fund, a New York-based family foundation. Up to ten prizes will be awarded to U. S.-based individuals or teams addressing the country's most pressing needs through social sector innovation.  The prize will provide up to three years of support at $50,000 per year, as well as a $25,000 "bank" of funds available for technical assistance or targeted project expenses, making a total award of $175,000.  Specifically, the prize seeks to support inter-disciplinary innovation in the fields of cultural heritage, human rights, the built environment, and the natural environment.  The prize is particularly designed for early stage ideas being piloted or prototyped by dynamic visionaries. To learn more, or to apply, visit this website.

Best of the South: Preserving Southern Architecture Award Nominations are being accepted from the Southeast Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians until July 1. This annual award honors a project that preserves or restores a historic building, or complex of buildings, in an outstanding manner and that demonstrates excellence in research, technique, and documentation. Projects in the 12-state region of SESAH (which includes North Carolina) that were completed in 2013 or 2014 are eligible. Nominations should consist of no more than two typed pages of description and be accompanied by hard-copy illustrations and any other supporting material. A cover letter should identify the owner of the project, the use of the building(s), and the names of all the major participants of the project. Send three (3) copies to Paige Wagoner Claassen, 2608 Chesterfield Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28205. Questions: paigewagoner@gmail.com. For more information about the award and SESAH,visit this website.