HPO January 2016 Newsletter

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In This Issue

Rehabilitation Highlights

National Register Updates

Landscaping & Historic Preservation

GIS Data Now Required for Section 106 Review Reports

2016 CLG Grant Applications Available

The Window Preservation Alliance

For Your Entertainment and Edification

Events, Awards, and Grants

Staff in the Field

HPO staff attended many meetings and made dozens of site visits throughout
December.

Worth Saving

The Newsletter of the North Carolina Historic Preservation Office

January 2016

Beech Mountain Resort (Photo courtesy of VisitNC)

Rehabilitation Highlights

Cleveland County, Shelby, Hudson's Department Store

Constructed between 1905 and 1909, the two-story commercial building housed Hudson's Department Store for many years. The 2015 rehabilitation for use as a brewery and restaurant has given new life to this prominent corner in the Central Shelby Historic District. This project was spurred by the use of the federal income-producing historic tax credits with a private investment rehabilitation cost of $655,000.

Hudson's Department Store, before and after rehabilitation

Edgecombe County, Tarboro, Jack Hicks House

The ca. 1908 Jack Hicks House in the Tarboro Historic District was rehabilitated 2013-2014 for continued use as a single-family rental residence. This project was spurred by the use of the federal and state income-producing historic tax credits with a private investment rehabilitation cost of $135,000.

Jack Hicks House, before and after rehabilitation

Gaston County, Gastonia, Loray Mill

The Loray Mill is a nationally significant example of textile mill construction and technological innovation in the South during the early twentieth century. The mill's significance stems from both the design and technology of the mill and the links between textile industry development and labor history. When constructed, Loray Mill was touted as the world's largest textile mill under one roof, with room to accommodate roughly 1,000 workers. The historic buildings on the site were constructed between 1900 and 1935. Development work on this project began in 2004 and construction commenced in 2013. The project was completed in 2015 with commercial and office spaces on the ground and first floors and 190 apartments on floors 2-5. This project was spurred by the use of the income-producing federal historic and state mill tax credits with an estimated private investment rehabilitation cost of $41,500,000.

Loray Mill, before and after rehabilitation

Wake County, Raleigh, Grimes Williams Carriage House

The ca. 1915 carriage house behind the Grimes Williams House in the Cameron Park Historic District was rehabilitated in 2014 for continuous use as a garage with an apartment on the second floor. This project was spurred by the use of the federal and state income-producing historic tax credits with a private investment rehabilitation cost of $90,000.

Grimes Williams Carriage House, before and after rehabilitation

Recent National Register Listings

Shelby Cotton Mill, Cleveland County, prepared by Heather Fearnbach, listed 12/15/15

Tabor City Commercial Historic District, Columbus County, prepared by Heather Slane and Sunny Stewart, listed 12/15/15

Downtown Tryon Historic District, Polk County, prepared by Clay Griffith and Alex Cole, listed 12/15/15

Landscaping & Historic Preservation: A Surprisingly Thorny Issue

By Laurie Mitchell

Airlie Gardens Live Oak Heritage Tree, Wimington's 2012 Heritage Tree State Champion Award Winner (Photo courtesy www.tripadvisor.com)

Imagine Duke without gardens, Pinehurst without Olmsted, Raleigh without oak trees. One doesn't have to be a historic preservationist (much less dendrologist) to understand that a site's landscaping can be just as important as the building itself. Therefore one can empathize with the reasoning behind Montgomery County's (MD) tree-protection bill and concerned Wilmington citizens facing tree removal.

Last year, a contributor to Lumina News appropriately described heritage trees as important parts of a community's history or natural landscape because of their age, rarity, grouping, overall beauty, or historical significance. The State of North Carolina's local landmark report guidance document suggests that all local landmark reports include "a site plan (preferably but not necessarily drawn to scale) showing [...] major landscape and hardscape features such as large, ancient trees, driveways, and walkways." Our office also encourages National Register for Historic Places nominations to include site plans, images, and text that highlight landscaping features. And notably, most local historic preservation commissions in our state require that owners of locally-designated properties receive an approved COA (Certificate of Appropriateness) for major landscaping changes.

Noting the presence of significant landscapes, landscape features and/or mature plantings and vegetation in designation reports and National Register nominations is made all the more important when historic properties may be affected by proposed development, transportation projects or other undertakings subject to federal and state review. These important character defining elements such as open fields defined by a tree line and uninterrupted vista, an alley of mature cedars, stone walls, or earthen berms can only be considered and provided a degree of protection, if cited in the report or nomination.

Documenting a site's landscaping is important not just for nominations and reports, though. It is highly likely that historic preservation commissions, historians, planners, and others will one day (if they don't already) refer to archived photos and site plans for various reasons. So creating thorough records now will prove helpful in the future.

GIS Data Now Required for Section 106 Review Reports

By Andrew Edmonds

The North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office's GIS interface, HPOWEB, 2015

As of January 1, 2016, the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office (HPO) is requiring spatial GIS data with any report submitted to fulfill the requirements for identification and evaluation of properties as part of the Section 106 process.

The creation of spatial data at the beginning of the review allows the HPO to quickly share information with other state and federal agencies in an open government environment.

The HPO requires the creation of up to four datasets: the project's Area of Potential Effect, all individually surveyed resources, any proposed historic districts, and the boundaries of any properties determined to be eligible for the National Register.

This change in policy is akin to the transition from film to digital photography that the HPO asked consultants to follow in 2004. The good news is, there is no need to purchase - or even learn - technical GIS software!

Consulting firms which are already creating GIS data are only asked to share that data with the HPO; those without access to professional GIS software can use the Annotate the Screen tool in HPOWEB to satisfy the spatial data requirement. Watch a three-part video to see how to easily create points and boundaries, correct mistakes, and save your work. It's simple and free.

In addition to generating GIS data, consultants are now required to deliver a fully populated survey database containing records for each individually surveyed historic resource. Consultants also need to obtain a survey site number, a unique identifier supplied by the HPO, for each resource they survey.

A full description of the report standards can be found here. Questions about the spatial data requirement can be posed to Andrew Edmonds (andrew.edmonds@ncdcr.gov), GIS Technical Support Analyst, at 919-807-6592.

2016 CLG Grant Applications Available

The FY 2016 Historic Preservation Fund grant application for Certified Local Governments (CLGs) is now available. We estimate that funding will be between $90,000 and $95,000. The postmark deadline for FY 2016 grants is Friday, February 26, 2016. This information has been sent to all the CLGs and is posted on our website at www.hpo.dcr.state.nc.us/grants/grants2016.html. Please contact Michele McCabe if you have any questions or to discuss potential application ideas.

New Resource! The Window Preservation Alliance

Commissions, homeowners, and tradespeople have a new resource for historic windows. The newly formed Window Preservation Alliance (www.windowpreservationalliance.org) is a 501c(6) non-profit organization dedicated to raising the awareness of repair and restoration as the best alternative to replacing original windows. The WPA website features a growing directory of window repair professionals, information about historic windows, and a photo gallery of before and after images. There is also a members only section for window repair specialists.

"A number of window restorers have been asked to be a sponsor at regional or national conferences, and it makes no sense for us as individuals, but as a group it makes all the sense in the world for us to have a place at the table with the replacement window manufacturers," said Alison Hardy, President of the WPA. "By joining together we can not only raise the awareness of window restoration as an option, but also join forces to tackle larger projects that might be beyond the reach of a smaller shop."

The WPA is actively recruiting new members with the goal of finding those committed to saving original windows in all 50 states. The group aims to also have a robust library of articles and research related to the benefits of saving original windows and solid science about their energy efficiency.

If you restore windows, know of individuals looking for window repair specialists, or know someone interested in getting into the field, the Window Preservation Alliance is there to help.

Mission:

To inspire the preservation of original windows by educating the public about the beauty, craftsmanship, and energy efficiency of original windows and supporting the people and businesses who restore them.

For Your Entertainment and Edification

Vagabond Hotel (Photo courtesy of Vagabond Hotel)

If you aren't particularly enjoying North Carolina's recent cold snap, head down to Miami to check out the restored (thanks, tax credits!) Vagabond Hotel. This chic yet kitschy Mid-century Modern motel became the Miami hangout for the Rat Pack after it opened in 1953
Tired of McMansions popping up in older, charming neighborhoods? This is one way to deal with the epidemic.
Congrats to Elkin, NC, for making this 50 Best Small Towns list.
Have you ever wanted to go into Raleigh's storied Heck-Andrews House? You'll feel like you're inside when you read this Goodnight Raleigh post and look at the beautiful photos.
If you missed it, office parks are the new American ghost town.
Play the New York Public Library's Pac-man-esque Mansion Maniac based off of historic building blueprints and also read about the library's extensive digitization efforts with photographs, postcards, maps, and more.
In case you stumbled across this article, be warned that North Carolina 99.9% does not have a secret train graveyard in its forests.

Do YOU believe the secret "train graveyard" story? (Photo courtesy www.dailymail.co.uk)

Events, Awards, and Grants

For statewide events lists, visit the HPO Facebook events list,

Preservation North Carolina events list, or a December 2015 - February 2016 calendar of events courtesy of the Federation of NC Historical Societies.

March 8-10, 2016: NCSHPO Annual Meeting & Advocacy Day, Washington D.C.

March 16-19, 2016 National Council on Public History Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD. Visit this website for more information.

March 19-20, 2016 7^th National Forum on Historic Preservation Practice, "A Critical Examination of the Next 50 Years," Goucher College, Baltimore, MD. Click on this link for details about the call for papers for this conference.

April 10-13, 2016 "Keeping History Above Water," Newport, RI. This international, multi-disciplinary conference will focus on challenges and solutions for preserving historic structures and neighborhoods in coastal communities. See http://www.historyabovewater.org/. If you have questions, contact historyabovewater@newportrestoration.org.

June 1-4, 2016 Save the Date! 2016 Vernacular Architecture Forum Conference, "From Farm to Factory: Piedmont Stories in Black and White," Durham, NC. For information, visit this website, where details will be added as planning progresses.

June 21-23, 2016: "Century of Design in the Parks," NPS Symposium, Santa Fe, NM. For more information, visit this website.

July 27-31, 2016 Save the Date! National Alliance of Preservation Commissions FORUM 2016, Mobile, AL. A historic preservation conference and training program focused on the issues of preservation commissions and commission staff. More information can be found on the NAPC website.

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Annual CLG Grants from the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office, see article above.

National Trust offers grants to Main Street towns through its Historic Properties Redevelopment Program. Click here to learn more.

Please send any comments or suggestions to Ramona Bartos at ramona.bartos@ncdcr.gov. Please forward this newsletter to others who might be interested in the information.

Archived issues are on our website.

The activity that is the subject of this publication has been financed in part with federal funds from the National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Department of the Interior, and administered by the NC HPO. However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of NPS or NC HPO. This program receives federal financial assistance for identification and protection of historic properties. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, the U. S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability or age in its federally assisted programs. If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information please write to: Office of Equal Opportunity, National Park Service, 1849 C Street, N.W., Washington DC 20240.

North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office

Division of Historical Resources | Office of Archives and History

North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources