Call for historic green buildings to be featured in new book

[Source: Scott Butcher] -- Author Scott Butcher is seeking project submissions for a new book he is writing for Schiffer Publishing. The new book, "Sustainable Historic Buildings" will focus on "green" historic buildings. By their very nature, historic buildings incorporate many of the same features that green designers use today: sustainable sites, natural landscaping, energy efficiency, local materials, etc. While the green building movement has exploded in recent years, only now are owners, designers and contractors turning their attention to the "greenest" buildings of all: ones that already exist. 

As part of the project, Butcher is looking for case studies from across the United States - renovation, expansion, and/or adaptive reuse projects performed on buildings at least 50 years of age. These buildings must be completed, but need not be certified (e.g., LEED, Green Globe, etc.), though certified projects are certainly acceptable and encouraged. All types of buildings will be considered. Click here for additional information and submission guidelines. Submissions are due by December 15, 2008.

Tearing Down the Arcadia/Camelback legacy (op-ed)

[Source: Rachel Simmons, Modern Design Diva] -- For many years the residents of Arcadia and Camelback preserved the look and feel of their neighborhood by renovating their homes appropriately and adhering to a compatible design. Recently investors have swooped in, razed and remodeled in speculation, and sold to area newcomers unfamiliar with the community's character. When we tear down one unique home we have we lost irreplaceable features of our city's visual appeal. Little by little Arcadia's modern ranches are being leveled and replaced by homes speaking a completely different language, thus altering the essential story of Phoenix lore the neighborhood of Arcadia has to offer future generations.

[Note: To read the full article, click here. Photo source: Modern Phoenix.]

Downtown Tucson deal aims to acquire artist space

[Source: Bud Foster, KOLD News] -- "We got empty lots. We got falling down buildings," says Susan Gamble, President of the Warehouse Arts Management Organization. But WAMO is working to change that. There are about 30 old, dilapidated warehouses in downtown Tucson which are owned by the Arizona State Transportation Department. Local artists would like to have those buildings to house their studios. They proposed a deal. The city and state would swap some land in exchange for the warehouses. The city would then deed the warehouses over to the artists. The artists would then start to work. "If we take on all the expense of doing rehab, the work of it, the advertising, it's really a good deal for them (Tucson) because we do a public service and a public good," says Gamble.

[Note: To read the full article, click here. Photo source: TucsonRailfan.]

Catlin Court historic home tour Nov. 8

Saturday November 8th is the 2008 Catlin Court historic home tour in Glendale, Arizona. From Myrtle to Orangewood, 59th Avenue to 57th Avenue. Tour 10 homes from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. There will be carriage rides and vintage cars. Tickets are $10 each and may be purchased online at the Catlin Court homepage.

102-acre Coolidge development near Casa Grande Ruins put on hold

[Source: Sean Higgins, Casa Grande Dispatch] -- Plans for an area development to have residential and commercial buildings near Casa Grande Ruins National Monument were unveiled for the Coolidge City Council, which postponed action on the matter pending decisions on the height of buildings. "This will be a nice addition to Coolidge," Mayor Tom Shope said. If approved, the project would be off North Arizona Boulevard, encompassing about 102 acres. "It will really respond to the needs of the area," Senior Project Manager Nick Labadie of Rose Law Group said Aug. 25. "It will be a great gateway for the city of Coolidge." He said it would "respect the area and heritage of the Ruins." [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

Efforts to restore Tucson's Valley of the Moon under way

[Source: Ryn Gargulinski, Tucson Citizen] -- Valley of the Moon is still shooting for the moon with the makeover and restoration of the 1920s-era fantasyland. The journey is well on its way, said spokesman Charlie Spillar, and it's not stopping at rebuilding a troll bridge or a rabbit hole at the midtown park. Valley of the Moon, 2544 E. Allen Road, will be moving into the future with new additions, fresh landscaping and even compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. "The Tucson community is doing amazing things to help restore their treasure," Spillar said.

[Note: To read the full article, click here. Photo source: Val Canez, Tucson Citizen. Pictured: A gnome in the Enchanted Garden at Valley of the Moon.]

Florence's Old Silver King Hotel ready to be renovated

[Source: Arizona Republic] -- The town is hoping the historic Silver King Hotel will be ready for an occupant by the end of the year. Twelve contractors have submitted proposals to complete renovations on the hotel, and the town wants an aggressive construction schedule. The hotel was a center of local social life for 100 years until it closed in 1977. The Florence Preservation Foundation bought the building and 12 years ago was awarded a $500,000 federal grant. The money was used to stabilize the building and put on a roof, windows and doors. The town bought the building from the foundation last year.

APF would like to extend a special thanks to our 2008 conference sponsors:

Another of Phoenix's Blaine Drakes bites the dust -- Scoville home

[Source: Modern Phoenix] -- Blaine Drake's Scoville Home in the Biltmore area was leveled to the ground this morning. This is the second Dake home in the neighborhood to be demolished, and only two more in that immediate area survive (that I know of). The original Drake family property nearby still stands. Drake was an apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin in Wisconsin, and established his own Arizona practice in 1945. The property was recently acquired by a new owner this spring.

This home was made of Superlite block and one of the rare examples of a midcentury residential home that was intentionally left unpainted. Homes like this are one inspiration for the sandblasting-back-to-grey trend celebrating "expressed materials" that we see today. The home also features one of Drake's rare and custom round home layouts and a personalized integration of the Superlite and glass block streetscape markers that brand major points of entry into the Bartlett Estates subdivision. The home across the street from it was also recently leveled and now has a McMansion on it. The bitter irony is that writers at ModernPhoenix are currently working on stories about the livability of Drake Homes 50 years later, and also on the teardown trend. The two subjects collided today in yet another heartbreaking loss for Phoenix's history and culture. [Photo source: Modern Phoenix.]

November 1 deadline for Preserve America Presidential Awards nominations

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) is accepting nominations for the 2009 Preserve America Presidential Awards to honor exemplary achievements in historic preservation and heritage tourism efforts involving natural and cultural historic resources.  The deadline for submitting nominations for the highest federal awards honoring historic preservation achievement is November 1, 2008.  The Preserve America Presidential Awards are part of an initiative established by President Bush that encourages and supports community efforts to preserve and enjoy our nation’s cultural and natural heritage assets.  Four Preserve America Presidential Awards are given each year.

The Preserve America Presidential Awards are given to organizations, businesses, and government entities for:

• exemplary accomplishments in the sustainable use and preservation of cultural or natural heritage
  assets.
• demonstrated commitment to the protection and interpretation of America’s cultural or natural heritage assets.
• the integration of these assets into contemporary community life, and combination of innovative, creative, and responsible approaches to showcasing historic resources in communities.

Click here for the nomination form and guidelines, as well as information on past winners and the overall Preserve America initiative.

Project gathers Scottsdale photos of past for exhibit

[Source: Julie Janovsky, Tribune] -- JoAnn Handley remembers a time when the area now known as Scottsdale Fashion Square was nothing more than dirt roads and rodeo shows. "I could not have imagined 50 years ago Scottsdale could look like this," said Handley, 77, a lifelong resident and manager of the Scottsdale Historical Museum. A new exhibit being planned for this spring at Scottsdale's Civic Center Library will soon give visitors and locals alike a chance to take a deeper glimpse into the city's past. The proposed exhibit will be one of the end results of a new historical archiving project sponsored by the Scottsdale Public Library system that will entail digitizing vintage photos from the collections of the Scottsdale Historical Museum, the Scottsdale Jaycees and the Scottsdale Charros. [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

Historic neighborhood storm damage in Phoenix

[Source: Barbara Stocklin, Phoenix Historic Preservation Office] -- The Thursday August, 28, 2008 monsoon hit several of the historic neighborhoods, such as Willo, Coronado, F.Q. Story and Encanto-Palmcroft, particularly hard. Large trees toppled, causing damage to walls, garages and in some cases houses. In one case, an 80-plus year old oak tree fell on top of the historic house at 525 W. Coronado Street, causing the roof structure and front wall of the house to collapse. The Phoenix Historic Preservation Office is working closely with affected historic property owners to expedite the required city historic preservation review for storm repair-related projects to the extent feasible.

Glendale receives accolades for parks programs, people, facilities

[Source: Yourwestvalley.com] -- Glendale's programs, people and facilities received awards at the annual Arizona Parks and Recreation Association awards banquet Aug. 27. Two programs, one facility and two people involved with the Glendale Parks and Recreation Department were awarded. The 2008 Community/Neighborhood Special Event Award for Populations Over 100,000 went to GlendOberfest (pictured), the city's annual fall festival. GlendOberfest on Oct. 31, 2007, at Sahuaro Ranch Park Historic Area, encouraged residents to journey back in time to the late 1800s to an atmosphere of Old Towne Glendale with dirt roads, dark and dense citrus groves and old farm houses backlit by the moon and filled with scary shadows moving across the landscape.

[Note: To read the full article, click here. Photo source: Mother Nature's Farm.]