In a resolution signed by Governor Chris Gregoire last week, the month of October has been declared “Archaeology Month” in an effort to raise awareness of the importance of Cultural Resources to Washington State’s heritage.  In signing the resolution, Governor Gregoire said “I encourage all citizens to take time to learn more about the archaeology of our great state and the ways we can help protect this legacy for our children and future generations.”

In an effort to assist the citizens of the State of Washington to better understand archaeological resources, the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation has joined with local area tribal nations, federal, state and local officials, local archaeological societies, universities, museums and private citizens to enhance the public awareness of the value of protecting Washington’s archaeological heritage.

In doing so, the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation has prepared a calendar of events which is searchable on the home page of their website.  In the calendar of events visitors to the website will find either month-long events or exhibits; or they can click on a certain day of the week to see what special types of Archaeology month activities are planned for that day.  Nineteen organizations across the state are participating in Archaeology month by hosting nearly 30 special activities listed on the calendar so far.  State Historic Preservation Officer, Dr. Allyson Brooks, says “This year’s Archeology Month events will appeal to a broader range of interests than ever before including a docent-led bike ride through ice-age flood deposits to ghost stories being told around bonfires.”

For specific information about activities planned in your community, you can contact your local historical society or visit the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation’s website.

The Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation went live with a new website and integrated Blog today that we hope you will find useful!

So, at this point, this blog location is no longer active.  For those of you who are subscribers to the blog, we’ve done our best to bring those subscriptions over, however, for the other blog authors who followed our posts, you will have to reconnect with us!  If you were one of those folks who got notification each time we posted a new item, you may have to go into the new site and change your notification frequency – but my assumption is that you will just receive one email each day when we post new items on the blog.  If we don’t post, you won’t get an email.  So, posting comments on this “old” blog will no longer be monitored – I have moved comments to the new site from the last few days, though.

Here is the link to the new blog.

There are some really wonderful new resources that we are launching – such as the Style Guide and Architect Bio sections that State Architectural Historian, Michael Houser, has put together.  Find both of those topics under our new “Learn and Research” tab.  You’ll also find all of our Technical Preservation information (think: Window Restoration, Roof Restoration, Cemetery Preservation, etc.) in the Learn and Research section as well.  In the “Experience History” section, you will find links to other Heritage Organizations as well as some fun historic places for you to visit in Washington state.  We have loaded our tutorials for the online Historic Property Inventory system as well as the WISAARD tool onto the site as well.

In all reality, we want you to explore the site and let us know what you think!  Any suggestions for what we’ve missed? Let us know!

Enjoy.

The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation is pleased to announce that the Preservation Trades and Consultant Directory has been published and is now available for download from their website.

Listing your business or organization is an effective, low-cost way to connect with hundreds of people actively looking for preservation goods and services. Because they are a non-profit organization with limited staff and resources, they are offering this service for a nominal annual fee of $120 ($10/month), which goes directly to supporting and maintaining this online preservation resource. The following information is included with every directory listing:

• Company Name
• Contact Names (up to 3)
• E-mail Address (up to 3)
• Address
• Phone Number
• Website Address
• Company Logo (if desired – please see file requirement below)
• A Brief Description of Your Work and Awards
• Your Company’s Categories (up to 3)

If you would like to be included in the directory, please download and complete the Preservation Trades and Consultants Directory form and email it to info@preservewa.org. If you would like to have your company logo listed in the directory, please email it along with your form. For best results, please send your logo in an EPS file, which is a vector based graphics file. If this format is not available, please send a TIFF or a JPG file with a high resolution.

If you have any questions, please contact the WTHP Membership and Events Coordinator, Kelly Hufty, at khufty@preservewa.org.

DAHP wishes to announce that a settlement agreement has been reached in a matter involving damage to the historic Brownsville Cemetery in Kitsap County.

In 2009, several large trees were cut down, limbed and/or topped in the Brownsville Cemetery without authorization.

Historic and abandoned cemeteries, such as Brownsville, are protected under several state statutes. Burials, markers, memorials, gates, fences, and even shrubbery and trees are protected elements of a cemetery. Penalties for unauthorized damage to a cemetery can include criminal and civil penalties.

After nearly two years of negotiating, the DAHP, the Brownsville Cemetery Historic Preservation Association, and the tree cutter have reached a settlement. The settlement releases the tree cutter of any further liability but required him to pay approximately $14,000 to the Brownsville Cemetery Historic Preservation Association. The Association can now use the funds to restore the cemetery and clean up the debris and the downed trees, and to plant new ones. The tree cutter must also request permission before entering the cemetery again.

The Association, who is chaired by President Michael Brownell, will have an archaeologist on site during the clean-up to insure no graves are damaged by tree and debris removal.

Now that the agreement is finalized, the Brownsville Cemetery Historic Preservation Association can continue to work with local residents and organizations to maintain and restore the cemetery and insure the people buried there are treated respectfully.

Downed trees at the Historic Brownsville Cemetery in 2009

Friends of Seattle’s Olmsted Parks invites you to a special tour of the Olmsted-designed grounds of the historic Northern State Hospital located in Sedro-Woolley, WA.

Date and Time: Saturday August 20, 10 a.m. Please bring a picnic lunch to enjoy on the site after the tour.
Location:  Hub/Theater Building, 24909 Hub Drive, Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284. Meet at the Hub/Theater Conference Center Building #14 on Hub Drive.
RSVP: Group size is limited. Please RSVP by August 13 to friends@seattleolmsted.org.
For more information, phone 206-280-9740.

Our tour leaders are Spencer Howard, partner with Artifacts Consulting, along with Marygrace Jennings, Cultural Resource Manager, Nick Cockrell, Asset Manager and Judy Torfin, Administrative Assistant, all with the Washington State Department of General Administration. According to the Cultural Landscape Foundation, “Undertaken by the State of Washington in 1909, Northern State Hospital was constructed as a state of the art, self-sustaining occupational therapy and treatment facility for the mentally ill. Masterfully designed by the Olmsted Brothers, the site included patient and staff housing, a dedicated reservoir, lumber mill, quarry, steam plant, and more than 700 acres of farming and livestock operations. The hospital ended operations in 1973 and, today, the Washington State Department of General Administration and Skagit County are stewards of the site, and has converted the agricultural area into the Northern State Recreation Area. A renewed interest in the site has local officials and community members pushing for a sensitive adaptive reuse.”

The 700 acre farm and forest land was transferred solely to Skagit County in 1992, and the 225-acre main hospital campus continues to be managed by the Washington State Department of General Administration with most of the buildings still in use. The Department of General Administration has declared the Hospital Campus property as surplus, and is in the process of evaluating options to transfer ownership. While the campus and some of the adjacent farmland have recently been listed as a Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places, this designation confers no protections on the property. Earlier this year, the property was identified by Washington Trust for Historic Preservation as one of 2011 Most Endangered Historic Properties in Washington, having been nominated by FSOP. This is an opportunity to visit a unique Olmsted landscape with expert tour guides. Please join us!

Directions to the Northern State Hospital:
24909 Hub Drive
Sedro Woolley, WA 98284
Head north on I-5 N
Take Exit 232, Cook Road exit, just past Chuckanut Drive
Head east on Cook Rd until you reach the intersection of Hwy 20 and Cook Rd.
Take a left on Hwy 20 and proceed east on Hwy 20 about ½ mile past the AM/PM
Turn left onto Fruitdale Road at the light.
North Cascades Gateway Center will be your first turn on the right. Upon entering campus bear left on Northern State Rd.
Turn right onto Hub Drive. The Hub/Theater Conference Center is on the left half way down Hub Drive.
The parking lot is just beyond the Hub Building, on the left.

SAVE THE DATE!

Calling everyone interested in Historic Preservation in the Pacific Northwest! Please attend this important “Kick Off” meeting for the National Preservation Conference to be held in Spokane in 2012.  As many as 2,000 people from all over the country will visit our region—many for the first time. Professionals, advocates, academics, marketers, volunteers: Your input is needed!

• Meet    representatives from the National Trust for Historic Preservation
• Learn    how to get involved and shape this important conference
• Provide   your input on potential tours, events and activities
• Help   our region host an excellent National Preservation Conference

Tuesday, August 30^th

The Bing Crosby Theater

901 W Sprague Ave

4:30 – 6:00 pm

Refreshments will be served

 

Please RSVP to Jennifer McWilliams:

jmcwilliams@spokanecity.org   –   509-625-6985

The Washington State Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation (DAHP) announced today that applications to request funding through the Heritage Barn Rehabilitation Grant Program are available.  Part of the state’s Heritage Barn Preservation Initiative established in 2007, the grant program assists with rehabilitation projects designed to stabilize and preserve designated Heritage Barns across the state.

Since the program’s inception, Heritage Barn Grant funding has provided assistance to 32 Heritage Barns throughout Washington.  “This program has helped people save barns that otherwise would have been gone forever,” states Jerri Honeyford, Chair of the Barn Advisory Committee that oversees the initiative.  “We owe a debt of gratitude to those barn owners who, through dedication and significant personal expense, continue to provide stewardship for our treasured agricultural heritage.”

Rehabilitation grants are awarded through a competitive application process: in two funding rounds, the Barn Advisory Committee has reviewed over one hundred seventy grant applications.  Criteria for funding include, but are not limited to, the historical significance of the barn, urgency of needed repairs, and provision for long-term preservation.  Priority is given to barns that remain in agricultural use.

“The Heritage Barn Preservation Initiative has been a popular and successful program for our agency,” noted Dr. Allyson Brooks, director of the State Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation.  “With 457 designated Heritage Barns located across all 39 counties statewide, the program has effectively raised awareness about the challenges facing historic barns while encouraging many owners to embark on their own barn rehabilitation projects independent of the grant program.”

Historic agricultural structures listed in the Heritage Barn Register, the Washington Heritage Register, or the National Register of Historic Places, are eligible to receive grant funds.  To be eligible for listing in the Heritage Barn Register, barns must be over 50 years old and retain a significant degree of historic integrity.  All nomination/application materials related to the Heritage Barn Register and the Heritage Barn Rehabilitation Grant Program can be downloaded from DAHP’s website at www.dahp.wa.gov.  Barn owners with questions about the program are encouraged to contact Chris Moore at (206) 624-9449 or via email at cmoore@preservewa.org.  Grant applications are due on Monday, October 17^th 2011, with grant awards slated to be announced in early December 2011.

The National Preservation Institute, a nonprofit organization founded in 1980, educates those involved in the management, preservation, and stewardship of our cultural heritage. The 2011-2012 National Preservation Institute seminar schedule is available online at www.npi.org. The 2011-2012 NPI News Release includes the calendar and seminar descriptions – www.npi.org/NewsRelease2011-12.pdf.

Advance registration rate available through August 2, 2011

Manito Park, Spokane

Landscape Preservation: An Introduction

Seattle, WA — September 13-14, 2011

in cooperation with the National Park Service, Pacific West Region

In this introduction to the basics of cultural landscapes, learn about designed, vernacular, and ethnographic landscapes, and historic sites. Review applicable laws and regulations, and discuss how to identify and inventory character-defining features of a landscape. Explore the concepts of preservation planning and documentation, and the development of the cultural landscape report for use in managing historic and cultural landscapes. Case studies illustrate realistic approaches to effective landscape management and preservation. An agenda is available online at www.npi.org.

Instructor. Nancy J. Brown, ASLA, historical landscape architect, experience with National Park Service, Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation, and University of Virginia; currently at the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; specialist in cultural landscapes and Section 106

AIA/CES and LA/CES. This seminar meets the criteria for programs in the American Institute of Architects and the American Society of Landscape Architects Continuing Education Systems. AIA and ASLA members will receive 6 learning units each day.

Registration. A registration form is available online at www.npi.org/register.html. The advance registration rate is available through August 2—$450 (2 days). The regular registration rate after that date is $500.

Questions? Please contact us. Thank you.

Jere Gibber

Executive Director

National Preservation Institute

P.O. Box 1702, Alexandria, VA 22313

703/765-0100; 703/768-9350 fax

info@npi.org; http://www.npi.org

USLSSHA 15th Conference and Meeting
Newport, Oregon
September 28 – October 1, 2011
www.uslife-savingservice.org/annual_meeting

The U.S. Life-Saving Service Heritage Association will be meeting in Newport, Oregon for its 15th annual conference.  All members of the association and those interested in the history of the U.S. Life-Saving Service and the U.S. Coast Guard are invited to attend.  We will be based on Newport’s working waterfront, anchoring the east end with the Yaquina Bay Coast Guard Station at the west end.

The Oregon Coast History Center’s Pacific Maritime Heritage Center will be the base of operations for the conference.  The principal hotels will be The Embarcadero and The Landing, a pleasant stroll of about 2000 feet along the marina from the Heritage Center.  We have included an option this year of attending Friday only for those who can’t make the whole conference.  Below is a general schedule of events:

Wednesday, September 28
Afternoon Board of Directors meeting

Thursday, September 29
Morning Presentations of local history and local Life-Saving Service and Coast Guard History
Afternoon Tours of Yaquina Head Lighthouse and Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, the only lighthouse to be used as a life-saving station in the U.S.

Friday, September 30
Morning Presentations by Tim Dring, Shanna Stevenson, Dennis Noble, and Mike Carlson
Afternoon Presentation by BMCM Thomas McAdams
Tour of Coast Guard Station Yaquina Bay

Saturday, October 1
Morning Yaquina Bay tour on USCG Victory 52312
Afternoon USLSSHA Membership meeting
Tour of Coast Guard Station Depoe Bay
Evening Membership dinner and raffle

Sunday, October 2 OPTIONAL
Open houses of the Tillamook Bay Life-Saving Station at Barview and the Tillamook Bay Coast Guard Station at Garibaldi. Tour on your own.

Monday, October 3 OPTIONAL
Bus tour of Astoria-area USCG sites & museums at additional cost, reservation required.

For further information, visit our website at www.uslife-savingservice.org/annual_meeting. A full-conference brochure, including costs and registration form, is available on the website.  If you have questions, send an email to conference@uslife-savingservice.org or call 781-724-7131.

You are cordially invited to the Wilder & White Capitol Design Centennial!  In 1911, architects Harry Wilder and Walter White won the design competition for our state’s capitol.  We’re celebrating this centennial with events that highlight the beauty and grandeur of our Capitol group and grounds.

The opening ceremony will take place on Wednesday, August 3^rd at 5:30 PM, on the north side of the Temple of Justice.  Guest speakers include Secretary of State Sam Reed, Professor Norm Johnston, former Secretary of State Ralph Munro and Senator Karen Fraser.  “Wilder” & “White” will be dedicating a sign to commemorate the design of the campus and Justice Alexander will welcome guests to join the Capital Furnishings Preservation Committee Silent Auction and BBQ, beginning at 6:30 PM inside the Temple of Justice.

Festivities continue on Sunday, August 7^th at 2:00 PM on the lawn of the Capitol Campus.  Music, grounds and building tours, children’s games and activities with the Hands on Children’s Museum are sure to entertain and educate.  At 5:00 PM, the Olympia Symphony Orchestra will perform their 5^th Annual Capitol Campus Concert.

The State Capital Museum’s ongoing summer lecture series will conclude with “Capitol Campus:  Architectural Oddities and Ornamentations” at 12:00 PM on August 1^st.  At the State Capital Museum on August 5^th, the Marx Brothers film “Night at the Opera,” beginning at 9:00 PM.  On August 6^th from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, the State Capital Museum is hosting Family Activity Day with hands-on activities for all.

From August 1^st through August 7^th, the four corner offices at the Legislative Building will have four different displays commemorating the design competition and Wilder & White-themed building tours will occur on the hour beginning at 10:00 AM.

We look forward to seeing you there!

 

The Vernacular Architecture Forum invites paper proposals for its Annual Meeting in Madison, Wisconsin, June 6-10, 2012.  Papers may address vernacular and everyday buildings, sites, or cultural landscapes worldwide. Submissions on all vernacular topics are welcome, but we encourage papers that explore topics related to the following conference themes:  the relationship between rural landscapes and regional urban centers; placemaking as it pertains to the relationship between work and home; regional trends in modernism (particularly in the Upper Midwest); ethnicity and heritage preservation; and evolution of Midwestern rural buildings and landscapes.  We particularly welcome papers that explore the relationship of environmental history and cultural landscapes around these themes.  Papers should be twenty minutes in length, although proposals for complete sessions, roundtable discussions, or other innovative means that facilitate scholarly discourse are also welcome.

 

Proposals must be one page, fewer than 400 words, and include paper title, author’s name, and email address. You may include up to two images with your submission.  Please state clearly the argument of the paper and explain the methodology and content.  Attach a one-page CV to your proposal submission. The deadline for proposals is September 12, 2011.

 

Presenters must deliver their papers in person and be VAF members at the time of the conference. Speakers who do not register for the conference by April 1, 2012 will be withdrawn. Please do not submit an abstract if you are not committed to attending the papers session on Saturday June 9.  There may be limited financial assistance, in the form of Presenter’s Fellowships, to offset registration costs to students and recent graduates.

 

Electronic submissions of proposals and CVs in Word format are preferred. Please send email proposals to Andrew Dolkart at  asd3@columbia.edu  or hard copies to:

 

Andrew Dolkart:

Columbia University School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation

413 Avery Hall

New York, NY 10027

 

For general information about the Madison conference, please contact:

 

Anna Vemer Andrzejewski

Department of Art History & the Buildings-Landscapes Cultures Program

University of Wisconsin-Madison

avandrzejews@wisc.edu

 

Or check the VAF website:

http://www.vafweb.org

http://www.vafweb.org/conferences/2012/cfp.html

Overview of Brick and CMU Design and Construction

Join the Masonry Institute of Washington for a presentation covering the fundamentals of designing and constructing brick and CMU buildings. Aesthetic, functional and code issues will all be covered with a focus on properly designing and detailing an energy-efficient, weather-resistant masonry building. Specification of masonry materials will also be covered, as well as a look at what types of brick and CMU are available on the market and how they are manufactured.

Program Learning Objectives:

– Understand the brick and CMU manufacturing processes and what products are available

– Learn to clearly specify masonry products

– Become familiar with basic masonry design principles including aesthetic and functional considerations

– Evaluate design options available to construct energy-efficient, weather-resistant walls

When:
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011
Registration: 11:45am
Presentation: 12:00pm – 1:00pm

Where:
MIW Office
10519 NE 38th Place, Building 12
Kirkland, WA 98033

Details:
Presentation/Lunch – FREE
AIA Credits – 1 CEU
Presenter – Bill Thordarson;
Mutual Materials Company

To register, email us at www.MasonryInstitute.com | www.MasonryDetails.com

Overview of Brick and CMU Design and Construction

Join the Masonry Institute of Washington for a presentation covering the fundamentals of designing and constructing brick and CMU buildings. Aesthetic, functional and code issues will all be covered with a focus on properly designing and detailing an energy-efficient, weather-resistant masonry building. Specification of masonry materials will also be covered, as well as a look at what types of brick and CMU are available on the market and how they are manufactured.

Program Learning Objectives:

– Understand the brick and CMU manufacturing processes and what products are available

– Learn to clearly specify masonry products

– Become familiar with basic masonry design principles including aesthetic and functional considerations

– Evaluate design options available to construct energy-efficient, weather-resistant walls

When:
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011
Registration: 11:45am
Presentation: 12:00pm – 1:00pm

Where:
MIW Office
10519 NE 38th Place, Building 12
Kirkland, WA 98033

Details:
Presentation/Lunch – FREE
AIA Credits – 1 CEU
Presenter – Bill Thordarson;
Mutual Materials Company

To register, email us at www.MasonryInstitute.com | www.MasonryDetails.com

August 13, 9am-4pm, $30 public/$25 members of heritage groups

Meets in Mt. Vernon
RSVP 425-530-2722
Discover the heritage and the architecture many miss as they drive up I-5.  We will tour Mt. Vernons “Mainstreet” and enjoy a box lunch presentation before visiting a historic home district and local heritage barn.

David Chrisman

Program Director

HistoricEverett.org

425.530.2722

chrisman333@hotmail.com