In addition to providing education about preservation and advocating for buildings at risk, the Trust also directly helps maintain the character and physical integrity of historic properties. For over 50 years, the Preservation Trust has administered a Historic Structures Fund, offering matching grants up to $5,000 for rehabilitation or replacement of distinctive architectural features.
Read MoreHave you seen a classic firehouse that was turned into a residence or a restaurant? It’s likely to be an example of adaptive reuse. Adaptive reuse refers to modifying a building for a purpose other than that for which it was originally built. It is a form of recycling and an effective strategy for preserving older structures.
Read MoreSoon after its founding in 1961, Preservation Trust members commissioned a bronze Landmark Plaque and awarded the plaques to many deserving structures. As the awards program grew, it became clear that awards to individual historic properties, no matter how worthy, needed a parallel program to honor and preserve entire neighborhoods.
Read MoreNot far from downtown New Haven, located in the Dwight Street Historic District, is a one-block enclave of buildings dating to the 1880s. Lynwood Place was developed by professionals associated with local businesses and nearby Yale University and opened in 1880, on land formerly owned by the Osborne Carriage Factory on Park Street.
Read MoreWe are all familiar with the beloved story line of Victorian novels, “Rags to Riches.” Successful preservation stories often follow a different pattern, along the lines of “Riches to Rags to Riches Once More.” The restoration of the row house at 81 Pearl Street in New Haven is a wonderful example of this theme, with a story that stretches over almost 130 years.
Read MoreThe word “modern” is often used interchangeably with “new,” but “Modern” architecture represents a specific period, a moment in history that is growing ever further distant with each passing year. Modern architecture isn’t really new anymore. The familiar saying goes, “all things old are new again,” but when it comes to Modern architecture, the opposite is true.
Read MoreWhen the second hand of your analog clock clicks to the next second, change happens. This is just time. Time changes whether we want it to or not. But history, the residue of humanity's use of time, offers a measure of control, (or at least perspective) in its creation. Sometimes opportunities arise to intervene and possibly change the course of history.
Read MoreThis is a case study about a recurring preservation problem, often with an unhappy ending. This story illustrates one well-known example, but other New Haven buildings share the same fate. The Trust is developing collaborative ways to prevent further loss of the City’s historic fabric through preventable demolition.
Read MoreOne of the beauties of our architectural heritage, carefully studied, is that it can in some ways encompass a large universe for our exploration within the nutshell of its finite fabric. An example is our own Union Station, now turned 100 years old, and a living reminder of how important preservation advocacy can be.
Read MoreWe all live in our homes (more than ever these days), and we live on streets. The Kneeland Townsend house — Raynham — was built on (appropriately enough) Townsend Avenue in the Annex in 1804 by Kneeland Townsend. Townsend Avenue slides slowly downhill from I-95 to Long Island Sound, and is a true boulevard, tree-lined, wide, with highlands largely east and lowlands west.
Read MoreNew Haven is a city of wide ranging architectural styles, from early Colonial homes to Modernist masterpieces, often found side-by-side. However, some neighborhoods feature unique concentrations of certain styles. The Beaver Hills Historic District, significant for its collection of early 20th-century suburban residences, is particularly notable for the Tudor Revival houses found here. Many of these are located on Ellsworth Avenue and Colony Road.
Read MoreLocated between St. Ronan Street and Whitney Avenue, Autumn Street is an eclectic, mews-like street located in the heart of the Prospect Hill Historic District. The diverse mix of architectural styles found here tell the story of New Haven’s development within a single block.
Read MoreAfter our recent talk, Why Modern Architecture Doesn’t Matter, we asked our audience to weigh in on which of 12 unprotected modern buildings in New Haven they would regret losing. Though not under direct threat at this time, these buildings highlight the vulnerability of modern architecture. Every building we presented received votes, but a few were clear crowd favorites.
Read MoreMuch of the preservation community is talking about a proposed Executive Order insisting that future Federal buildings and monuments be designed in classical Greek or Roman style and effectively banning certain other styles. Here in New Haven, we reflect on this debate in a sophisticated urban setting of enormous variety.
Read MoreThe millennial-driven reversal of urban flight in recent years has been reflected in the market by a focus on the development of luxury housing; affordable housing in “renewed” urban areas has suffered, and familiar quagmires shaped by the resulting inequality have reared their heads.
Read MoreIn the past, historic preservation was seen as a practice only focused on grand architectural landmarks such as mansions, skyscrapers, and train stations. However, in recent years, preservationists have shifted their focus to also celebrate neighborhoods, downtowns, and even rural areas that are perhaps less grand architecturally, but no less important to our history.
Read MoreThe field of preservation as we know it today began as a reaction to post-war urban renewal policies, but the idea that our historic resources should be protected was nothing new. The passing of the Antiquities Act in 1906, formation of the National Park Service in 1916, and creation of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1949 were all important milestones in the preservation movement. However, by the mid-twentieth century, there was still not widespread public awareness for the cause of preservation.
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