Urban Planners/Historic Preservation!

[plantationcatt]

So when reading the Guy "in waiting" thread, I noticed that there were three of us with the same degree--I''m at East Carolina getting my BS in Urban and Regional Planning, with a concentration in Historic Preservation. Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to save old buildings! I just wanted to see who else around here was in a related field! It''s not common around here at all!!!

 

[ep6585]

I''m not in that line of work but I am in the process of buying and renovating an 1890''s Victorian house. It needs a total renovation makeover.

 

[plantationcatt]

I have always wanted to renovate a house for personal use. I would love to see pictures of the process--are you doing it alone or having contractors come in--and how much are you sticking to the original house as opposed to modernization? Where is the house, if you don''t mind me asking? I''m just so passionate, it''s hard to get me to stop talking about this stuff!

 

[ep6585]

The house is in Georgetown, KY. We plan to have a contractor do the major stuff...wiring, plumbing, HVAC, etc. We''re gonna do the plaster, painting, floors, landscaping, and other cosmetic stuff.

 

[ep6585]

Here''s an inside shot of the house. It needs a lot of work.

 

[MissAva]

Oh MY! I love the balusters, and the newel post…that wood work is amazing!

 

[ep6585]

Here''s another outside shot:

 

[ep6585]

Another shot looking down the stairs. The house has six fireplaces, hardwood floors, pocket doors, and several stained glass windows. It needs a lot of TLC.

 

[sunkist]

Ooo EP what a beautiful house!

Plantation, I saw your post over in Argh''s thread and I ran over here (hehe, ran? on the website??) to Hangout to see if you''d started it! I''m in a Masters program for Urban and Regional Planning at UC Irvine. I''m focusing on urban design/environmental design and behavior. I did psychology as my undergrad so I really want to blend the two. I''m almost done with my program, 10 more weeks! How about you?

 

[mrssalvo]

wow ep...that house is just amazing. they surely don''t build them like that anymore. that staircase is just divine. 6 fireplace

be still my heart

. you''ll have to post progress shots and then pictures when it''s done. I''m sure it will be amazing.

 

[MINE!!]

Date: 4/7/2006 1:31:26 AM
Author:plantationcatt
So when reading the Guy ''in waiting'' thread, I noticed that there were three of us with the same degree--I''m at East Carolina getting my BS in Urban and Regional Planning, with a concentration in Historic Preservation. Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to save old buildings! I just wanted to see who else around here was in a related field! It''s not common around here at all!!!

ECU?

 

[plantationcatt]

That house is amazing. It will be a tremendous project and success! I can tell by the linoelum that the previous owners didn''t know what they were doing! Looks like 1970''s from a distance! I bet there is good hardwood floor under there (at least I hope!) And six fireplaces, wow. Don''t fill them in, my parents did that with three out of four and they really regret that! Please keep us updated with the progess with pictures. I only wish I was closer, I would come help you! Large old houses are like mysteries waiting to be unfolded. They tell you their own story without words.


MINE!!--yes, ECU!

 

[plantationcatt]

sunkist, I''m hoping to be done in December, I''m still working out the logistics of registration and making sure they''re offering what I need to graduate. After that I might persue an internship or a full time position, whatever comes open. I want to stay in eastern NC so my options will be very limited! If you want to move out here we should open a firm (Gosh, I wish I had the experience to do that right out of school). I may eventually get a masters in preservation, but a lot of people in preservation have told me that two years in the field will serve me better than two years in school--since salaried positions are so low anyways!

 

[ep6585]

Date: 4/7/2006 8:06:39 PM
Author: plantationcatt
That house is amazing. It will be a tremendous project and success! I can tell by the linoelum that the previous owners didn''t know what they were doing! Looks like 1970''s from a distance! I bet there is good hardwood floor under there (at least I hope!) And six fireplaces, wow. Don''t fill them in, my parents did that with three out of four and they really regret that! Please keep us updated with the progess with pictures. I only wish I was closer, I would come help you! Large old houses are like mysteries waiting to be unfolded. They tell you their own story without words.


MINE!!--yes, ECU!

The kitchen and bathrooms are the only rooms with linoelum. The rest of the house has hardwood floors that have at times been covered with carpet. The house has been in bad shape for at least the last 10 to 15 years. It''s not currently in a liveable condition.

 

[MINE!!]

Date: 4/7/2006 8:06:39 PM
Author: plantationcatt
That house is amazing. It will be a tremendous project and success! I can tell by the linoelum that the previous owners didn't know what they were doing! Looks like 1970's from a distance! I bet there is good hardwood floor under there (at least I hope!) And six fireplaces, wow. Don't fill them in, my parents did that with three out of four and they really regret that! Please keep us updated with the progess with pictures. I only wish I was closer, I would come help you! Large old houses are like mysteries waiting to be unfolded. They tell you their own story without words.



MINE!!--yes, ECU!

Taken any of Tilley or Proko. classes yet?
Or is the Preservation part of the Planning dept?

 

[honeybee]

Date: 4/7/2006 1:31:26 AM
Author:plantationcatt
So when reading the Guy ''in waiting'' thread, I noticed that there were three of us with the same degree--I''m at East Carolina getting my BS in Urban and Regional Planning, with a concentration in Historic Preservation. Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to save old buildings! I just wanted to see who else around here was in a related field! It''s not common around here at all!!!

My boyfriend and his family are very involved in urban and regional planning in my neck of the woods. (Central California) A lot of it is downtown revitilization stuff (trying to make a hip sustainable downtown while maintaining historical integrity kind of stuff) Its really difficult in this area b/c alot of people don''t see the value of "saving" certain areas, but its rewarding when you can do something cool. My BF has a degree in business entrprenuership and works for a developer, but does historic downtown stuff as a hobby (ie we live and breathe it), His brother is getting the same degree that you are, and his cousin has been very successful in starting an artist community in our local downtown and has been able to develop quite a few gallery spaces, create a monthly evening art tour,and even turned an old rundown warehouse into arists studios, all while maintaining the historic buildings where these are housed. I personally am a nursing student, but having lived in different cities w/ thriving downtowns i appreciate the value of people such as yourself, god knows our towns would be much more attractive if we had more of them.

 

[plantationcatt]

MINE--actually, I have a Tilley exam on Thursday, and it is going to kick my butt! Pray for me, it''s being co-taught so we are getting two exams, one by a history professor and one by an architect! Fun class (Preservation Planning) but loads of reading.

honeybee--I love downtown revitalization, it is amazing how a city (or tiny town) can come to life when they take advantage of the resources they already have!

ep6585--how''s the house coming?

 

[gailrmv]

Plantationcatt,
You have probably already done this, but if not, you''d probably enjoy a field trip to some of the older neighborhoods in Raleigh! There is a lot of preservation/renovation going on there now. There is also an interesting builder, Preservation Homes, that is building new homes as exact replicas of historic bungalows. The bungalow is my favorite house style. I hope to have one some day, but if possible, would want to renovate before I moved in, because I imagine it is hard to do all the work while you are living there!
Good luck with your studies, sounds like a neat field.

 

[lmurden]

My fiancé got his Masters in Urban Planning at Univ. of MD and hated being a planner. The only preservation that he did was keeping certain neighborhoods keep their historical integrity. He mainly worked with the community and building boy and girl club and senior citizen housing.
The upside is that he had made a career change and is very happy as Superintendent in Construction. I will see if he wants to chime in later.

Good luck with school!!

 

[MINE!!]

Date: 4/28/2006 10:36:15 PM
Author: plantationcatt
MINE--actually, I have a Tilley exam on Thursday, and it is going to kick my butt! Pray for me, it''s being co-taught so we are getting two exams, one by a history professor and one by an architect! Fun class (Preservation Planning) but loads of reading.


honeybee--I love downtown revitalization, it is amazing how a city (or tiny town) can come to life when they take advantage of the resources they already have!


ep6585--how''s the house coming?

Good Luck to you!! I never had Tilley.. avoided him like the plague!!! Ugh.....!!!

I have a few friends in his class that were talking about having to have the 2 exams. They were saying that the architect was even worse cause.... He wants to soudn smart? Or be hard? Or something like that. I have my final on the 5th and I grad. on the 6th.. so I am feeling you.

Small world huh? BTW.. Hubby is a prof in the dept.

 

[lmurden]

My finance wants to chime in on this housing market.

worked in the field for many years as a construction superintendent....I've dealt with several programs that deal with historic preservation and have worked on these projects...It's a very interesting field.., and very challanging. If you have questions I can probably answer them.

 

[ep6585]

Date: 4/28/2006 10:36:15 PM
Author: plantationcatt
MINE--actually, I have a Tilley exam on Thursday, and it is going to kick my butt! Pray for me, it''s being co-taught so we are getting two exams, one by a history professor and one by an architect! Fun class (Preservation Planning) but loads of reading.

honeybee--I love downtown revitalization, it is amazing how a city (or tiny town) can come to life when they take advantage of the resources they already have!

ep6585--how''s the house coming?

We haven''t closed on the house yet. We were supposed to close on Thursday (4/27) but the crazy tenant hasn''t gotten out yet. She said she''d be out by the end of the month. We hope to close sometime this week.

 

[ep6585]

Date: 5/1/2006 3:46:11 PM
Author: SanDiegoLady

Date: 4/7/2006 12:04:47 PM
Author: ep6585
The house is in Georgetown, KY. We plan to have a contractor do the major stuff...wiring, plumbing, HVAC, etc. We''re gonna do the plaster, painting, floors, landscaping, and other cosmetic stuff.

btw.. I apologize for not remarking on the house, its awesome... I love it. I can totally see the staircase decorated for the holidays..

Thanks. My guess is it''ll be the first part of 2007 before we''ll be able to move in. It''ll look great for Christmas ''07.

 

[ep6585]

We closed on the house on 5/5 and we''ve started working on it. It needs a lot of work.

Here''s a picture of me removing an old dropped ceiling from the dining room.

 

[ep6585]

Date: 5/9/2006 11:33:14 AM
Author: ep6585
We closed on the house on 5/5 and we''ve started working on it. It needs a lot of work.

Here''s a picture of me removing an old dropped ceiling from the dining room.

 

[sunkist]

Oh wow! So do you mean you are raising the ceilings? or are you just replacing it?

 

[ep6585]

Date: 5/9/2006 10:01:53 PM
Author: sunkist
Oh wow! So do you mean you are raising the ceilings? or are you just replacing it?

The last owner put in a dropped ceiling to cover up a problem with the ceiling plaster. We took it down and plan to restore the plaster. The ceilings are all 10 feet high.

 

[sunkist]

I see, that will be beautiful then! Have fun! I don''t understand how home owners can buy a beautiful historic home and cover up it''s beauties with lowered ceilings, carpet or linoleum over wood floors, etc. To me it''s sacriledge!

 

[ep6585]

Date: 5/9/2006 11:09:50 PM
Author: sunkist
I see, that will be beautiful then! Have fun! I don''t understand how home owners can buy a beautiful historic home and cover up it''s beauties with lowered ceilings, carpet or linoleum over wood floors, etc. To me it''s sacriledge!

Yeah, the first thing we did was to remove all the carpet, linoleum, and other crap that the previous owners added to cover up the original house.

 

[plantationcatt]

Sorry I disappeared! Exams and then a trip to see family....


Dropped ceilings are one of my biggest pet peeves!

gailrmv--I haven''t been to the older section of Raleigh in years, but I would love to. I''m hoping to make some field trips over the weekends this summer and just photograph for my own amusement. I looked at the Preservation Homes website--that is really interesting! I wonder how many of their clients were torn between a replica and the real thing! I''ll have to follow them and see how they do.

lmurden--I also hate a majority of things that urban planners do--but I think with the background I can try to make a positive change in the job. Tell your fiance I appreciate the honesty and will keep him in mind if I have any questions!

SanDiegoLady--I read your post and then never got around to writing back. It is stories like these that really fuel my fire for preservation. Such a unique building sometimes makes it hard to adaptively reuse, but it sounds like they''ve found a good match! The picture does it justice!

This thread is great, yall!