Funds Available for Battlefield Site Conservation Projects

Thanks to Nancy Finegood at the Michigan Historic Preservation Network for sending us the information noted below.

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The American Battlefield Protection Program, administered by the National Park Service, provides seed money for the protection of battlefield sites, and sites associated with battlefields, that are located on American soil and/or within U.S. territorial waters. Grants of up to $80,000 are awarded to projects initiated by nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and/or government agencies.

Eligible project types include: site identification and documentation, planning and consensus building, and interpretation and education. (Projects associated with lands already owned by the National Park Service are not eligible for support.)

Applications sent by mail must be postmarked by January 2, 2010.

Applications sent by express delivery service or hand-delivered by the applicant must be received by 4:00 p.m. on January 21, 2010.

Visit the NPS web site to download the application guidelines and forms.

The List – Week of October 18, 2009

The List is the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office’s weekly news round-up of historic preservation (and related) news from throughout the state. A more robust version is available through the SHPO’s listserv.

You can subscribe to the listserv by visiting our web site, or by sending us an email.

As always we welcome your comments and contributions.

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Odd couple join forces for schools 

Holt resident earns state leadership award

Sponseller, Westbrook to sign book about one-room schools – Mount Pleasant

Historic preservation rewarded – Traverse City

LANSING: Mt. Hope cemetery gets recognized for its history

Mount Hope Cemetery gets historic marker – Lansing

Former Coast Guard cutter moved to Manistee

Living in Paradise – Detroit

Last call?: A beautiful old bar with a storied past hangs in limbo – Detroit

The Newly Historic Ranch-Houses

Communications tower objection dropped – St. Joseph

Old barns get new attention

Historic Red Ribbon Hall available – Eaton Rapids

A concrete landscape: At McCourtie Park, what looks real are actually unique sculptures – Somerset Center

Officials lobby for Kronk Village project – Detroit

A year in the life of revamped Book Cadillac Hotel – Detroit

Designing for High and Low

Larry Wilson: Disputes over modern architecture will never get old

L.A. City Council to consider historic landmark status for Century Plaza Hotel today [Updated]

Take the SHPO GIS Survey

The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), in partnership with the Michigan Department of Transportation, is working to replace its current database with a new database and Geographic Information System (GIS). This new database and GIS will allow SHPO staff to better manage and analyze our data internally, and will allow us to collect and share data online more quickly and efficiently. We anticipate that this will revolutionize all of our programs, but in particular the Section 106 environmental review process.

The purpose of this survey is to solicit input from Michigan’s historic preservation community regarding the current and potential use of GIS. Our assumption is that some respondents will have experience in the use of GIS, but most will not. Simply gauging the current level of GIS expertise within the preservation community is valuable in itself.

Information gathered in this survey will be incorporated into our GIS project planning documents. However, none of this information will be linked to individual respondents. The exception is those respondents who volunteer their name and email address for additional consultation with SHPO staff.

IP addresses will NOT be collected.

This survey was created by SHPO staff. For additional information, please contact us at 517.373.1630 or send us an email.

Click HERE to be taken to the survey.

THIS SURVEY WILL REMAIN OPEN FOR A TWO-WEEK PERIOD, FROM FRIDAY, 30 OCTOBER, 2009, THROUGH MONDAY, 16 NOVEMBER, 2009.

Thank you for your assistance!

You’re invited to a “Hard Hat House Party” in Lansing!

The information below was sent to us by Nancy Finegood from the Michigan Historic Preservation Network.

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The Public is invited to a “Hard Hat House Party.” If you missed the tour of the ‘Twin Houses’ last year, you have another opportunity on November 7, 2009.

Who: Enthusiastically co-sponsored by the Michigan Historic Preservation Network, and the Allen Neighborhood Center.

What: Take a tour of twin houses built side by side in 1915, on the Eastside of Lansing. 139 Leslie Street has been totally restored by local builder Dave Muylle and is an energy star rated project. 141 Leslie Street is totally gutted and under reconstruction. See the before and after on the same day!

When: Saturday, November 7, 2009 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Drop in anytime.

Where: Leslie Street runs south off Michigan Avenue two streets west of Clemens Street. (map)

Why: To give citizens an opportunity to visit an ongoing house restoration/preservation project. This is a great chance to ask experts about the details of preservation and sustainability as it relates to old houses and neighborhoods.

Cost: Donations of between $5.00 and $50,000 will be cheerfully accepted at the door. Milk and cookies will be abundant.

HPF Full Funding Campaign Underway

The federal Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) provides funding for SHPOs, THPOs, Save America’s Treasures, and Preserve America. A PDF that provides an overview of the HPF can be downloaded here.

The campaign for permanent and full funding of the Historic Preservation Fund was officially launched last week at the National Trust’s 2009 annual conference in Nashville!

Hundreds of buttons and postcards were distributed and people were encouraged to have their preservation organization join the coalition.

Visits to the campaign web site increased significantly this week and so far 15 additional organizations from around the country have joined the effort.

The goal is to collect hundreds of organizational supporters, so please encourage any preservation or preservation related organization you work with to join the coalition by adding their name to our list of organizational supporters. They can do so by sending an email to: coalition@fullyfundhpf.org

Additional details can be found on the web site.

This Saturday (Oct. 24): Fort Park Ghost Walking Tour

The information below comes from the Lincoln Park Preservation Alliance.

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Fort Park Ghost Walking Tour

October 19, 2009 – Lincoln Park, MI – This Saturday, October 24, 2009, at 7:30 PM the Lincoln Park Preservation Alliance will be conducting their Fort Park Ghost Walking Tour. This is the second year of the successful walking tour. The walking tour is a collection of ghostly stories collected about the homes, businesses and other public buildings along one of Lincoln Park’s oldest streets – Fort Park Boulevard.

Participants are asked to meet at the Lincoln Park Historical Museum parking lot at 1335 Southfield Road, corner of Fort Park, Lincoln Park. A donation is requested for the tour. The Lincoln Park Preservation Alliance will also be selling hot cider and baked goods items. They will also have orange glow necklaces and Halloween light up pins for sale for $2.00 each or two for $3.00. Also on hand will be a magician doing a magician show. In addition, the magician will be available to do card readings for a fee. The tour is being sponsored by Clemente’s Restaurant, Lincoln Park Tim Horton’s and Park Restaurant.

The Lincoln Park Preservation Alliance is a non-profit 501c3 organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of Lincoln Park’s historic resources, working to protect Lincoln Park’s historic sites through education, advocacy, research, tours, workshops, and lectures. The alliance also has got the former Lincoln Park Post Office, now Lincoln Park Historical Museum, and the Mellus Newspapers Building on the National Register of Historic Places. They are also the author of the Arcadia Publishing book ‘Lincoln Park.’

Contact Leslie Lynch-Wilson, at the Lincoln Park Preservation Alliance, for more information.

Historic Bridge Preservation Workshop

The information below is from the Lansing Community College web site.

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Preservation of Historic Iron and Steel in Bridges and Other Metal Structures

March 8 -10, 2010
Lansing Community College, Lansing, Michigan (map)

“Lansing Community College in Lansing, Michigan, is presenting a three-day workshop on March 8, 9 and 10, 2010, to introduce a wide variety of interested personnel, including State Historic Preservation officers, Department of Transportation officials, engineers, engineering students, general contractors, and historic bridge preservationists, to restoration processes of historic metals using electric arc welding, heat straightening, and hot riveting processes. Funded in part by a grant from the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training.”

Additional conference, scholarship, and registration information can be found here.

Michigan Archaeological Society Upper Grand Valley Chapter October Meeting

The information below was provided by the Michigan Archaeological Society Upper Grand Valley Chapter.

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Archaeology at Yellowstone Lake Hotel

Presented by: Megan McCullen

October 21, 2009, 6:30 p.m.
Baker Hall, Room 454, Michigan State University

Most archaeologists associate Yellowstone National Park with Obsidian Cliff, one of the finest sources of obsidian in North America.  Having been established as the first U.S. National Park in 1872, however, Yellowstone holds a unique place within our national history.  As noted in the recent PBS Series “The National Parks: Our Nation’s Best Idea”, much of the history of park infrastructure is tied into other economic and industrial concerns.  This presentation will discuss the creation of a tourism trade in Yellowstone National Park in the early 20th century.  It will include information on the excavation and analysis of a midden uncovered behind the Yellowstone Lake Hotel in 2000.  This midden gives insight into the renovations that occurred at the Hotel around 1920, along with the tendencies of hotel guests and/or staff.

Update on the Mellus Newspapers Building in Lincoln Park

The information below was sent to us from Leslie Lynch Wilson at the Lincoln Park Preservation Alliance.

 

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Lincoln Park, MI – October 8, 2009 – Lincoln Park’s Downtown Development Authority (DDA) accepted a proposal tonight to demolish the Mellus Newspapers Building (map). The Mellus Newspapers Building, built 1941, is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Mellus Newspapers, owned by William S. Mellus, was home to the local newspapers of the Downriver communities. The building is a wonderful example of streamline moderne architecture.

One last ditch to save the Mellus Newspapers Building. Perhaps I’ve talked to you about the building. If not, I am including you on this email so that you can become aware of my fight to save this historic 1941 building.

I might be too late because our DDA approved a demolition bid Thursday evening to demolish this building and the one next to it. However, I heard today that it is not a done deal until the contract is signed. Additional news is that there is a developer that has been trying to connect up with our DDA and city on the buildings. DDA chairperson says there’s still time for them or anyone else to contact her on the building. Thus, if you are interested or if you know of someone interested in buying this historic building please let me know. There are incentives available for Mellus since it is on the National Register of Historic Places. Actually it is two buildings as a package deal. The DDA bought them for $90,000 earlier in the year and I understand that they are willing to take a loss. And then while someone is buying buildings, the DDA also owns a 3rd building at 1673 Fort Street (map), of which, we call Dorsey Building because Dorsey Schools previously owned. The DDA would love to sell this building too. They bought it for about $175,000 about five years ago. This building has been vacant this whole time too.

It’s a good time to buy a building in Lincoln Park. The DDA is working on streetscape improvements such as new lighting. And the historic Park Theatre (map) will be restored and reused for loft living spaces. I am including several photos as well as links below on the fight to save Mellus as well as other great developments that are to happen on North Fort Street:

Preservation vs Demolition

Developer to save Park Theatre, create Lincoln Park Lofts

Michigan Port Collaborative Fall 2009 Summit

MICHIGAN PORT COLLABORATIVE FALL 2009 SUMMIT

WHEN
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009

WHERE
Radisson Hotel Lansing, 111 North Grand Avenue, Lansing, Michigan

COST
$40 (pre-registration through October 22, 2009)
$60 at the door

TOPICS

• Presenting Trends and Opportunities in Great Lakes Port Communities
• Showcasing Effective Regional Port Partnerships in Michigan
• Creating a Michigan Port Commmunity Designation Process
• Exploring a Support Structure for the Collaborative
• Developing and Sustaining Working Waterfronts with Recreation and Tourism
• Fostering Great Lakes Stewardship Through the Collaborative
• Discovering and Promoting Michigan’s Maritime Heritage
• Setting an Agenda for Michigan Cargo Port Communities
• Advancing the Goals of Michigan Small Harbors

ABOUT THE MICHIGAN PORT COLLABORATIVE
The mission of the Michigan Port Collaborative is to elevate the recognition and economic vitality of our state’s Great Lakes port communities. Now in its third year, the Collaborative is working to broaden its membership to include public and private sector representatives of Michigan port communities. To enrich the Summit results, each port community is encouraged to send a delegation with diverse perspectives and ideas, including elected officials, tourism, recreation, convention and visitor bureau leaders, economic development specialists, cargo shipping, ferry, marina and harbor operators, museum, lighthouse and Great Lakes underwater sanctuary and preserve leaders.

In addition to providing valuable information and experts, the Summit will unite port community leaders with their state partners to advance shared goals, explore a governance structure to sustain the Collaborative, and initiate a state and federal legislative caucus to advance the policy and funding goals of the Collaborative.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Event information, a detailed agenda, lodging and parking information, and online registration can all be found at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s Port Cities Collaborative web site.

To download a copy of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality press release for this event, click here.