After a brief hiatus, I bring a question to my blog readers about a historic school building located at 12th and W. Canfield in Detroit. One of my readers asked how they could go about purchasing a loft unit there? As of yet, I’ve heard nothing about redevelopment of the school. It is an interesting … Read more
Detroit lost Beatrice Buck this past Saturday, when she died at the age of 77 at Harper Hospital. In her life she strove to make the heritage of Detroit accessible through live theatrical performances. Her play “Paradise Revisited” focused on Paradise Valley, a district of restaurants, shops, nightclubs, and hotels in an area named Black … Read more
The nation of Libya is making efforts to preserve Greek ruins of Cyrene along the Mediterranean coast. Apparently among the objectives of the project are to make this a carbon neutral zone. This is particularly important as this is one of the last natural landscapes along the Mediterranean with several species that cannot be found … Read more
The Mortuary Science building in Detroit which has been converted to lofts certainly would qualify… “According to Dalton Conley, the chairman of New York University’s sociology department, whose upcoming book “The Elsewhere Society” (Pantheon, 2008) touches on redevelopment, residents feeling comfortable in places with intimidating history is not surprising. “Maybe there’s a certain psychological type … Read more
The Gibraltar Historical Society recently received some nice coverage in the Detroit Free Press. The article talks about the work of Debbie Davenport, a student in the historic preservation program at Eastern Michigan, helping to connect people with the local history there – especially as it relates to Prohibition and bootlegging. Because of the proximity … Read more
Buffalo will host the National Trust for Historic Preservation Annual Conference in 2011. Buffalo has benefitted from an increasing amount of attention in preservation-led regeneration efforts there. Successful preservation of several landmark buildings, including Sullivan’s Guaranty Building, as well as a substantial collection of intact buildings by leading national architects, makes Buffalo a particularly attractive … Read more
Detroit has a well-deserved reputation internationally as being a capitol of innovation. From the much touted innovations of industrial pioneer Henry Ford and his architect Albert Kahn, to serving as the “Arsenal of Democracy” helping America get through World War II, to the innovative sounds of Motown singers and other performers to follow like Madonna, … Read more
This article led me to a powerful new application from Google in fifteen cities that provides a street view. If you go to maps.google.com and select “street view” on the mapping screen and then click anywhere with an outline in blue, you are taken to the street view window which lets you move about. Very … Read more
Ran across this website, thanks to an article in the Port Huron Times New Herald. Not only does this site show an interest in preservation, it uses technology to raise awareness of an often undervalued building type – bridges. http://www.historicbridges.org/ Student fights to save old, forgotten bridges By BOBBY AMPEZZAN Times Herald When it comes … Read more
The MotorCities Automotive National Heritage Area has apparently made a bid to take over management of the dream cruise. In addition to the $400,000 that they might bring to expand the event, an additional $300,000 may be available through the Preserve America program of which Ferndale is the only community along Woodward eligible to apply … Read more