Installment 2: “Honey, there’s a guy on the phone that’s going to sell us the easy life!”

Wife: The easy life?

Husband: That’s right, the easy life forever! We’ll never have to paint our house again!

Wife: Can we defer that maintenance that we know we really should be doing too?

Husband: You betcha!

Wife: How?

Husband: He says we can cover our architecturally charming little home with monochromatic plastic!
Wife: Gosh darn it honey, that’s a great solution to avoiding our problems that we know we should address but don’t really want to. I’ll go get the checkbook.

Husband: Sweetie, can you walk into our new laminator that just happens to be the same size as you? I think I left our checkbook in there.

Wife: No problem pumpkin. I’m gonna love you forever……………

I’ve been hanging out on my porch roof this weekend – scraping, fixing, sanding and priming. So please indulge me a little as I poke fun at the folks who put vinyl on my house. I believe I've earned that right.

I’ve got a coat of primer on the front gable. If time allows, I’ll get it all painted up this week. Then we’ll move on to the next section.

Here’s the full sequence of the gable being returned to its proper state.

Here’s a link to Installment 1 - the Installment that started it all.

Installment 1: Scrape it, fix it, sand it, prime it, paint it

I plan to do regular postings this summer updating the status of the exterior restoration work on my house. To bring everyone up to speed very quickly –
*I bought my house on Cedar Bough Place about four years ago
*Two years ago I removed vinyl siding – aka “the point of no return”
*I had bad luck with a contractor and the house was untouched for the first year
*I eventually said “screw it” and started doing the work myself (with a ton of help)

I truly had no idea what I was doing. I’d painted interior rooms but never had attempted anything that approached the entire exterior of a home.

I bought books, went to workshops, asked friends for advice and eventually got started. It has been maddening, frustrating, painful, and time consuming. I’ve broken windows, put holes in my roof, fallen off a ladder, and can probably set off airport metal detectors with the amount of lead paint I’ve inhaled and is in my system.

But I wouldn’t trade the experiences for anything. It’s been wonderful. I’m learning new stuff all the time.

This past weekend I started to prep the gable at the front of my house.

I’d known there were some trouble spots up there. But until you start taking the paint off, you never really know what you’re going to find.

How about a gapping hole?

After some sanding, application of wood hardener and wood epoxy, I ended up with this:

I got a coat of primer on it and will finish it up this weekend, time and weather permitting.

Stay tuned for more updates and the after pictures of the gable work.

Help Wanted – HistoricNewAlbany.Com Needs You

Be part of the team that is changing the image of New Albany one house at time! Be part of the HistoricNewAlbany.Com team!

There are multiple openings for a “House History Investigator”. Apply today!

Job Title: House History Investigator
Job Location: New Albany, Indiana

Responsibilities: The individual(s) will assist the Floyd County Historian, David Barksdale, in researching home histories for properties listed on HistoricNewAlbany.Com. Individual(s) will receive property addresses and then utilize tools available at the New Albany Floyd County Library Indiana Room to construct a history of the property for publishing on the website. Histories to include, but not limited to, original owners/builders, dates of construction, and identifying significant historical facts about residents of the home.

Qualifications: Training will be provided. Familiarity with the library a plus, but not necessary. Experience with computers also a plus – especially Microsoft Word.

Pay, Benefits, & Work Schedule
Salary – none
Benefits – personal smugness from a job well done
Work Schedule – anytime the library is open

Interested parties should contact David Barksdale at dddcbark@aol.com

Seriously, some help really is needed. The site popularity is growing and the number of listings is going up. The house histories and naming of the homes are things that help potential buyers connect with their future house. David does 99.9% of the histories and he can get behind due to his busy schedule and many other commitments. That means houses get delayed in hitting the website.

If you have the time to help, please contact him.

And don’t forget that on Tuesday May 15th – you can learn all the skills you need to research homes by attending the “Research Your Historic Home Workshop” - 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM at the New Albany – Floyd County Public Library, 180 West Spring Street, New Albany.

Reservations required: Call Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana – 812.284.4534.
Limit: 20 participants

NeighborWorks Training - Community Revitalization

In March, I had the opportunity to attend a NeighborWorks Training session at New Directions Housing Corporation. I joined a contingent of New Albanians along with about twenty five individuals from Louisville Metro neighborhoods. The training was part of series called “Community and Neighborhood Revitalization” and this was part one, “Strategies and Implementation Techniques for Creating Neighborhoods of Choice Through Revitalization”.

The highlight of the two day course was a walk through my neighborhood – S. Ellen Jones and parts of East Spring Street. The walk was part of the “Reading a Neighborhood” section of the training. Complete strangers walked where we live and then gave feedback. It was a little weird.

Over at S. Ellen Jones.org, I've summarized notes from the training. If you are interested in revitalization in New Albany please give it a look.

A definition of Community and Neighborhood Revitalization: Community and neighborhood revitalization is the strategic process of transforming neighborhoods and communities that lack vitality into places of choice through collaborations of residents, organizations and other stakeholders. These communities and neighborhoods strive to be resilient places where it makes sense for people to invest time, energy and money, where they are optimistic about their future, where they feel they have control over their surroundings and the capacity to respond to community dynamics, and where they are connected to each other and the larger region. The process addresses five key elements:

1. The neighborhood’s or community’s image
2. Market forces that act on the neighborhood or community
3. The physical conditions
4. The social conditions
5. Stakeholders’ ability to manage neighborhood or community issues and affairs

(Source: Strategies and Implementation Techniques for Creating Neighborhoods of Choice Through Revitalization, pg 29, NeighborWorks Training Institute)

Positve Trends and a new SEJNA website

March 2007 was another record month at HistoricNewAlbany.com. The numbers are impressive. Some of these visits are turning into home sales. Decisions are being made to invest in this community. HNA.com is helping facilitate that investment. Thank you Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, Halo Applications, Develop New Albany and the New Albany Historic Preservation Commission for keeping the momentum going.

The site also received enhancements in March which include categories based on sale price and a new section for rentals.

S. Ellen Jones Neighborhood Association launches website:

Jim Sprigler (Halo Applications) strikes again, designing a community website for the folks in the S. Ellen Jones Neighborhood. The site purpose is to encourage resident participation and communication.

Check the featured news on the homepage for a great article on how neighborhoods in Battle Creek, Michigan worked towards revitalization. When you read it, I believe you’ll note some distinct similarities to New Albany. There are definitely some concepts in that article that local neighborhood groups should discuss and implement.

Iron work in New Albany - Take a walk

It’s spring and the weather is great for walks. Something new is blooming every day and the birds are chirping as well trying to build nests in every single freaking nook and cranny of my house! I curse the birds and the d#mn squirrels too. Oh well, I guess they come with the territory. But there are times when I wish I still had the Daisy BB gun I had as a kid.

I’m digressing though. Get out and take a walk. It’s a good time to appreciate the good things in our housing diversity in New Albany. I like to focus on different things when I stroll – ornate woodwork, architectural details, iron ornamentation, etc.

Below is a small sample of the impressive iron in our fair city. I’m sure you’ll spot more as you ramble around. Happy Spring!

Adaptive Reuse on a BIG scale - Reynolds Lofts

A tour hosted by Schaefer General Contracting Services last month started at the U.S. Marine Hospital and the incredible rebirth and restoration in process there (Read more here).

Part 2 of the tour was a visit to the Reynolds Lofts – an adaptive reuse project near the University of Louisville campus. It’s a huge project and a great example of adaptive reuse for a large industrial building. According to the website, Coolspaces.com, the structure was originally built to produce Model T’s. It later served as a factory for Reynolds Metal Company.

Seventy seven loft units will fill the building. Views are stunning – Churchill Downs, Papa Johns Stadium, the UofL Campus and the Louisville skyline. Summed up in one word, the place is cool.

How does all this relate to New Albany? We have our share of large vacant buildings in the area. The M. Fine building comes to mind. So does Silvercrest. I believe it’s only a matter of time before a large scale, signature project gets underway in New Albany.

While most of us don’t have millions in the bank to invest in a project, we are certainly playing our part by investing in our homes, participating in neighborhood associations, supporting downtown businesses and just being active in community. These seemingly small things will make the decision by a developer to invest in New Albany much easier. Let’s keep up the momentum.

Interest Up in Historic New Albany

Here’s some interesting data about what I consider a key indicator for our little City. The graph shows monthly Visits to the website HistoricNewAlbany.com. This is what is commonly known as a trend – and a positive one at that.
Obviously, interest is growing in real estate available in our historic neighborhoods. Whether you like it or not, word appears to be spreading about New Albany and this is objective data that supports that conclusion.

What other positive trends are happening in New Albany?

Marine Hospital - Louisville - Restoration

This past Thursday, a group a New Albanians toured the United States Marine Hospital in Louisville. Like a lot of Hoosiers, I drive past it nearly every day on Interstate 64. The progress that has been made there is astounding.

The hospital is a one of a kind. It is the only surviving example of an original inland marine hospital in the country. It is also one of only seven National Historic Landmarks in Louisville.

In other words, it is a treasure. Learn more about it at MarineHospital.org

The tour focused on the restoration efforts underway. Phase 1 (exterior) is nearly complete. Schaefer General Contracting Services managed the work and facilitated the tour along with Rick Bell, Executive Director U.S. Marine Hospital Foundation.

A sampling of photographs is below. The full spread can be viewed at Ted’s SmugMug website in the history gallery.

Of particular interest to me was how a project like this is funded. Here are the stats for phase 1:

$1.5 million – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mitigation money
$500,000 – Transportation Enhancement Act Funds, 2002 and 2003
$375,000 – Save America’s Treasures grant
$125,000 – Metro Louisville
$77,000 – raised by U.S. Marine Hospital Foundation
$2,500 – Louisville Metro Council Member Cheri Bryant Hamiltons Neighborhood Development Fund awarded for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s strategic Planning Study
$2,500 – Joanna Favrot Funds for Historic Preservation through the National Trust for Historic Preservation
$1,200 – KY Humanities Council Grant

Funding for the next phase is being sought. Federal Historic Preservation Tax Credits and New Market Tax Credits will both be pursued.

What’s the future of the building? According to Rick Bell, it will serve as an interpretive center to celebrate the historic contributions of the Hospital to public health, maritime commerce and local heritage. Plan’s are also being made for the building to host the Center for Health, Education, Training and Research. The Center will house agencies and organizations committed to improving health, with a special focus on urban underserved populations.

I highly recommend visiting the hospital website and joining the Friends of Marine Hospital. It’s a great cause to help support.

There was a part 2 of our tour this day, also facilitated by Schaefer, that was also very exciting. More on that in the next couple days.

A return to Market Street Brewery

It was about a year ago when I started doing research on the former brewery site at 10th and Market – Market Street Brewery.

The Rise and Fall of Market Street Brewery (Part 1)

Part 2 - The Rise and Fall of Market Street Brewery

Part 3 - The Rise and Fall of Market Street Brewery

At that time I could not find any old photographs of the brewery or the house that used to be at the site.

I knew sooner or later that someone would find a photo of the site. I figured that someone would be David Barksdale (Floyd County Historian) and I was right. Below are two photographs taken during a post World War 1 parade which show the Buchheit home at the corner of 10th and Market.

My quest for pic’s of the actual brewery buildings continues. Get back to work Dave!

The wood clapboard house in the picture was situated on the northwest corner at 10th and Market Street. Sadly, the home was lost to fire a few years back. The insurance map from 1886 shows the layout of the home in relation to the brewery buildings.

Mark your calendar now for May Preservation Month

Get ready to have your preservation dreams come true! We're gonna preserve your pants off! Preservation Month is coming and it's going to rock your historic world! MAY, MAY, MAY! It's Coming! You have to be there or YOU WILL BE SORRY!!!

Hmmmm... I'm not sure the Carl Casper Auto Show promotion techniques work for historic preservation. But there is some pretty cool stuff on tap for May 2007 Preservation Month.

Below is a tentative list of activities planned in New Albany. Details will follow as we get closer to May. When events are finalized, they'll be posted on the Events page at NewAlbanyPreservation.com. Every event will be free and open to the public.

Tuesday May 8th - Preservation Conversation featuring Holly Weidemann, Architect and President, AU Associates, Lexington Kentucy. Topic: Preservation Pays – Reusing Historic Buildings.

Saturday May 12th – Three Preservation Workshops in One Day. Assessing Your Historic Home, Get What You Want from Professional Contractors and Using Financial Resources to Your Advantage

Tuesday May 15th – Back By Popular Demand – Pizza and Preservation: Research Your Historic Home Workshop. Learn all you need to know to unlock the history of your home.

Saturday May 19th – Walking Tour: “Lofty Ideas” – Downtown Living Spaces. Tour highlights existing and potential living spaces in downtown New Albany.

Saturday May 26th – Walking Tour: Mansion Row. Tour Guide David Condra leads walkers on a fascinating journey back in time down Mansion Row. You don’t want to miss this!

831 Cedar Bough Place sold?

The word on the street is that 831 Cedar Bough Place (fire damaged last spring) has been sold. The for sale sign is gone. Who bought it? I don’t know. Do they know it’s in a local historic district? I hope so. Did Historic New Albany.com contribute to the sale? I’ll find out. Do I like answering my own questions? Yes I do.

I’ll pass along more information when I get it.

Links to past postings on the house are below.

May 2006 posting with old photograph

This posting has a thread discussing the property

Save Silvercrest Website

SaveSilvercrest.org was created by supporters from the community and the New Albany Historic Preservation Commission to give potential buyers a chance to review all available documentation on Silvercrest. The goal is to Save Silvercrest, a historically and architecturally significant site, by encouraging its adaptive reuse and preserving an important piece of Hoosier history.

Silvercrest Can Be Reused

Yesterday was a gloomy Friday. Low clouds hung around all day as rain came and went. It wasn’t the best setting for a state sponsored tour of Silvercrest, but the show went on regardless.

If you are not up to speed on Silvercrest visit http://www.newalbanypreservation.com/ and the local blog world for more information. The short story - It’s a former tuberculosis hospital and child development center. It’s a collection of buildings (campus like) located at 1809 Old Vincennes Road. The main building is over 120,000 square feet. This is an impressive place.


Local press has covered the closure of the child development center, which occurred in May 2006, as well as a county analysis and assessment of the site for some public use. The county interest has waned apparently due to the large scale of the place and high estimated cost of adapting it for reuse.

Talk of demolition had begun.

The state, in an attempt to gauge interest in Silvercrest, held a tour yesterday. About 30 visitors, most seeing it for the first time, poured over the buildings at Silvercrest.

Can it be reused? Yes. Should it be reused? Yes. But it would take some dollars, probably a team of developers, some visionary thinking and maybe some non profit involvement.

A lot of visitors (realtors, contractors, developers, city officials and others) pondered thoughts out loud. What about a corporate campus? That could work. Could you squeeze twenty to thirty residential units in the upper floors? That could work. Is there a market for one bedroom condominiums in the area? Ed Clere of Dragonfly Realty thought so. Would a jogging and hiking path draw visitors up there? Yes it would.

There is one thing that I do know. Prior to yesterday, this site was on the fast track to demolition. The Department of Health had planned to submit a Certificate of Appropriateness to the Indiana Historic Preservation Review Board on January 24th. Due to interest in the site during the tour, that won’t happen. Instead, an RFP (Request for Proposal) process will be initiated by the Department of Administration. A net will be thrown out and we’ll see what it catches.

This impressive collection of buildings has received a stay of execution. It is still in grave danger of seeing the wrecking ball. State officials are deeply concerned about the cost and liability that maintaining the site represents to the tax payers of Indiana. June 30th is a date they’d like to have this matter settled. Many are skeptical that represents sufficient time to market the site appropriately.

The successful reuse of Silvercrest represents potential revenue to taxpayers for decades to come. I think keeping the furnace lit and the roofs patched is a small price to pay as the search for a solution is sought. A six month turnaround seems terribly short. We will see.

See CJ coverage at: New Uses Sought for Silvercrest

Images of Christmas from Historic New Albany

View this entire gallery and more images of New Albany at http://tedf.smugmug.com/

Happy Holidays from Loop Island

The Loop Island Wetlands (http://www.loopislandwetlands.com/) is a favorite destination of mine. It’s an urban park that offers much to visitors – peaceful serenity, wonderful views and a connection with nature rare to have within walking distance. Balmy December Sunday mornings are a great time to visit.