Preservation Oklahoma News.

              PRESERVATION
OKLAHOMA NEWS
Save the dates, June 6-8, 2012, for Go With the Flow of Pres-ervation:
Oklahoma’s 24th Annual Statewide Preservation
Conference in Tahlequah, capital city of the Cherokee Nation.
It is the perfect location to learn about places related to
Oklahoma's earliest history and about the right course to their
preservation.
The three concurrent tracks of sessions include:
TRACK A: Currents in Our History which will focus on
preservation of properties related to the end of the Trail of
Tears, the Cherokee Nation and other tribes removed to
Indian Territory, the Civil War, and more;
TRACK B: Second Voyages for Historic Buildings which will
feature restoration/rehabilitation case studies for projects of
all sizes from across the state; and
TRACK C: Charting a Course for Sustainable Communities
which will guide preservation leaders to resources and tools
for successful local preservation programs.
Special events will include the opening reception at the
Thompson House, tours of Historic Tahlequah and of Park
Hill, Preservation Oklahoma, Inc.’s annual meeting and
luncheon, and the State Historic Preservation Office’s annual
awards banquet.
Conference cosponsors include the State Historic Preserva-tion
Office, Oklahoma Historical Society; the U.S. Department
of the Interior, National Park Service, the Oklahoma Main
Street Center, Oklahoma Department of Commerce; Preser-vation
Oklahoma, Inc.; Tahlequah Main Street Association;
Cherokee Nation Tourism; City of Tahlequah; Friends of the
Thompson House; Northeastern State University; Tahlequah
Chamber of Commerce; Tahlequah City Historic Preservation
Advisory Board; Tahlequah Tourism; and United Keetoowah
Band.
Full conference program and registration information will be
available in late April. Follow conference developments on
http://www.okhistory.org/shpo/spevents.htm;
http://www.okhistory.org/shpo/conference.htm;
http://www.twitter.com/okshpo; and
http://www.okpreservationconference.wordpress.com.
If you may have questions, contact Melvena Heisch, Deputy
SHPO (405/522-4484 or mheisch@okhistory.org) or Drew
Haley, Executive Director, TMSA, 918/431-1655 or
tmsaok@gmail.com.
Go with the Flow of Preservation: Statewide
Conference Announced
January 2012 Volume XVIII, No 2
A joint project of the State Historic Preservation
Office and Preservation Oklahoma
PRESERVATION OKLAHOMA NEWS l JANUARY 2012 1
Preservation Oklahoma News, the newsletter of Oklahoma’s historic preservation community, is published quarterly as a joint project of Preservation Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office.
Co-Editors Melvena Heisch Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer State Historic Preservation Office Oklahoma Historical Society Oklahoma History Center 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive Oklahoma City, OK 73105-7917 405/522-4484 www.okhistory.org/shpo/shpom.htm
Katie McLaughlin Friddle Executive Director Preservation Oklahoma, Inc.
All correspondence should be directed to:
Preservation Oklahoma, Inc. 405 NW 15th Street Oklahoma City, OK 73103 Email: preservationok@preservationok.org Phone: 405/525-5325
The activity that is the subject of newsletter has been financed in part with Federal funds from the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of the Interior, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Department of the Interior.
This program receives Federal financial assistance for identification and protection of historic properties. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act or 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, the U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimi-nation on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, or age in its federally assisted programs. If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to: Office of Equal Opportunity, National Park Service, 1849 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240.
NTHP Unveils Preservation 10X
The National Trust for Historic Preser-vation (NTHP) recently announced some important changes to their organization. ―Preservation10X‖ sig-nals a new and more focused vision of the NTHP and its partners. In addi-tion to programmatic changes, the NTHP is reorganizing its regional operations, and Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and New Mexico, will now be served by the Denver office of the NTHP. The Southwest Office in Fort Worth, Texas was recently closed. Other potential changes include an evaluation of the relationship be-tween the NTHP and the National Trust Main Street Center.
For more information about ―Preservation10X,‖ please visit www.preservationnation.org.
2012 marks the twentieth anniversary of the creation of Preservation Oklahoma. In each newsletter this year we will feature a different article on Preservation Oklahoma’s history as an organization. For this article, we will look back at the sites that have served as a home to Preservation Oklahoma’s headquarters.
Bricktown Mercantile Preservation Oklahoma’s first office space was located in the Bricktown Mercantile Building, also known as the Mideke Supply Building, at the corner of Main Street and Oklahoma Avenue in Oklahoma City. Built in 1919, the Bricktown Mercantile was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and was one of the first warehouse buildings in Oklahoma City’s ―Bricktown‖ district to be adaptively reused in the early 1990s. (Photo, above, courtesy of Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS)).
First National Building Preservation Oklahoma was next housed in office space within Oklahoma City’s iconic First
National Center. This downtown skyscraper was com-pleted in 1931. Its stepped-back form and art deco detail, which reminds many of the Empire State Building, make it one of the most identifiable features of Oklahoma City’s skyline even today. (Photo, left, courtesy of OHS).
The Overholser Mansion Preservation Oklahoma currently is housed in the carriage house at the Overholser Mansion in Oklahoma City’s historic Heritage Hills. The Mansion was built in 1903 by one of Oklahoma City’s founding fathers and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. Today, it is owned by the Oklahoma Historical Society and managed as a house museum by Preservation Oklahoma. POK has also undertaken the restoration of the historic home, with the second of three phases of exterior restoration work nearing completion. (Photo, above, courtesy of POK.)
For more information about Preservation Oklahoma’s twentieth anniversary events, contact Preservation Oklahoma at 405/525-5325 or at preserva-tionok@preservationok.org.
To find out more about visiting the Overholser Mansion, please go to www.overholsermansion.org.
Twenty Years of Preservation Oklahoma
Preservation Oklahoma Board of Directors
Officers and Board Members Barrett Williamson, President (Norman) Jim Carrington, Vice President (Tulsa) Susan Atkinson, Secretary (Norman) Pete White, Treasurer (Oklahoma City) Katie Altshuler, member (Oklahoma City) Kingkini Arend, member (Enid) Bill Bryans, Ph.D., member (Stillwater) Jennie Buchanan, member (Altus) Kay Decker, E.D., member (Alva and Freedom) Herb Fritz, member (Tulsa) Alice Johnson, member (Oklahoma City) Brannyn McDougal, member (Shawnee) Lisa Melchior, member (Pryor)
PRESERVATION OKLAHOMA NEWS l JANUARY 2012
2 In December, Preservation Oklahoma, Inc. (POK) and BancFirst presented a PlanFirst grant to the Arcadia His-torical and Preservation Society at the Round Barn in Arca-dia, Oklahoma. The PlanFirst grant will assist with Historic Structures Reports and Preservation Plans for two proper-ties near the Round Barn – the Brooks Building and the former First United Methodist Church.
POK administers the PlanFirst Grant program in partner-ship with BancFirst. PlanFirst grants encourage a thought-ful planning process for undertaking a preservation pro-ject, funding work such as structural engineer’s reports, architectural plans for restoration or feasibility studies. Generously funded by BancFirst, each grant will provide a dollar-for-dollar match of up to $1,500.00 for projects in communities served by BancFirst.
The Brooks Building, adjacent to the Round Barn, was built around the 1920s. It has served many uses, includ-
ing a grocery store, but is now empty. The Society hopes to rehabilitate it and use it as support space for the Round Barn. The First United Methodist Church was built in 1903 and used for worship until 1988, and is the oldest extant church in Arcadia. The Society hopes to rehabilitate and adaptively reuse it for events and public programming.
For additional in-formation about the PlanFirst grant program, please contact Preserva-tion Oklahoma at 405-525-5325 or visit www. preser-vationok.org.
PlanFirst Grant Awarded to Arcadia HPS
The importance of Route 66 in our nation's history and cul-ture is well documented in literature, film, and song. Okla-homans have a strong connection to the historic highway, and many agencies, organizations, and individuals are working to protect and celebrate this special legacy. Four events in Fall 2011 focused attention on these efforts.
In early September, the City of Oklahoma City and the Okla-homa Department of Transportation installed signs to mark the 1929-1954 route of the "Mother Road" through the metro area, Oklahoma City's official Scenic Byways route. While many excellent tour guides exist for Route 66 travel-ers, it can be difficult to follow the route, especially through urban areas without signage. Thanks to the leadership of State Senator David Holt and Mayor Mick Cornett, more than thirty signs are now in place to guide the thousands of visitors who drive the road every year.
Then, on October 11th, the City of Oklahoma City cele-brated another Route 66 preservation success when the National Register-listed Lake Overholser Bridge was offi-cially reopened to traffic in a special ceremony attended by state and local officials and a huge crowd of citizens and Route 66 enthusiasts. The bridge rehabilitation was funded through a $4.1 million local bond issue. Built in 1924, the structure is a mixed truss, six-span bridge that crosses Lake Overholser south of N.W. 39th. The bridge is signifi-cant for its association with Route 66 and for its engineer-ing merits, and it is one of the key landmarks along Okla-homa City's official segment of the Route 66 Scenic Byway.
On November 21st, the National Park Service, Route 66 Preser-vation Program presented a plaque to the owner of Bristow Firestone Service Station to honor his work completing the restoration of the historically significant Route 66 station. Opened in 1930 by Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, the sta-tion was heralded as ―one of the most modern in the state‖. The Art Deco influenced building featured six large service bays, a wash bay, an office, and a sales area with large display windows. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. Jack Longacre, a lifetime local resident and business man, bought the property in 2009. In 2010, Lon-gacre received a cost-share grant from the NPS Route 66 Corri-dor Preservation Program to develop a Historic Structures Re-port and to assist with restoration. The ambitious project included restoration of the original windows and glass pane overhead doors; structural and masonry repairs; and restora-tion of the sign in historic Firestone styling. The building will again provide auto-related service as an auto-body repair shop, thus preserving a local treasure and tangible link to the American icon, historic Route 66. Additionally, Longacre qualified for the federal and state rehabilitation tax credits for the project.
On November 19th, Preservation Oklahoma, Inc. and the State Historic Preservation Office, Oklahoma Historical So-ciety, presented a workshop entitled Making the Most of the Mother Road: How to Care for (and Benefit from) Your Route 66 Resources in Bethany at Royce Brown Audito-rium, Southern Nazarene University.
As evidenced by the projects discussed above, Route 66 is a national treasure and an important asset to the many communities it touches across the state. The workshop focused on tools for the preservation, revitalization, and promotion of the Route 66 resources that help define the unique character of each of these communities. Such ac-tivities result in economic development through heritage tourism, create jobs, and ensure future generations of Ok-lahomans can enjoy an important chapter in the state's his-tory.
Celebrating Route 66
PRESERVATION OKLAHOMA NEWS l JANUARY 2012
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First United Methodist Church, Arcadia Photo: Arcadia Historical and Preservation Society The most recent historic preservation project of the Wyan-dotte Nation’s Tribal Historic Preservation Officer began, as many do, as a happy accident. Since the 1980s, Wyan-dotte Nation has bought back various lands within the res-ervation boundaries in northeastern Oklahoma. Among these is a parcel originally allotted to the Crotzer family, on the northern outskirts of the town of Wyandotte, which was scheduled for brush clearing in the summer of 2011. Efforts aimed at educating the Nation’s staff about preser-vation concerns paid off when the work crew presented themselves in THPO Sherri Clemons’office and reported that they’d found a foundation.
A preliminary survey by Clemons and archaeological staff from Algonquin Consultants confirmed numerous mid-1900s artifacts, at least one foundation, a privy, a storm cellar, a stone-lined well, and a possible cemetery area. A USGS map from 1907, which is based on a 1906 survey, shows a residence on the lot. This 1906-1907 date strongly suggests that the residence was the original allotment house constructed by the Crotzer family. The THPO’s Cul-tural Advisory Committee now plans to conduct a series of training workshops on the site. The first workshop will map the site and record it with the Oklahoma Archeological Survey.
The Crotzer family received their allotment around 1900, or about 30 years after the more traditional members of the Wyandotte Nation began emigrating to the then Seneca reservation in northeastern Oklahoma Indian Territory. Emi-gration was spurred by the dissolution of the Wyandotte reservation in Kansas in 1855. In 1868, the US Senate rati-fied a treaty recognizing only those Wyandotte in Oklahoma as an Indian tribe and providing for the purchase of a reser-vation from the Seneca. Emigration from Kansas to Okla-homa continued through the 1870s. In 1876, tribal law re-quired that all members of the elected government be flu-ent Wyandotte speakers. At that time, about 250 tribal members lived on the Oklahoma reservation.
Passage of the General Allotment Act, or Dawes Act, in 1887 and the subsequent allotment of tribal lands to indi-vidual Indian households resulted in the very scenario that traditional Wyandotte’s had rejected in Kansas. Original Wyandotte allotment maps show the 20,000-acre Okla-
homa reservation carved into hundreds of small parcels. The push for railroad expansion – and other non-Indian economic interests – resulted in the transfer of the major-ity of allotments out of Wyandotte ownership and control by the 1930s. Many of these ―transfers‖ were clouded by claims that unscrupulous agents of the federal govern-ment colluded with various businessmen to illegally re-lieve individual Wyandotte’s of the ownership of their properties.
Tribal membership today stands at just over 5,000. Efforts at heritage preservation and revitalization have included establishment of a Tribal Historic Preservation Office funded by the National Park Service and headed by THPO Sherri Clemons. Clemons, a Wyandotte tribal member, has undertaken a broad range of historic preservation pro-jects both on the Wyandotte reservation in Oklahoma and in former homelands stretching from Kansas, to the Ohio Valley, to the Great Lakes – where the Nation first emerged as a confederacy of Iroquoian speaking tribal groups in the 1500s.
Please watch future issues of Preservation Oklahoma News for a follow-up to this story.
Most Endangered Historic Places 2012 to be Announced
Crotzer Allotment - Preservation Opportunity for Wyandotte By Rebecca Hawkins, Algonquin Consultants, Inc.
PRESERVATION OKLAHOMA NEWS l JANUARY 2012
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Sherri Clemons, THPO, and Debbie Dry, Planning Specialist, (both Wyandotte Nation tribal members) stand in front of dry-laid stone well. Photo: Wyandotte THPO
Join Preservation Oklahoma, Inc. on March 29, 2012, for the unveiling of Oklahoma’s Most Endangered Historic Places 2012.
Each year, the Oklahoma’s Most Endangered Historic Places list brings much-needed attention to threatened his-toric and cultural landmarks across our state. The an-nouncement event is a time to learn about those sites in need of support and to celebrate recent preservation suc-cesses with fellow preservationists.
This year’s event will be in the recently renovated historic Wiley Post Building, formerly home to the Oklahoma His-torical Society and now home to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. In addition to the presentation of the list, the eve-ning will feature music, food and drink, and a silent auction.
For more information or to purchase tickets, please call Preservation Oklahoma at 405/525-5325 or email us at pre-servationok@preservationok.org. The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) is pleased to announce the Oklahoma Historic Preservation Review Com-mittee’s (HPRC) meeting schedule for calendar year 2012. The HPRC (state review board) is appointed by the Gover-nor to provide advice to the State Historic Preservation Offi-cer about nominations to the National Register of Historic Places and other preservation issues. Current HPRC mem-bers include Arn Henderson (Architectural Historian, Nor-man); William P. Corbett (Historian, Tahlequah); Ron Frantz (Architect, Oklahoma City); John D. Hartley (Prehistoric Ar-cheologist, Norman); and Charles S. Wallis (Historical Ar-cheologist, Norman). The HPRC's four scheduled meetings will begin at 1:30pm on Thursday, January 19, April 26, July 19, and October 18.
The meetings will be held in the Oklahoma Historical Soci-ety's LeRoy H. Fischer Boardroom, Oklahoma History Cen-ter (third floor), 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, Oklahoma City, and they are open to the public. The HPRC and the SHPO en-courage all interested parties to attend, and meeting agen-das and National Register nominations under consideration at the respective meeting will be provided on the SHPO’s website at http://www.okhistory.org/shpo/spevents.htm.
The National Park Service regulations governing the SHPO’s programs require that a qualified state review board partici-pate in the National Register and other SHPO programs. During each meeting, the HPRC hears presentations on nominations to the National Register of Historic Places from SHPO staff and consultants; receives comments from own-ers of properties proposed for nomination; listens to public comments and concerns; and formulates recommendations to the SHPO about whether or not a property should be nominated to the National Register. The HPRC and SHPO staff invite concerned citizens and preservation profession-als to participate in this important component of Okla-homa’s preservation program.
For further information about the HPRC, the National Regis-ter, or other SHPO programs, call 405/521-6249 or visit us on the website listed above.
Historic district markers are in the works for downtown Tulsa. Funded by KOTV and Griffin Communications, the new markers will be a very public indication that Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) works. The new signage will identify and increase awareness of historic assets in the heart of Tulsa, including all of the his-toric commercial and industrial districts recently listed in the National Register of Historic Places. So, just how does the construction of a new television station connect to his-toric preservation?
KOTV has been a downtown Tulsa fixture since it signed on October 22, 1949, as Tulsa's first television station, and the second station in Oklahoma. It’s been broadcasting from its location at Frankfort Avenue and Third Street, not far from the Blue Dome, for more than half a century. Faced with a need to expand their facilities and committed to remaining in downtown Tulsa, Griffin Communications acquired land adjacent to what is now the Brady Historic District to build a state of the art $28 million media center. The project required a license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which made it a federal undertaking.
Because the project is a federal undertaking, it intersects with historic preservation due to Section 106, which requires federal agencies, such as the FCC, to consider the effects of their projects (licensing of the station, in this case) on historic properties. Therefore, KOTV and the FCC consulted the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), the City of Tulsa, and the public concerning the adverse effect of the new tower structure on the numerous historic districts surrounding it. Each district listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places was considered. Together the consulting parties developed and executed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that stipulated the ac-tions KOTV would take to offset these adverse effects.
The Section 106 process explores ways to avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse effects, and it encourages the maxi-mum consideration of historic properties feasible. In the case of the KOTV tower, no historic properties will be lost. However, there are visual impacts to the historic setting which could not be avoided or minimized. It was mutually agreed that KOTV would assist the City of Tulsa to increase the public's awareness about the many historic districts that tell the city's story as the mitigation measure. To accom-plish this, KOTV and Griffin Communications recently pre-sented the City of Tulsa with a check for $7,500 for the pur-chase of historic markers. City staff will soon be working with organizations and stakeholders in the various districts to determine the design for and placement of the markers. ―Stay tuned‖ for the design phase in the spring!
One of the reasons the Section 106 consultation worked so well in Tulsa is that the City participates in the SHPO's CLG program and has used funding from the SHPO to conduct survey work in downtown Tulsa and prepare National Regis-ter nominations for several districts. To date, the Brady, KATY Railroad, North Cheyenne, and Oil Capital Historic Districts have all been listed in the National Register through the CLG program. Nominations are in process for the Blue Dome, Civic Center and Greenwood Historic Dis-tricts. More information can be found at http://tulsapreservation.org/nationalregister/districts/.
With the identification and evaluation of historic districts already completed, the Section 106 process for the KOTV tower could be expedited. It allowed KOTV and Griffin Communications, the SHPO, and the FCC to quickly agree on the project impacts and appropriate mitigation. The modern communications needs will be met, and attention will be drawn to the community's rich heritage which will encourage preservation efforts throughout downtown Tulsa.
Balancing Communication Needs and Preservation Concerns
PRESERVATION OKLAHOMA NEWS l JANUARY 2012
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SHPO Announces HPRC’s 2012 Meeting Schedule National Register Nomination Grants Available from SHPO
The Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) announces its annual matching grants to state, local, and tribal governments and nonprofit organizations for the preparation of National Register of Historic Places nomina-tions. The SHPO has reserved $10,000 of its FY 2012 His-toric Preservation Fund (HPF) allocation from the U. S. De-partment of the Interior for the program. The funds will be equally divided for award in two grant rounds with any funds remaining from Round 1 carried over for Round 2. Applications and detailed instructions will be available from the SHPO on February 1. The deadline for Round 1 applica-tions is 5:00pm on April 2, and the deadline for Round 2 applications is 5:00pm on June 1.
Each grant is limited to $1,000.00, and the applicant must provide a nonfederal, cash match of at least $700.00. Grant recipients will use the grant funds and nonfederal match to retain an appropriately qualified professional to prepare a complete individual property nomination package for the National Register of Historic Places. Applicants must be aware that $1,700.00 (federal grant + nonfederal match) is only an estimate of the cost for such projects and that additional nonfederal match may be required to retain a consultant to complete project work. Consultants must consider the nature of the property proposed for nomina-tion and many other factors as they develop their fee pro-posals.
The National Register is the catalogue of our nation's sig-nificant buildings, structures, sites, districts, objects, and landscapes important in our past. While listing in the Na-tional Register is not a guarantee of preservation or of fi-nancial assistance, it is one of the most important compo-nents of the preservation strategy for any significant prop-erty. The designation provides increased public awareness of these irreplaceable resources, provides limited protec-tion for them, qualifies property owners for federal and state tax credits under certain circumstances, and may qualify the property owner for grant assistance when such programs are funded.
To submit your National Register Nomination Grant applica-tion online or obtain an application form, just go to www.okhistory.org/shpo/nrgrant.htm. You may also con-tact the SHPO at 405/521-6249. Information about the State Historic Preservation Office and its programs, includ-ing the National Register of Historic Places, is available at www.okhistory.org/shpo/shpom.htm.
Oklahoma's Certified Local Governments (CLGs) have been busy with historic preservation projects. All CLGs are allocated matching funds from the Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office's (SHPO) CLG Fund, federal matching funds from the U. S. Department of the Interior's Historic Preservation Fund (HPF). Seven CLGs have recently com-pleted or initiated projects assisted through the CLGF. Ponca City completed a National Register of Historic Places nomination for its Santa Fe Depot and wrote design guide-lines for Whitworth Historic District, recently designated under its local historic preservation ordinance, and is now undertaking an intensive-level survey of historic churches to determine which are eligible for the National Register.
Oklahoma City completed Phases I, II, and III of its down-town commercial buildings intensive-level survey and is now beginning Phase IV. The City is also using CLG funds to train its city staff and Historic Preservation Commission members through workshops and travel expenses to the statewide preservation conference in Tahlequah in June.
Enid is updating the design guidelines for the Kenwood and Waverly Historic Districts which were designated under the City's local historic preservation ordinance. Norman retained Bob Yapp to conduct workshops on restoring wood windows. The first workshop was such a success that Mr. Yapp returned later in the year to lead a follow-up workshop on the same topic. Norman is also in the process of hiring consultants to produce a video of its historic properties that the City's tourism department will use to promote the heritage of the community.
Ardmore updated its City Preservation Plan and is now in the process of hiring a consultant to complete an update of its 1990s intensive-level survey of residential areas.
Tulsa retained a consultant to prepare the National Register nomination for the Blue Dome Historic District, currently awaiting action by the Keeper. Additionally a nomination for the Greenwood area, the scene of the famous 1921 ―race riot,‖ was recently completed. Tulsa will also under-take surveys of Sunset Park district and Reservoir Hill, and present a wood window workshop similar to Norman.
The SHPO staff works closely with CLGs in a wide range of activities and is pleased with the results of recent projects. These cities are commended for continuing to develop their local preservation programs.
PRESERVATION OKLAHOMA NEWS l JANUARY 2012
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Certified Local Governments at Work
Bob Yapp and workshop participants repair historic window in Norman. Photo: Norman CLG PRESERVATION OKLAHOMA NEWS l JANUARY 2012
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Oklahoma Main Street Center History Preserved at OHS
During the past year, the Oklahoma Main Street Center, Okla-homa Department of Commerce (OMSC/ODOC) celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary. "We marked the occasion in sev-eral ways but are especially excited about establishing a part-nership with the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) to pre-serve our program's documentation of Oklahoma's Main Street communities and their many efforts to revitalize their historic downtowns," said Linda Barnett, State Coordinator, OMSC/ODOC.
Oklahoma's State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) is a division of the OHS and a partner of OMSC/ODOC since the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Main Street Program came to Oklahoma in 1985. "We have worked together to develop and continue the annual statewide preservation con-ference and many other joint projects," said Melvena Heisch, Deputy SHPO. "Our programs are important tools for local preservation and revitalization efforts, but there has to be somebody in the community ready to use them. OMSC/ODOC provides the leadership and technical assistance to make this happen."
The Main Street program is a historic preservation-based, economic revitalization program for small and mid-sized towns and urban commercial districts. With the designation of the first five official Oklahoma Main Street towns in the spring of 1986, the staff members of the program began documenting the existing conditions of the historic buildings in these downtowns and tracking the physical changes as rehabilitations took place. Now, 25 years later and almost 70 towns since, the current staff realized that their documenta-tion itself was now part of Oklahoma history. The ―before‖ and ―after‖ views of buildings, recorded on color slides, in-clude thousands of projects totaling over three-quarters of a billion dollars of reinvestments by Oklahomans.
―When looking for a place to archive this collection, we auto-matically turned to the SHPO for advice,‖ said Ron Frantz, OMSC/ODOC's architect for nineteen of the program's twenty-five years. ―I knew they understood the importance of this visual documentation of our small towns and could help de-termine a good steward for the material.‖
The mission of OHS is to collect, preserve, and share the his-tory of the state. The SHPO consulted the OHS Research Center, located in the Oklahoma History Center, about the collection, and it was agreed that the materials certainly help the agency fulfill its mission.
On August 26, 2011, OMSC/ODOC made its first delivery to OHS. Eleven boxes filled with ninety-seven binders holding approximately 27,500 slides were part of the transfer. In ad-dition, there were fifty-two tubes of drawings that document facade improvement projects in 32 towns over the past twenty-five years as well as a tub of early Main Street videos, commercials, and presentations.
Not only will the color slides, drawings, and other materials be preserved in the Research Center, but a program will soon be under way to digitize the collection and make it available online so that local Main Street programs, scholars, and oth-ers can have easy access to it.
Chad Williams, Deputy Director, Research Center, OHS, will be in charge of the project to catalogue, archive, and digitize the collection and make it available for researchers. The ma-terial will be cared for in accordance with Library of Congress standards.
"This was a great project to initiate in 2011 as we celebrated Oklahoma Main Street's twenty-fifth anniversary,‖ stated Ron Frantz. ―We will continue the transfer of façade drawings completed over the 25 years to OHS.‖ These drawings docu-ment approximately 2,000 buildings in some 70 towns throughout the state. He also plans to donate his extensive personal collection of photographs and drawings to OHS to supplement the OMSC collection.
For information about accessing the hard copies of the OMSC materials and about the schedule for the digitization program, contact Chad Williams at chadw@okhistory.org.
Technical Preservation Services (TPS), National Park Service, recently launched its expanded and redesigned website at www.nps.gov/tps . In the new site, you will find the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines; information about the historic preservation tax incentives; all of their publications, including the Preservation Briefs and Tech Notes; guidance on meeting the Standards in rehabilitation projects; information on the Historic Surplus Property Program and the Historic Preservation Internship Training program; online training; and much more.
The new site features expanded information on Sustainability and Historic Preservation, including the recently-published Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation & Illustrated Guidelines on Sustainability for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings. Also included are links to research and studies on energy efficiency and historic buildings and to sustainability resources for home owners, historic districts and communities, and federal agencies.
Case studies highlighting successful tax incentives projects and projects that combined historic rehabilitation and green building practices rotate on the home page and in several sections of the site. A Site Map has also been added at www.nps.gov/about/site-map.htm to help users navigate the site.
TPS develops historic preservation policy and guidance on preserving and rehabilitating historic buildings, administers the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program for rehabilitating historic buildings, and sets the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
Expanded Website Source for Rehab Information and More NONPROFIT
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Save the Date!
January 19, 2012
Oklahoma Historic Preservation Review
Committee Meeting
Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
(see inside for more information)
March 19, 2012
POK State Capitol Day
Oklahoma City
(visit www.preservationok.org for more information)
March 29, 2012
Oklahoma’s Most Endangered Historic Places 2012
Oklahoma City
(see inside for more information)
April 26, 2012
Oklahoma Historic Preservation Review
Committee Meeting
Oklahoma City
(see inside for more information)
June 6-8, 2012
Statewide Preservation Conference
Tahlequah, Oklahoma
(see inside for more information)
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Individual Corporate
Sod House—$25 Sod House—$500
Bungalow—$100 B u n galow—$1000
Victorian Mansion—$500 V i c torian Mansion—$2500
POK Partner—$5,000 and above
Family
Sod House—$75 Student/Senior
Bungalow—$300 $15.00
Victorian Mansion—$1500
Institutional Membership
Contact Preservation Oklahoma for rates and benefits.
Visit www.preservationok.org for more information about membership
benefits and other opportunities to become involved.