historic preservation

Wichita’s Orpheum Theatre opened in 1922 and later faced decades of preservation battles; after a 15-month closure, the landmark has reopened following a $13 million restoration project

wizbuddypointm@gmail.com2 days ago06 mins

The reopening arrives with a fitting sense of occasion. Grammy-winning singer and songwriter John Legend performed at the theatre, marking the return of the venue to its regular role as one of Wichita’s cultural gathering places. For a building designed to make moviegoers feel as though they were sitting beneath an open sky, the Orpheum…

In 2003, Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House went to auction as buyers considered moving it; preservation groups paid over $7.5 million to keep the Illinois landmark on its original site

wizbuddypointm@gmail.com5 days ago08 mins

The Farnsworth House was built for Dr. Edith Farnsworth as a weekend retreat (Image Credit: William E. Dunlap via National Trust for Historic Preservation) A modernist house in Illinois came surprisingly close to being taken apart and moved away from the landscape it was designed for. In 2003, the Farnsworth House, designed by Ludwig Mies…

A Georgia city moved a pre-Civil War house out of the way of a hotel project instead of demolishing it; after a $500,000 relocation and restoration, it is becoming a coffee shop

wizbuddypointm@gmail.com4 weeks ago09 mins

The nearly $500,000 relocation and restoration effort has preserved the pre-Civil War structure, which is now being prepared as a new location for Bizarre Coffee (Image Credit: Facebook/ @Save Acworth History by Mark Turner) A house that survived for more than a century is getting a new life not as a museum, but as a…

In 1876, Los Angeles built the Perry House; 99 years later it was moved to Heritage Square for preservation, and at 150 its normally closed second floor opened to visitors

wizbuddypointm@gmail.com1 month ago07 mins

Los Angeles preservationists have marked a rare milestone as the historic Perry Mansion celebrated its 150th anniversary by opening its restricted second floor to the public. The grand Victorian residence, built in 1876, welcomed visitors to its normally off-limits upper rooms during an anniversary fundraising event. Organisers held the gathering to raise essential funds for…

Cheyenne’s Twin Chimneys motor court stood for almost 90 years; this week its landmark chimneys fell in about 30 seconds to make way for a drive-thru coffee shop

wizbuddypointm@gmail.com1 month ago09 mins

The twin chimneys were saved until the end of the demolition. The Twin Chimneys Motor Court in Cheyenne, Wyoming, which once gave travellers a place to stay along the historic Lincoln Highway, has been demolished to make way for a 7 Brew Coffee drive-thru stand. Its distinctive twin stone chimneys, the last parts of the…

Built in 1897, Santa Monica’s last intact shotgun house was nearly demolished in 1997; after multiple moves and restoration, it now serves as a preservation centre

wizbuddypointm@gmail.com1 month ago08 mins

Santa Monica’s historic 1897 Shotgun House found new life as a Preservation Resource Center (Image Credit: Stephen Schafer via Santa Monica Conservancy) A small wooden house in Santa Monica has survived something few historic buildings ever face: demolition threats, years in storage and several moves from one location to another. Built in 1897, the…

In 1947, Houston opened a 700-plus-seat Art Deco theater; 79 years later, after demolition was planned, supporters raised $2.8 million toward saving the $7.1 million property

wizbuddypointm@gmail.com1 month ago08 mins

The Garden Oaks Theater opened in 1947 as a 700-plus-seat Art Deco cinema and is now the focus of a preservation effort (Image Credit: Arthouse Houston) For generations of Houston residents, the Garden Oaks Theater was more than a place to watch a movie. Opened in 1947, the Art Deco-style cinema became part of the…

In 1941, US Steel built a summer camp lodge at Indiana Dunes; after about 50 years closed, it has reopened and workers found an original time capsule hidden in its walls

wizbuddypointm@gmail.com1 month ago06 mins

According to the report, in 1941, the U.S. Steel Company built the lodge for the children of its employees. The Good Fellow Youth Camp, which ran from 1941 to 1975, provided generations of young people with an opportunity to get outdoors in what would later become Indiana Dunes National Park. Generations of Northwest Indiana children…

In 2012, a derelict 1866 Washington house was listed on a waterfront lot worth more without it; preservationists spent 6 years buying it and 8 more restoring it before reopening it in 2026

wizbuddypointm@gmail.com1 month ago011 mins

Picture from the book ‘Granville Haller: Leader’ by Martin N. Chamberlain via Historicwhidbey.org In 2012, a crumbling 1866 farmhouse sat on a prized waterfront lot in Coupeville, Washington, listed for sale at a price that reflected the land’s value far more than the building’s. The Haller House, one of the oldest surviving structures on Whidbey…

Laurance Rockefeller first saw undeveloped St. John from a boat in 1952; his conservation group later acquired about 5,000 acres and gave them to create a US national park