Preservation Destination

This week I interview preservationist and public historian Jessica Reeves. Jessica works as a Preservationist 1 for the Nashville Metropolitan Historical Commission. The MHC is currently developing a website called “Nashville Sites” which will be an interactive website of free scholarly self-guided tours of Nashville.

This week I interview historic property specialist and luxury real estate agent Peter Patout. Peter combines a lifetime of knowledge about antiques, art and architecture into his services. In this episode Peter and I discuss the processes of buying and selling historic properties.

This week I interview Nina Scall, the Director of Programs for the Tennessee Wars Commission. Nina began her career in history as an archaeologist and transitioned into historic preservation. In this episode we talk about the connections between the two fields and how Nina brings her experience to the TN Wars Commission.

This week I interview Historic Preservation Specialist Katie Totman. Katie works for the Office of Historic Preservation in the city of San Antonio. For Katie, the road to preservation took several twists. Eventually, over the course of several jobs and internships, Katie discovered her love of hands-on preservation and her passion for teaching others.

This week’s episode is part two of my two-part series with guest Anna Marcum; we continue our discussion on the importance of preserving modern residential architecture. Anna has spent a great deal of time researching cultural bias in architecture as it relates to women and people of color. In this episode we discuss her research, her work for the city of Hammond Louisiana, and her exciting new position at the AIA Center for Architecture in New York.

This week’s episode is part one of my two-part series with guest Anna Marcum. Anna is an architectural historian and preservationist with an art history background. In this episode Anna and I discuss her graduate research regarding infusing contemporary art with historic places to encourage the upkeep of the space. Additionally, Anna advocates for the preservation of modern residential structures through both her work in California and at Historic New England.

This week I interview historic preservation consultant Erika Gates of Gates Preservation. Erika specializes in regulatory compliance and permitting in historic districts. In this episode we discuss her previous work as a building inspector and how the permitting and regulation process works in historic districts, specifically the French Quarter.

This week, I talk to Cynthia Ammerman, the principal, historian and preservation strategist at Polis: Cultural Planning. She places emphasis on active placemaking, rather than traditional planning, and involving people in the heritage of a place. She is also the Executive Director and co-founder of the Kansas City Latin Jazz Orchestra and is heavily involved with preserving the musical history of Kansas City.Cynthia drives to move the future away from more traditional planning and into harmonious “Polis" planning, which is a Greek word that refers to a sacred place that cannot exist without its people.

This week, I interview Megan Lord, a preservationist and designer from Alexandria, LA, that helped rebuild and restore historic New Orleans after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. After her work in New Orleans, Megan returned to Alexandria and found a unique way to combine both preservation and design, to bring modern life into her clients’ homes while maintaining their historic integrity.

In this week’s episode I interview Russell Archer, the Historic Preservation Planner for the city of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Working closely with the Historic Conservation Commission, Russell helps manage the city’s five local historic districts. Russell is an advocate against demolitions and believes strongly in saving as many buildings as possible. He also works closely with the Mississippi Heritage Trust who provide support for preservation projects throughout the state. In a previous position at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Russell worked on the Mississippi Landmark Program listing publicly owned buildings as landmarks.

In this week’s episode I interview Erin Holmes, the Executive Director of the Vieux Carre Property Owners, Residents and Associates. Through her role as the Executive Director of the VCPORA and as the previous Advocacy Coordinator for the Preservation Resource Center, Erin fights for the historic integrity of New Orleans; her passion for advocacy shows in her commitment to making the city a better place for both tourists and locals. Erin and I discuss the work the VCPORA does to “maintain the French Quarter as a living, breathing neighborhood in addition to being a major economic driver in the city and state.” On a daily basis the VCPORA contends with issues such as short term rentals and sustainable tourism management.

In this week’s episode I interview Heritage Resource Consultant Sarah Marsom. Sarah’s works focuses on connecting people to the built environment and promoting preservation to younger generations. Through groups such as the Young Ohio Preservationists and the Rustbelt Coalition of Young Preservationists Sarah brings together young and emerging preservation professionals for events to promote having fun with preservation. Sarah also created the Tiny Activist Project to share the stories of lesser known minority populations “who fought to save cultural resources.” In 2018 the National Trust selected Sarah as one of the 40 Under 40: People Saving Places and awarded her the American Express Aspire Award for her work in preservation. In addition to all her work as a consultant, Sarah was instrumental in the writing process for the third edition of Historic Preservation: An Introduction to it’s History, Principles, and Practice.

In this week’s episode I interview James Wade, curator and architectural historian at Longwood House in Natchez, MS. James talks extensively about the fascinating history of the home which was originally designed by Samuel Sloan for Haller and Julia Nutt. Construction on the house was stopped because of the start of the Civil War and due to the home’s partial completion it faces unique issues when it comes to conservation. In addition to his work as a curator at Longwood, James is currently writing a book about the house. James has written one previous book, The Pitot House: A Landmark on Bayou St. John. At the beginning of 2019 the Historic Natchez Foundation awarded James the George and Ethel Kelly Preservation Award for his work to restore his personal home, the Casey Mallory Townhouse in historic Natchez.

In this week’s episode I interview Danielle Del Sol, the Executive Director of the Preservation Resource Center in New Orleans. We talk about her beginnings with the PRC as an intern writing for Preservation in Print through her being named the Executive Director in 2018. Danielle’s roll oversees programs such as Operation Comeback, Rebuilding Together, and Preservation in Print. Danielle also teaches an advocacy course in the Master of Preservation Studies program at Tulane and helps students pursue internship opportunities. In 2018 she was named one of the National Trust’s 40 Under 40: People Saving Places.

In this week’s episode I interview preservationist Ashley Gaudlip about her dual roles as an adjunct professor of GIS mapping and as a tax credit reviewer in the state division for historic preservation (or SHPO) in Louisiana. Ashley goes into detail about Geographic Information Systems (GIS); how they can be used in preservation and how she teaches the course to the students at Tulane. She also discusses the process the SHPO uses to help people qualify for state and national historic tax credits including breaking down the location and submission requirements and how her office reviews the information

In this week’s episode I interview James Rolf, the Director of Planning and Preservation with the Recovery School District in New Orleans. In this position James works to revitalize historic school buildings by increasing and managing historic tax credits, creating preservation briefs for contractors and consulting with architects on major renovation projects. He also serves as a community liaison to inform the public about the programs and objectives of the RSD.

In this week’s episode I interview Brook Tesler of Tesler Preservation Consulting. Brook talks about creating an online digital archive and virtual library of a historic collection of over 40,000 images of the French Quarter in New Orleans. The project also includes a website created using GIS mapping that contains images, vital building information and a glossary of terms.

In this week’s episode I interview Michelle Duhon, owner and operator of Bayou Preservation and Southkick LLC. Michelle talks about her work as a technical conservator on projects such as tomb restorations, public art projects and stone repairs. We discuss the use of plaster as a common historic building material and also the types of stones she works with often. She reviews her best practices for creating project bids and working with clients for conservation projects.

In this week’s episode I interview Jennifer Graves Hance, the face behind the popular Instagram account the.preservationist. Jennifer talks about the process she uses to curate her Instagram and how preservationists and preservation organizations can use social media to share information.

In this week’s episode I talk with preservationist Leah Solomon. Leah has worked with a variety of preservation organizations including government agencies, non-profits and private companies. We discuss the different ways preservation is used at the organizational level on programs such as Main Street America, Historicorps and local historic districts.

In this week’s episode I interview Kelly Calhoun, owner and operator of Calhoun Preservation. Kelly and I discuss several topics related to preservation consulting including building surveys, National Register nominations and tax credits. Kelly is a fountain of knowledge and she shares a lot of it with us in this episode.

On this week's episode I interview Heather Veneziano, owner and operator of Gambrel and Peak. In this episode I chat with Heather about several of her projects including her work with cemeteries and co-writing a book. Heather's work focuses on traditional materials crafts and preserving cultural heritage environments.

In this week’s episode I interview Katrina Horner, owner and operator of New Orleans Architecture Tours. We discuss the evolution of architecture in New Orleans along with some of Katrina’s favorite local architects and buildings.

Welcome to the first episode of Preservation Destination. This podcast was created for professionals and non-professionals alike who are interested in the preservation of the built environment. This podcast will discuss everything from historic homes and buildings to cemeteries and monuments so stay tuned for future episodes.In today’s episode I interview Sarah Myers, owner and operator of Verdigris Preservation. We discuss her speciality, historic window restorations, along with some of the unique challenges she faces doing her work in New Orleans.