In Brief: An Online Library of Best Historic Preservation Practices

Are you curious about how to control unwanted moisture in historic buildings? Repair stained and leaded glass? Preserve and reuse historic gas stations??Then you are in luck! “Preservation Briefs” is a series of 51 guides that address these questions, and hundreds of others, in expert technical detail. And they are available online from the National Park Service.I rely on Preservation Briefs for every...

Read More

Ten Elements of a Historic Rehabilitation Strategy

You know those people who love getting up in the morning because their jobs feel like play? I used to be intensely jealous of them…until I became one nearly a decade ago. This isn’t a post on deep meditation or how to “get rich quick” (sorry!). It’s a topic that makes me a little giddy (clearly): historic rehabilitation strategy.  Circa 1920...

Read More

You Know You’re an Old-House Person When…

Almost nothing makes my heart sing more than someone telling me they’re interested in old houses. Maybe they live in one, grew up in one, want to buy and rescue one, or turn one into their dream coffee/book/thrift shop with podcast studio and artist workspace. A question I often get is, how do I become a preservationist? Well, my friend, there are many paths. The place to start is in your own, deep...

Read More

Why (and how) do we preserve old houses?

What is it that moves so many of us to take up these shells of past lives, put them on our backs and carry them into the future?As I celebrate nearly one year! of writing for The Magazine at CIRCA, this is a question I continue to ponder.  Registered and Part of THE Oldest Estate and Home in Manhattan – CIRCA Old Houses Old houses make...

Read More