TPT Launches E-Newsletter

 

Welcome to the first edition of the Tennessee Preservation Trust's new e-mail newsletter! This will be a regular method  of communicating with our members and others interested in the protection of Tennessee's heritage.  NOTE: You are receiving this message because you are a current or recent member of the Tennessee Preservation Trust, or as a known supporter of heritage issues in Tennessee.  If you do not wish to receive these messages in the future, please write to tnprestr@bellsouth.net   

Statewide Preservation Conference and Main Street Summit Comes to Knoxville This Week

We hope you have registered for the TPT Statewide Preservation Conference and Tennessee Main Street Summit, which takes place April 20-22nd in Knoxville.   The theme for 2006 is "Vintage Buildings Make Vibrant Communities," and the headquarters will be the East Tennessee Historical Society.  Kennedy Smith, one of the nation's leading experts on downtown revitalization and former director of the National Main Street Center and the League of Historic American Theatres, will be the keynote speaker Friday morning. Smith will speak at the historic Tennessee Theatre, which has recently completed a $26 million dollar restoration. Afterwards, tours of the theatre will be offered. Heather McIntosh, president of Preservation Action in Washington DC will also be a featured presenter. Other nationally-recognized  guests include Valecia Crisafulli and Kirk Carrison of the National Trust and landscape architect Kathy Frazier of Frazier and Associates in Staunton, VA.  A new event for this year is the Preservation Leadership Luncheon, which will be held at the Downtown Hilton and features Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam and Franklin Mayor Tom Miller speaking about the value of historic places to their respective communities. The Friday evening Rafter Raiser--the yearly gala celebration and auction--will be held at the beautiful private c. 1915 home of Caesar and Dorothy Stair, which has sweeping views of the Tennessee River and Smoky Mountains. Party guests will be shuttled to the house from downtown and back by trolley. "This is without question the largest single event of the year for Tennessee's preservation community," notes TPT Executive Director Patrick McIntyre. "The program increases in quality each year,  as does our attendance. This year our hotel allotment sold out in record time."  A limited number of on-site registrations are still available, but you should call the TPT office by close of business on Tuesday, April 18 to guarantee a spot.  

TPT Director Featured in Magazine

Executive Director Patrick McIntyre is profiled in the new April issue of At Home Tennessee Magazine. The current edition of the stylish,  Memphis-based publication has an emphasis on preservation. The magazine also features articles and wonderful photos of  restored historic  homes in Greeneville, Chattanooga, and Brentwood. The magazine staff contacted TPT's office in January and wanted to recognize the organization's mission and work.  Author Karen Ott Mayer notes that  "the arrival of McIntyre has meant strong growth, and a renewed commitment...contributions have doubled the past few years and [TPT]  has gained increased visibility throughout the state."  For more information on the magazine, please go to www.athometn.com

Nominations Being Accepted for 2006 "Ten in Tennessee" List

Each year we solicit nominations from the public and our members for the "Ten in Tennessee," the roster of the state's most endangered historic sites. This successful program highlights ten of the most endangered places across the state to help garner support for saving them. Of the 40 sites listed since the program began, only two have been lost.

A committee made up of professional and avocational preservationists from across the state meets to choose the list each spring.  Richard Quin of Nashville will serve as Ten in Tennessee Committee Chair for 2006.

 Applications are currently being taken for the 2006 list. Please go to  

http://www.tennesseepreservationtrust.org/ten 

 for a downloadable form. Please note that the deadline for nominations is APRIL 22, 2006.

 

TPT Briefs:

 

A Banner Time for Preservation: It's one of the nicest compliments we have received. Well-known restoration contractor  Stephen Brown of Republic--who also just happens to be TPT's Vice Chair--recently put up a sign promoting TPT while helping restore a state treasure. (See photo at top right.) Thanks, Stephen! The talented Mr. Brown's firm is rehabbing the exterior of the c. 1850s Belmont Mansion in Nashville, and the banner hangs from the scaffolding. Belmont is one of the largest house museums in America-- and historians consider its grand salon the most elaborate domestic interior ever constructed in the state prior to 1860. This  magnificent building that open to the public for guided tours. It is overlooked sometimes by tourists because it is located in the center of the Belmont University campus. You should visit-- whether the TPT sign is still up or not--and spend an hour or two learning about the fascinating story of Adelicia Hayes Acklen and this amazing house.

 

 

 

TPT Goes to Washington: In March, several Tennesseans traveled to Washington for National Preservation Lobby Day. The annual Capitol Hill visits express to our Congressional delegation the incredible importance and impact our historic places have in our communities. Each year, the contingent seeks increased money for the Federal Historic Preservation Fund, which comes to the Tennessee Historical Commission and much of which is given out as grants to local projects and groups.  This year's group included Phil Thomason of Nashville, Stephen Brown of Watertown, Richard Tune of the Tennessee Historical Commission, Shanon Wasielewski and Tim Kearns of Franklin, and  Shirley Price of Rogersville. Executive Director Patrick McIntyre, making his fourth consecutive annual visit, serves on Preservation Action's Board with Thomason and Wasielewski. (You can learn more about Preservation Action and Lobby Day this Thursday at our Statewide Preservation Conference with PA Executive Director Heather MacIntosh.)  

 

 

 

And Speaking of Tenneseeans in Washington:  TPT Board member Blythe Semmer, late of Nashville, has joined the staff of the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation in Washington DC.  Semmer left her position with the Metro Historical Commission, where she had served for the past five years, and will serve as the Agency's liason with the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development.  Semmer has given hundreds of hours of invaluable volunteer service to TPT as Membership Coordinator since 2001, and will be greatly missed.  She served on our Board the past three years,  and was the 2004 Statewide Conference Chair when it came to Nashville.  TPT wishes Semmer well in her new role, and her many friends and colleagues look forward to her visiting her home state often. (We also note that Semmer is the second former Conference Chair and Board member in just seven months to move to the Capitol Region. 2005 Chair Annie McDonald-- formerly of Chattanooga-- is now the Preservation Planner for Leesburg, VA. )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TPT Moves Against Bill That Would Damage Historic Zoning:  A bill that would have gutted the ability for new Historic and Conservation Districts to be enacted in Davidson County has (hopefully) been stopped.   And while limited to Davidson county, the bill could have been easily amended to apply to the whole state. In March, TPT Advocacy Committee members spent a morning at Legislative Plaza discussing the merits of  overlays with the Davidson County delegation. On April 3rd, board members Emily Evans and Ann Toplovich, director Patrick McIntyre, and Metro Historic Commission director Ann Roberts spoke at a public hearing before the delegation. It was pointed out that of the 14 Historic and Conservation Districts enacted in the county since the mid-1980s, not a single one has ever asked to have the overlay removed.   HB 3802 and SB3985 would have required the historic zoning commission to send ballots regarding inclusion of property into historic zoning to affected property owners within 90 days of submitting its recommendations to the county or municipal legislative body. The bill would have also  required the historic zoning commission to certify that property values would not be diminished due to such historic zoning--which counteracts the many studies that show it consisently improves values. 

 

 

 

Citizens Move to Save 100 Year Old School in Union City: Kudos to TPT Board member Emily Elliston of  Union City and the group of concerned citizens  working diligently to save the historic, 19th-century Westover School from a date with the wrecking ball.  The city council voted to demolish the school, but has since given a 30 day stay to allow options to be studied. The school is listed in The National Register of Historic Places, is structurally sound-- and potentially eligible for a lucrative 20% rehab tax credit.  TPT helped file the corporate charter papers for the Friends of Westover School group and has been giving technical assistance and advice to Elliston. TPT also wrote the mayor and council and pointed out successful rehab projects in Tennessee where similar schools have been adaptively reused.  This year's fall TPT Ramble Tour is in Union City.