"It has been a long timesinceyou?veheard from us through thenewsletter I?veenjoyed engaging with you in a broader conversation about therole Historic Preservation plays in our community through this publication Presently, therehave been a lot of things going on in thebackground to set theLandmarks Foundation of Montgomery on a path to continueto serveMontgomery and the River Region through a myriad of programs and opportunities Your relationship with Landmarks is why wecontinueto push for sensibleland useand development in our city and at thesametime, pointing out why it is so important wepreservethe important parts of our region?s culture, diversity, and history Thank you for your commitment
Thefirst third of theyear has been really exciting, culminating with an important May for us This year wehavemoved thePreservation Leadership Seminar in May, which is also National Historic Preservation Month This is a great opportunity for us to expand our understanding of Montgomery?s built environment, engagewith you, and identify new opportunities to further saveour community?s historic places. Wealso took a trip to Mobile, which is featured morein this edition of thenewsletter We?reseeing traction with events, programs, and futureengagement
Wehavealso established a new interactive interpretation at theOrdeman-Shaw complex, the cornerstoneof Old Alabama Town (OAT). Thanks to a grant from theNational Trust for Historic Preservation wehaveplaced interactivetext panels that tell thestory of thesiteand theexperienceof thepeoplethat lived there Through these informational touch points, wecan continuea discussion about theroleof urban slavery
TheOrdeman-Shaw project is something I?m particularly proud of becauseit represents the continuation of Landmarks evolution, a learning process for this organization as wehead into the next decade Admittedly, wedon? t know everything about urban slavery, but becausewe havetheinformation presented to us through previous research, we?rebetter ableto defineour research questions for thefuture. This information has helped us focus on theother known enslaved dwellings on siteas well, which led to a larger conversation around storytelling and Landmark?s responsibility as oneof Montgomery?s historians Through this process, we?verecognized theneed for a permanent position within theorganization focused solely on deeply exploring Montgomery?s history.
Through a generous donation from theCrook family, Landmarks is happy to announcethe creation of theEdith Crook Montgomery History Fellowship This program is thebeginning of what I hopeto bea long-term relationship with Auburn University?s History Department. It will provide Master?s and Doctoral students valuableresearch opportunities and, moreimportantly, practical experiencein thePublic History world, with day-to-day opportunities for exhibit planning, and collections conservation I?m excited about this new opportunity to contributeto theeducation of future historians and bring exciting new research about Montgomery?s history.
In themeantime, keep watching out for events and other opportunities to engagewith theLandmarks Foundation in 2023 and comeseethenew interpretation at theOrdeman-Shaw house, I know you will enjoy it "
C h r i s P r u i t t C a r o l M H i g h s m i t Landmarks
"Recently, Landmarks led a group of members on a day-long excursion to Mobileto soak in the rich architectural history of Alabama?s oldest city. Led by noted Mobilehistorian, Cart Blackwell, attendees wereled through someof Mobile?s notablehistoric homes, all of which have undergonesignificant and detailed historic renovations Thank you to Cart and the homeowners for hosting us and thank you for the wonderful hospitality wereceived on our visit Our trip started in theweehours of Saturday morning, May 5th , whereour group jumped on a bus armed with Hilltop coffeeand Fennel and Fig scones A few hours later wearrived at our first houselocated in Ashland Place
Thewonderfully restored Tudor homeset the stagefor what proved to bean incredibly informativeday, steeped in charming hospitality and exquisitely restored homes. Fueled by a wonderful lunch from theCheeseCottageour trip took in a deep history of Mobile?s Carnival sceneat theCarnival Museum Weencountered this theme of Carnival in every homeas well, which proved to bea pleasant surprise
Thetrip was a success, and welook forward to unlocking someof our state?s uniquehistory with many moretrips to come. If thereis somewhere you would liketo see, pleasesend us a message through Facebook or Instagram "
Collier Neeley Executive Director
Montgomery?s housing market seems to bein a better spot than it is normally. I?m not surewhy that is exactly thecase, probably somecombination of inflation, national trends, risein demand,and out of stateinvestment Ultimately, that means a rise in homevalues, but that also means scarcity, and problems with affordability I?vestated in thepast that beforethePandemic, Montgomery was already dealing with a housing shortage, which was only madeworsein thelast threeyears or so I won? t besomeonewho uses hyperboleto stress theurgency of this situation, but it is something our community needs to takeseriously if wewant to grow.
Housing scarcity does not haveonefix and is clearly caused by a myriad of reasons However, Historic Preservation offers a solution I havebeen reading Donovan Rypkema?s TheEconomicsof HistoricPreservation thelast few days.
Montgomery was already dealing with a housing shortage, which was only made worse in the last three years or so. I won? t be someone who uses hyperbole to stress the urgency of this situation, but housing scarcity is something our community needs to take seriously if we want to grow, and preservation of historic neighborhoods could be one of the answers.
Rypkema devotes an entirechapter to ?The Preservation Economics of Housing and Neighborhoods,?which is helpful in thinking about housing in our community Hegoes through this chapter discussing thebenefits of historic neighborhoods in cities and thevalueof their preservation At thecrux of his conversation is a fairly basic understanding, historic neighborhoods arebuilt housing stock and a housethat is already built is cheaper than onethat has yet to be constructed Themaintenance, even a complete renovation, is cheaper than building a new houseof a similar size. Hecontinues, by saying new build neighborhoods cannot accommodatetheneeds of low- and moderate-incomefamilies. I agree, the model for constructing new neighborhoods does not allow for alternativeto housing types, whereas historic patterns of development included multi-family homes, providing options for anyone and everyone
Now, apartment complexes and garden home developments arebuilt separatefrom singlefamily neighborhoods, offering less opportunity for mixed incomedevelopment Today?s popular form of residential development concentrates poverty, resulting in higher crimerates, less diversity in commercial development, and over relianceon automobiles
I think thehistory of Montgomery?s five designated historic neighborhoods areprime examples of Rypkema?s own research These neighborhoods havebeen ableto build diverse, vibrant communities, with someof thehighest homevalues in theregion whilestill providing opportunities for moreaffordableoptions. They areriddled with duplexes, quadplexes, and homes converted during thehistoric period into six- or seven-unit buildings Interestingly enough, these neighborhoods haveflanks that areripeto continuethis pattern of development, further preserving thecharacter, whileproducing higher quality, affordablehousing closeto Montgomery?s Downtown and other commercial areas
Our city?s leaders need to seriously consider the economic benefits of Preservation, especially in places likePeacock Tract or Highland Park. We haveopportunities to answer someof thehousing questions in our community, strengthen Downtown, and improveeconomic outcomes for individuals and thecity by reaching into these historic neighborhoods
This summer Landmarks Foundation will host the traveling exhibition, Common Threads, which features five Alabama quilts made by eight African American quilt makers with information about each was an Alabama Bicentennial Project exhibit produced by the Alabama Folklife Association and will be on loan from the Alabama Department of Archives and History
During the summer times Old Alabama Town is open to all visitors Thursday through Saturday from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM.
A guided tour of the Ordeman - Shaw House is included in the ticket price Ordeman tours start at 11:00 AM and 12:00 and 1:00 PM.
Tickets $15 at Lucas Tavern, 310 N Hull St, Downtown, Montgomery
Landmarks architectural artifact Rescued Relics is open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 - 12:00 PM
423 Madison Ave, Montgomery (334) 240-4512
Volunteer Opportunities Available!
"Anyonecan find themselves facing a neglected garden It?s intimidating! Overgrown plants, leaves, leaves and moreleaves, out of control trees, more weed than lawn - wheredo you even start? I took on thechallengeto restorethehistorical flowerbeds in Old Alabama Town So hereis a bit of an insight on how I started this challenge; I madea plan!
Although, it?s best to wait a full year, our museum grounds needed a necessary clean up beforeour busy spring season. MeanwhileI?m trying to imaginehow theflower beds will look in other seasons; which areas becomeshady or full of life I already bumped into a pileof dead twigs, but a week later thequincewas blooming vicariously, it was thefirst sign of spring, and its blooms made metruly happy. That?s why I prefer to wait a little, just to observewhat I likeand dislike I writeit all down - plants, trees, and any other features, basically anything that is attention worthy
I madea drawing, cleared thearea from all plants that suffered from theWinter freeze Now I know exactly what I haveto work with, that makes restoring flowerbeds much easier. After everything was cleaned, I started to work good soil, compost, and fertilizer into theflowerbeds to improvethesoil conditions for thenews plants Cut back overgrown hedges and boxwood's, choosewhich plants to keep, decidewhich oneneeded to betransplanted to a better spot
Try to takeonestep at a time, I know from past projects: that working methodically on onearea at a time, delivers thefastest improvements - which can bea great motivation! Work towards a design, keeping in mind wherestructural changes, and raised beds will go. Pruneback existing shrubs has two benefits: it creates spaceand encourages fresh growth Thenext step is theremoval of dead and sick trees, and start planting "
