Category : Restoration

Four Foundations of Successful Preservation

National Preservation Month offers a chance to consider what it takes to preserve the past to create a better future.

The month of May is dedicated to National Preservation Month, a time to celebrate the diverse and unique heritage of our country’s cities and states.…

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The Ways Preservation Pays

From affordable housing to sustainable practices, a look at six benefits historic preservation can have on a community’s bottom line.   

My passion for historic preservation began when I was young. An admiration for the beauty of old buildings and the extensive details of these structures ultimately led me to pursue a career as an urban planner.…

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What Do We Do With This Big Empty Industrial Building?

Thanks to a building and manufacturing boom in the late 1800s and early 1900s, plenty of big industrial warehouses, factories, and similar structures stand in urban centers and small cities across the Midwest. Many now sit empty; stoic relics of a bygone time that present challenges to their communities.…

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Common Myths about Historic Preservation and Adaptive Reuse

Whether you’re a commercial developer, public entity or homeowner, it can be daunting to consider how to make your historic property work for your needs yet remain feasible for future generations. But let’s be clear – much of what you may have heard about restoration projects probably isn’t true.…

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Designing a Revitalized Community

A community isn’t magically revitalized by spiffing up a building or two. Creative vision, thoughtful planning, and revived key places and structures can impress and energize locals and visitors alike, enhancing pride of place and making further changes seem not just possible, but desirable.…

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What’s So Special About that Farmhouse?

The rural areas of the United States abound with such structures, surrounded by assemblages of utilitarian farm buildings. What’s so special about this one? And what does it take to preserve its history?

A one and a half story, wood-framed structure sits just off Highway 141, south of Coon Rapids, Iowa.…

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Why Does a City Invest in Restoring an Historic Property?

Hotel Maytag in Newton, IA Offers Great Reasons

“The City realized the building was going to go further downhill unless something was done. We stepped in, bought the building and began to search for a developer.”

So says Craig Armstrong, economic development specialist for the City of Newton, Iowa, about the distinctive and once-grand Hotel Maytag.…

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Historic Design Guidelines Benefit the Community

Impressive homes, churches and other historic buildings dot the Heritage Hill Historic District in Burlington, Iowa, overlooking the downtown and giving unique character to this Mississippi River town. That character can translate to visitor and tourism economic gold in a community – if property owners and community members understand both the why and the how of appropriately preserving, restoring, and/or rehabilitating historic structures.…

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Where Ladders Cannot Reach: Drone Technology and Historic Restoration

Modern technology saves time and money, and gives designers a unique view of the Iowa State Capitol Building.

The Iowa State Capitol, constructed from 1873 to 1884, has been a source of great pride for generations of Iowans. Over the last century, windows on the north and south wings of the building began to show signs of weakening and deterioration, and in 2001, RDG was contracted to take the lead on a series of major restoration projects.…

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Transforming Downtown Winterset

Communities are searching for ways to improve their local economies, enhance their quality of life and revitalize their neighborhoods while still preserving their own cultural and natural heritage. Historic preservation and heritage tourism are two prominent economic and community development strategies to accomplish these objectives.…

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