Preliminary Research for the Proposed Henderson Park-College Historic District and a Chesterwood Journal
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Authors
O'Connor, Pamela Hall
Issue Date
1993
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
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Abstract
From the preface: "I grew up in Kalamazoo, and remember how I used to dream of living on
Grand Avenue in one of those fancy Queen Anne houses. My family lived in a ranch-style house on the far northwest side of town, but I had friends who lived on West Main Hill, and I could often be found there after school. We would do our homework in a funny, narrow little room just off the kitchen; or play tag with the other kids, tearing in and out between the houses or the passages between house and garage. On colder days, we would climb the stairs to the attic, spending hours discovering what someone else had earlier tucked away under a dormer.
In 1983, I realized my dream. I bought a house in the neighborhood and started a business. The place had remained virtually unchanged. The same friendly kinds of family-oriented folks still lived in those gracious old homes. We got to know our neighbors and we stayed for almost nine years before we sold the business, so that I could return to school.
While we were there, I served on the board of the neighborhood association, including a year as president. That was the year I suggested that this neighborhood was too good a place not to be photographed, talked about, researched and documented. I moved that we look at the possibility of
nominating it for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
That was 1988. During our initial investigation, it became clear that a project of that size was beyond our means. The idea was tabled and not discussed further by the board.
Three years later, I applied to fill an opening on Kalamazoo·s Commission for Historic Preservation and was accepted. During my first interview with them, I mentioned my frustration at not having been able to get that project underway. The chair commented that it could be done, and with her assistance, state funds were granted specifically for that purpose this past spring. It was out of that project and grant that part of this SIP project was born.
The second part of my SIP came from the realization of another dream: to further explore the world of art conservation. It came in the form of the sculpture conservation work-study at Chesterwood, a National Trust house museum, and former summer home of American sculptor, Daniel Chester French."
The following items, which were photocopied inclusions witth the original, have been omitted from this PDF version.
"Acid Rain as Cultural Vandal: Effects on the Built Environment" from Massachusetts Wildlife vol. 36 no. 1 (May-June 1985).
Cover of Historic Preservation magazine (March-April 1993) which shows the Chesterwood Studio.
Pictorial Glossary of Architectural Styles (Addendum to SIP). Most material was copied from House Styles at a Glance and A Field Guide to American Houses.
Publicly available with permission of the author.
Publicly available with permission of the author.
Description
v, 303 p.
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