Renaissance Ramble

The November-December 2016 issue of Louisiana Life magazine has a wonderful article about the renaissance that is occurring in downtown Alexandria, much due to the vision and ability to implement great restorations by Michael Jenkins.  While our midcentury modern historic district (Louisiana's first of its kind on the National Register of Historic Places) gracefully ages, our city's downtown is coming alive!

1st Year Anniversary on National Register

It's been a year since our mid-century modern neighborhood was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Our district was the first mid-century modern district in Louisiana to be listed.  Happy anniversary!

Post-War Suburbs Celebration presented by the Alexandria Historic Preservation Commission

The celebration will recognize the listing of the Alexandria Post-War Suburbs Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. Residents of the district and the Alexandria community will be celebrating Louisiana’s first mid-century modern National Register historic district.  Be a part of it!

When:            Saturday, 7/13, 10 a.m. to noon
Where:          In the district gathering on Kimball Ave. near the corner of Madonna Dr.
Activities: 

• Welcome Remarks – The Honorable Jacques Roy, Mayor of the City of Alexandria
• Guided tours on the trolley bus departing about every 30 minutes (approx. 25 passengers). The route starts on Kimball near Madonna, then west on Madonna, south on Pierson, west on Elliott, north on Maryland, east on Pershing, and south on Kimball.
• Walking tours available – Self-guided throughout the district; brochures will be available or you may download.  For detailed descriptions of the houses on the tour, view or download here.   Use caution on streets.  Homes are not open; please do not go on properties.
• Entertainment – Taking It 2 the Street will host a ‘block party’ 
• News coverage - TV, radio, and newspaper

Coming to the celebration from outside the district?  To avoid congestion, consider parking outside the district as there will be trolley tours and self-guided walking tours within the district.  If driving into the district, consider turning from Texas Ave. on to Stimson Ave.


We expect to have traffic blocked (except to residents) in these areas:

• on Kimball from the corner of Pershing to around the corner of Madonna and Pierson
• on Elliott from Pierson to Maryland

View TV coverage from KALB-TV from July 5.

A-Town trolley

The Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places!

Today the Director of the National Park Service announced for the National Register of Historic Places that the Alexandria Post-War Suburbs Historic District was listed on June 6, 2013.  Read the announcement.

More information is available about the listing on National Register of Historic Places website. 

Let's celebrate Louisiana's first mid-century modern historic district!
(Mark the tentative date of July 13 on your calendar.  More to come.)

Photo credit:  Alexandria Historic Preservation Commission

Historic District Meeting - Monday, 4/22, 6 p.m.

Please join us for a neighborhood meeting to discuss the proposed historic district.
When:  Monday, 4/22, 6 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Where:  Emmanuel Baptist Church, Fellowship Hall, 430 Jackson St.
               (Enter through door under covered parking)
Objectives:

• Update residents of the proposed historic district on progress and future opportunities
• Inform about tax credits and mid-century modern architecture
• Receive input from neighbors on historic district topics

Agenda:

•  Welcome, introductions, and meeting objectives
  Joe Betty Sterkx, Chair, AHPC 
• Historic District proposal – progress and expectations
  Megan Lord, Director, AHPC
• Tax Credits and Preservation
  Paul Smith, Historic Preservation Consulting
• Mid-Century Modern Architecture
  Paul Smith and Megan Lord
• Communications and resources
  Dave Curry, communicator for the proposed district    
• Potential activities, community input, Q&A           
  Bubba Jones and Dave Curry

This meeting is open to the public.

Historic District featured on KALB News

KALB Channel 5 discussed the proposed historic district on news at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. View these videos:

 

News at 5 including interview with homeowner Dave Curry

News at 6 including interview with homeowner James Brocato

Also today, Megan Lord, Director of the Alexandria Historic Preservation Commission, shared that the newly renovated home at 2822 Madonna Ave. has been honored with this month's Preservation in Progress Award.

Nomination approved by State Review Committee

Alexandria supporters with Committee Chairman, Mayor Lynn Lewis

The National Register Review Committee for Louisiana approved the nomination in Baton Rouge on 3/21/2013, so the Alexandria Post War Suburbs Historic District NR nomination is on its way to Washington, D.C. for approval by the Secretary of the Interior.  The national review is expected to occur in the next few months.

Delores Brewer, Director of Planning for the City of Alexandria, read a proclamation by Mayor Roy declaring March 21, 2013 as "Alexandria Post-War Suburbs Historic District Day".

Donna Fricker, as a preparer of the nomination, presented the nomination to the committee. 
(View an 11 minute video of the presentation.)

AHPC Preservation in Progress Award for March

The Alexandria Historic Preservation Commission presents their March 2013 Preservation in Progress award not to a single homeowner, but to an entire neighborhood, the area encompassing the proposed historic district!  This is a great honor for the residents of the proposed district.

Read about this in the March issue of the CENLA Focus.  It's on p. 76 of the issue. 
          

Follow AHPC on Facebook for updates

Letter from Office of the Lieutenant Governor

2/19/2013

Read this letter to Mayor Roy from Pat Duncan, Assistant Secretary and State Historic Preservation Officer, formally notifying him of the state review panel's consideration of the nomination and a map showing the location of the visitors' center where the review will take place.  Similar letters were sent to state and federal legislative representatives.

Attached to the letter are:

• instructions to comment on, support, or object to listing on the National Register
• directions and map to Capitol Park Welcome Center

Neighborhood Development

(extracted from the draft proposal)

Map

The district includes all or part of five small contiguous subdivisions of land: Petrus Heights (the largest), Mattie O. Ball, Mimosa Place, Kent Addition-East of MacArthur, and DeSelle (the smallest, with only five lots). Their plats date from between 1937 and 1942, although they did not develop until the post-war years. Because it would be inaccurate and misleading to name the district for any of the subdivisions, the name Alexandria Post-War Suburbs Historic District was chosen.

All of the subdivisions are examples of land subdivided by private landowners (known as “subdividers” in modern subdivision history terminology). Individuals then purchased a lot and built whatever they wished. This is in sharp contrast to the look of subdivisions developed by “merchant builders,” wherein a developer purchased the land and built the houses to various models. The “subdivider” development pattern is responsible for the greater variety (and greater architectural interest) found in the nominated district.

It also appears that some of the houses (a minority) may have been speculatively built – i.e., a contractor bought a few lots, built some houses, and sold them.

The layouts of the five subdivisions noted above follow a traditional city grid pattern, although the blocks are typically larger and the lots much wider. There is a notable absence of the curving streets and cul-de-sacs so typical of subdivisions laid out in the post-war years.  Blocks are square, rectangular, and irregular in shape (the latter due to three angled streets (Kimball, Hunter and Pierson – see map). Kimball Avenue takes its orientation from Bayou Hynson.

Elliott Street is a continuation of the same named street that begins in an early twentieth century suburb of the city. Otherwise, the district’s streets were cut when the subdivisions were platted.

As is typical of post-WWII subdivisions, any given house is located roughly in the middle of the lot with a broad expanse of lawn in the front. The large lots with ample front lawns epitomize the escape-from-the-crowded-city concept that was much a part of the suburban rationale. In terms of designed landscape features, there are a notable number of period low planter boxes built of the same brick as the house.

City directories reveal the pace of construction in the district. In the immediate post-war years, twenty-three houses were built. Clearly the period of intense construction was 1951-56, when half of the district’s houses were built. Roughly one-fourth were built in the late 1950s/early 60’s.

Contributing and Non-contributing Elements

(extracted from the draft proposal)

CONTRIBUTING ELEMENTS
The period of significance for the district is 1945-1963 (see explanation in Part 8). Contributing elements include ranch houses and contemporary houses. Per consultation with NPS, two houses outside this period are being counted as contributing because they are close in age and are similar in architectural character to 50-plus year old buildings in the district. One is a ranch house built in 1964 (#109). The other is the home of local architect Thilo Steinschulte, built in 1968 (#85). It reflects the design ethos of an important component of the district – contemporary houses.

NON-CONTRIBUTING ELEMENTS
There are only 14 non-contributing buildings in the district. They are either (1) fifty-plus year old houses that do not contribute to the dominant architectural character of the district (i.e., not ranch houses or contemporary houses); (2) a severely altered contemporary house with an Eichler roof; and (3) houses that are less than 50 years old (and not close enough to the 50 year cutoff and reflective of the district’s architectural character to count as contributing).