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

Banners in the District

 Today the city completed hanging ten banners around the district.  A few were hung on Friday, and it was pleasing to hear so many people comment about how nice they look and how meaningful it is to have this district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Thanks to the Alexandria Historic Preservation Commission and the City of Alexandria for supporting the district in so many ways including these fine banners!

Stand by for an announcement in coming days about an upcoming celebration.

Compliments to those who made it happen!

Now that the Alexandria Post-War Suburbs Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, I want to thank and compliment some of those who made it happen.   The Alexandria Historic Preservation Commission (AHPC) has been so important leading the effort to prepare and promote the nomination.  I’ve had the opportunity to work with Megan Lord, Director of the AHPC; Joe Betty Sterkx, Chair of the AHPC, and Paul Smith who has provided historic preservation consulting to the AHPC.

Megan’s leadership has been so important throughout the process.  Through her and the fine members of the commission, what were several neighborhoods have now been recognized and brought together as this historic district.  The model that the commission followed to make this happen will be beneficial in the future to other historic areas in Alexandria.

Joe Betty’s energy and enthusiasm for preservation along with her humor and congeniality have benefitted residents as we were informed through community meetings during the nomination process.  As a result of Joe Betty’s urging participation from the neighborhood, Robert “Bubba” Jones along with my wife Judy and I volunteered to help in communicating between the AHPC and the residents of the neighborhood.

Paul’s expertise and belief in preservation have been quite beneficial as he has informed us about the important architectural elements that are so prevalent and unique to so many homes in the district.  The information he has shared about preservation tax credits creates awareness for homeowners of the benefits and opportunities to preserve our legacy.

The nomination for listing on the National Register was prepared for the AHPC by Donna and Jonathan Fricker.  They walked the neighborhood, analyzed records, and prepared the successful proposal.  We had the opportunity to hear Donna present to the State Review Board in Baton Rouge in March, resulting in unanimous approval.

It has been a great team resulting in a great achievement for this great city!
                                                                                      - Dave Curry

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

Sustainability and Historic Preservation Workshop - 6/22

Please register at
http://sustainabilityalexandria.eventbrite.com/ 

 The Sustainability and Historic Preservation workshop highlights the best practices of combining sustainable design techniques and historic preservation, including popular topics such as energy efficiency, windows and solar panels. Aimed at local historic property owners, the workshops offer valuable insights for local historic commission members, city government staff and professionals in related fields.

Speaker: Robin Zeigler, Nashville Metro Historic Zoning 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.)

A Rehabilitation Tax Credit success story

before

after

before

after

What a turn-around the project at 2822 Madonna has been.  This house was a terrible eyesore and a constant source of problems (numerous police reports).  Mark Gravel purchased the property, and using tax credits to help defray some of the costs has brought the house to the point you see.  There's still some work to be done such as repair roof damage from the tornado and build a carport.

 (View this photo album for many more before and after views)

This is a typical Rehabilitation Tax Credit success story - creating an incentive to improve neighborhoods while enforcing a high standard of rehabilitation.  We want more people to know about it and take advantage of it.
Everyone wins on a project like this...The final great news for the neighborhood is that along with the fantastic property turn-around, great new neighbors will be renting this home.  The new neighbors are returning to Alexandria from Connecticut and will be moving into 2822 Madonna on March 18.

We say ... Welcome home!

before

after

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