Posts Tagged ‘historic preservation’

January 19, 2015

A Development Crisis in One of Phoenix’s Most Vibrant Neighborhoods

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Today’s post is by guest contributor Bob Graham: 2015 has brought to downtown Phoenix new multifamily development projects that have awakened and alarmed local stakeholders. Any of these developments on their own would probably have ruffled a few feathers but then continued on to completion would be just one more minor erosion of urban fabric that we would adjust to. However when they all come up at once, the challenges of maintaining our progress towards a revitalized and sustainable downtown become all too stark. Current Events: Problem Projects The three projects that have caught the community’s attention are, from west…

October 10, 2014

Big Data Backs Jane Jacobs: Cities Need Old Buildings

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet In The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs said that “Cities need old buildings so badly it is probably impossible for vigorous streets and districts to grow without them.” But in an age of burgeoning urban populations and a pressing need to accommodate a more and more people into cities, does this still hold true? Shouldn’t we be replacing older smaller buildings with LEED Platinum high-rises? “Where do older, smaller buildings fit within cities that are seeking to maximize transit investments, increase density, and compete in the global economy” ask some urbanists. A new report…

October 02, 2014

5 Things that Architects Will Never Tell You or They’d be Out of a Job

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Build it and they will come, right? For architects, all solutions to urban, suburban, and even rural problems lie in the built environment. Just look at Le Corbusier’s Plan Voisin, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Broadacre City and even Paolo Soleri’s Arcology. These are all visions for cities that are supposed to be more egalitarian, more accessible and in Soleri’s case, more in harmony with nature. But what if the solution to the world’s problems isn’t to build something new? Or even to mess with what’s already there? Maybe the solution is to make room, not build something. Maybe the solution…

August 21, 2014

The Ranch Mine does Infill the Right Way in a Historic Phoenix Neighborhood with the LINK House

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet “We need to look at infill as a piece of an existing puzzle rather than trying to create your own identity within an existing neighborhood and disregarding what’s around you. A good infill project is one that takes in what’s existing and also adds to it,” says Cavin Costello, co-founder and designer at The Ranch Mine. Costello and his partner Claire Costello prove these principles with their new infill residential project for developer Evan Boxwell of Boxwell Southwest, the LINK house, in the historic Pierson Place neighborhood in uptown Phoenix. The LINK house got its name because it was…

July 01, 2014

Did We Learn Anything from the Kevin Rose Almost Demolition of the Willamette Heights Historic House?

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Walt Lockley: Earlier this week Blooming Rock covered the recent controversy here Portland as Kevin Rose, a well-known wealthy sort of person from out of town (you can’t see me but I’m silently indicating another state south of here), purchased a nice old house here. A house in Northwest Portland built in 1892. The Montague House. Kevin Rose bought it on February 28th and then recently announced that he wanted to tear it down. No, actually, he announced that he was going to tear it down. Thus Rose kicked the hornet’s nest. Taz…

June 24, 2014

Reaction Against the Possible Kevin Rose Demolition of Historic Northwest Portland Home Goes Overboard

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Emotions have been running high regarding the purchase and now possible demolition of an 1892 historic home in the Willamette Heights neighborhood in Northwest Portland. Neighbors and concerned Portlanders are enraged that someone could buy this historically significant house merely to demolish it and build something new on the site. Kevin Rose, a Google executive and millionaire, and his wife bought the house on February 28th for $1.3 million. The house was one of the first in the neighborhood, built in 1892 by the Montague family, which was prominent in early 20th century legal circles. The house clearly has historic…

September 25, 2013

Why We Should Save Camelview Theater, One of the Last Remaining Historic Theaters in Phoenix

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet I was writing an article on endangered animals when I heard news that Camelview Theater in Scottsdale, Arizona is in danger of being torn down in favor of making room for a 2000+ seat megaplex theater, which would be part of an expansion of Fashion Square Mall. Just like endangered animals will be gone forever if we don’t save them, the same is true for historic buildings. According to Nick Blumberg of KJZZ, “Camelview may be on the chopping block. Dan Harkins leases the land from Camelview’s neighbors, Scottsdale Fashion Square. The mall wants to expand, and that might…

May 07, 2013

Musings on a Sustainable Urban Lifestyle in San Francisco Part II

by: Lucky Sharma

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer, Lucky Sharma. Lucky lives in two cities – San Francisco and Tempe. She’ll be sharing her observations of both cities in a series of posts about the sustainable urban lifestyle. This post will be published in two parts. If you missed part I, which was published yesterday, check it out here. Below is part II: My train of thought was broken by the ding-ding of a bus. I smiled because the bus reminded of the bus rides I took with my parents when I was younger, and it reminded me of how I could…

May 06, 2013

Musings on a Sustainable Urban Lifestyle in San Francisco

by: Lucky Sharma

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer, Lucky Sharma. Lucky is a sustainability professional, supply-chain consultant, product manager, innovations scout, bad-ass scientist, marathon runner, long-distance cyclist, and a poet. Lucky lives in two cities – San Francisco and Tempe. She’ll be sharing her observations of both cities in a series of posts about the sustainable urban lifestyle. This post will be published in two parts. Below is part I: Coffee is a BIG DEAL in San Francisco. I knew this pretty much as soon as my husband and I moved into our third floor apartment in the Pacific Heights neighborhood…

December 20, 2012

The David Wright House has Been Saved! (For Real this Time)

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Tis the season to be jolly! After an epic 6-month long saga that has been nothing short of a roller coaster, the David Wright House is finally in good hands with plans in place to preserve it in perpetuity. The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, the organization that first brought the threat of demolition to our attention, has come to the rescue! The preservation organization facilitated the purchase of the property by an anonymous benefactor that will transfer it to an Arizona nonprofit. The new owner will push forward a landmark designation by the City that will protect the…