November Newsletter
NOVEMBER 3, 2022
FOUNDATIONS SUPPORT NEW NORTHEAST TEXAS OFFICE
Preservation Texas has been awarded grant funding from the Dealey Family Foundation and The Summerlee Foundation for a two-year period to support the hiring of a Northeast Texas Program Officer who will also manage the organization's Endangered Properties program. The two Dallas-based Foundations are contributing a total of $55,000 per year over the next two years to launch what will be our second regional office.
Earlier this year, PT's Board of Directors agreed to move to a regional office model for the delivery of preservation education and technical assistance programs. Historic preservation is intensely local and site-specific, and regional offices will enable PT to have a more direct and sustained impact across the state that is impossible to provide from a central Texas office.
Offices will open as funding becomes available. Samantha Hunick was hired in September as the Central Texas Program Officer, with support from The Burdine Johnson Foundation, based in Hays County. A third office to be based in West Texas is expected to open later in 2023.
THE HISTORIC LUTHER HOTEL IN PALACIOS IS UNDER THREAT OF DEMOLITION
REMINDER: The Palacios City Council will meet today to discuss the future of the iconic Luther Hotel.
Let your voice be heard! Please take a moment to let the Palacios City Council know that the Luther Hotel matters to all of us, and is worth preserving.
E-mail your comments to the Palacios City Secretary as well as the City Museum, and share your perspective on social media using the hashtag #SaveTheLuther
Photo: The Luther Hotel © 2016 Larry D. Moore
NON-TRUSS BRIDGE SURVEY UPDATE
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is completing a statewide survey update of Texas’ non-truss vehicular bridges and bridge-class culverts built through 1945, as well as masonry structures built through 1950.
Non-truss bridges can come in a variety of shapes (like arches, beams, and slabs) materials, and sizes. This project will provide National Register evaluations for bridges included in the study – of which there are currently 3,793 bridges and bridge-class culverts. You can find more information on the project website.
TxDOT needs your help! Visit their Interactive Comment Map where you can share comments on specific bridges or provide general information about bridges or overall survey efforts.
Photo: The 1915 Bunton Branch Bridge in Hays County is an example of a reinforced concrete closed-spandrel arch bridge.
STATEWIDE PRESERVATION NEWS
The President’s Awards Program was started in 1986 to recognize outstanding projects, places, and people of Texas downtowns. The 1920s Barfield Hotel is a finalist in the “Best Renovation, Rehabilitation and Restoration” category…
Dallas: Proposition A Could Bring Profound Change to Fair Park And Its Historic Band Shell
If passed, Proposition A will channel an estimated $300 million to Fair Park for essential repairs, renovations, and restoration of its historic structures…
Falls County: Evan Thompson, Executive Director of Preservation Texas, presents freedom colony research
Examples of archival resources used to learn more about Hopewell, an abandoned African-American freedom colony in rural Falls County, Texas. Hopewell is part of Bassett Farms Conservancy, a historic 2,400-acre farm and ranch owned by Preservation Texas…
Gulf Coast: Researchers bolstering historic properties along Gulf Coast to withstand hurricanes
The UTSA Center for Cultural Sustainability has embarked on a project to improve the disaster resilience of historic buildings along the Texas Gulf Coast. The researchers are creating a step-by-step guide which will help preserve the structural integrity of historic properties against hazardous weather events…
Houston: The National Fund for Sacred Places announces 2022 grantees
Boynton Chapel United Methodist Church has been selected to receive a grant from the National Fund for Sacred Places. The National Fund is a prestigious and highly competitive program…
Houston: Community leaders raise money to preserve historic home in Freedmen’s Town
Local advocates are raising money to renovate and preserve one of the last remaining historic homes in the area. Organizers need to raise $250,000 to save this 1928 home and keep it in Freedman’s Town for generations to come…
McAllen: McAllen Chamber president would like to help Hidalgo promote its historic district
Downtown Hidalgo has some of the oldest and most historic buildings in Hidalgo County. Chamber of Commerce president, Josh Mejia, is looking to promote regional tourism in the area…
Nacogdoches: Zion Hill Baptist Church renovations nearly complete
The 1914 church will soon open as an African-American museum, as well as a venue for citywide events. To make this possible, the building had to be brought into the 21st century with updates like the addition of an HVAC system…
San Antonio: City of San Antonio adopts new housing deconstruction policy
San Antonio city council has approved an ordinance requiring that historic homes facing demolition be deconstructed instead. Deconstruction keeps irreplaceable heritage building materials out of the landfill and promotes their reuse within the community…
Sherman: Downtown Sherman revitalization program offers 25k to renovate historic building
The city of Sherman has granted $25,000 toward the restoration of a 1950s building off the downtown square. The building will reopen early next year as a barber school. The grant program is part of a broader project to address vacant buildings in downtown Sherman…
Texas: The THC’s 2022 Undertold Marker Applications open until November 15th
Since 2006, the THC has collected a $100 marker application fee “to establish an account to offer funding incentives for special or priority markers." Funds are intended to address historical gaps, promote diversity of topics, and proactively document significant underrepresented subjects or untold stories…
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