#historic-preservation

#historic-preservation

'I started crying,' Azar told me one afternoon last summer, as we sat on the sun-drenched porch of Gifford, overlooking the brick courtyard. Guests popped over to bid him hello, and he gently directed them over the lobby bar for a moment of respite from the heat. He continued the story: 'I was like, 'This is actually why I'm doing this.'

The world's oldest surviving gasholder is to be restored and repurposed as part of a housing development in west London. Hammersmith & Fulham Council has approved plans that will see the Grade II* listed Gasholder No.2 at King's Road Park restored, securing the future of a structure that will soon reach its 200th birthday. Built between 1829 and 1830, Gasholder No.2 is believed to be the oldest surviving gasholder in the world.

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and Children's Fairyland puppets Karl the Elf and Quercus kicked off the opening festivities on Saturday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for East Bay's most iconic landmarks, the newly reopened Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts.

OREGON CITY - It'll be a long and arduous journey emblematic of the original 1840s Oregon Trail migration itself. But, in the end, some years from now, restoration of the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive and Visitor Center in Oregon City should produce a beacon of history, education, and pride for the state and citizens of all backgrounds. An updated venue will include a new addition housing original wagons, a beautiful plank house, amphitheater events, and expanded programming.

known as the Concord Quarters. An unadorned brick building, it housed enslaved people and has a kitchen where many of them once worked. Cosey was formerly a guide at a historic inn in the town and was ordered to "stick to the script" when she insisted on mentioning the inn's slave quarters; today, as she says, "I wrote my own script."

reBuild Workshop took a different tack in this three-story late 19th century row house, giving each half of the parlor floor its own distinct identity. The living room at the front remains generously laden with Victorian woodwork, while the kitchen/dining room at the rear is a totally new, mid-century-inspired space with a California vibe, filled with light and overlooking the garden. The modern additions were kept deliberately restrained in order to foreground the house's historic character.

A group of artists, preservationists, and activists is sounding the alarm against Trump's potential demolition of a prominent federal office building next to the National Mall, and the treasured artworks inside it - including several New Deal-era murals that speak to the value of Social Security in the United States. Alex Lawson, executive director of the advocacy organization Social Security Works, co-authored a petition to save the works with local muralist Absurdly Well.

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

That brought out the cavalry of Vaillancourt Fountain fans to defend the long-not functioning public art piece, even bringing the original 95-year-old artist Armand Vaillancourt to SF to fight for it. But the fountain problems came to a head this past June when the SF Rec and Parks Department declared the fountain hazardous and fenced it off to the public. Rec and Parks then formally requested the fountain's removal in August.

The days appear numbered for the striking butter yellow Italianate manse on Fort Greene's South Oxford Street, with developers applying to raze the attractive wood structure and replace it with a five-story apartment building.

I want to talk about architecture for a moment - specifically residential architecture. In San Francisco. You expect to see stately Victorian homes with their bright colors and fancy decorative trim. Then there's Marina style homes with their big windows and stucco facades. But sprinkled in amidst these grander homes you might spot a few tiny cottages - the original tiny homes.

We did not deserve the charming, butter-yellow house at 158 South Oxford Street, and we are poised to lose it. The 165-year-old house was never included in any landmark districts, and documents filed last month show plans to take it down and build 17 apartments, "most likely condos," according to New York YIMBY, which broke news of a demolition permit last month.

When Kiri Sulke began dating her now husband, Phillip, in New York in 2014, she was immediately drawn to the real estate developer and artist. "I trusted him straight away," recalls the Australian-born lawyer turned writer and yoga instructor. "He is incredibly honest and unafraid to show his emotions and be vulnerable." She also quickly sensed that Phillip does nothing halfheartedly-a scrupulousness he confirmed not long after, when he mentioned searching for a weekend escape from his Tribeca apartment.

The days appear numbered for the striking butter yellow Italianate manse on Fort Greene's South Oxford Street, with developers applying to raze the attractive wood structure and replace it with a five-story apartment building. The circa 1860 wood frame house, located at 158 South Oxford St., between Hanson Place and Atlantic Avenue, was called a "rare beauty" by Brownstoner columnist Suzanne Spellen in 2010.

Officially known as Congregation Chaim Albert but known colloquially as the Kingsbrook Synagogue, the synagogue was part of a Jewish hospital founded in 1928 in response to antisemitism in nearby hospitals and to meet the needs of local Jewish patients. For nearly 100 years, the synagogue has served Jewish hospital patrons and residents in the surrounding neighborhood of East Flatbush and Crown Heights.

RICHMOND - Eager to attract more visitors and generate more revenue for the city's port, officials hope to relocate a World War II era ship to a more frequented part of Richmond's marina. The Red Oak Victory, staged in a basin in Richmond's port, is one of the last known surviving ships built in the city during World War II. The floating museum is one of many sites from the era that honors Richmond's contribution to the war effort.

The New York State Pavilion, the space-age behemoth that was built for the 1964-65 New York World's Fair in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, is finally getting its comeback. The Parks Department has signed off on a stabilization and restoration effort budgeted at roughly $50 million (the agency's project total is $56.8 million), aimed at rescuing the Pavilion's weathered concrete, steel and platforms after decades of rust, closures and scaffolding.

Long before a refreshing mint julep can hit your lips, grain must be malted, milled, mashed, and fermented, the resulting wash then distilled to concentrate the alcohol. Maturation can take years in a barrel to achieve the desired color, flavor, and smoothness. Good taste takes time. And the same can be said of decorating, as the AD100 titan Robert Stilin discovered while transforming a historic house in Louisville, Kentucky-a labor of love more than a decade in the making.

The redevelopment of the Jean Dauger sports complex is an integral element in considering Bayonne's green belt. Reclaimed from ground originally used for military manuvres and occupied by moats at the foot of the ramparts, this green space, with pleasure gardens and open-air sports facilities, has benefited from its historic and cultural status, giving it a sense of significance and protecting it from invasive urban development.

Brooklyn had another slow year for landmarking in 2025, with no new individual landmarks designated. The borough did, however, gain two new historic districts. Both districts, located in Flatbush, were designated unanimously by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in November, expanding protections for blocks south of Prospect Park that preservation advocates have long sought to see designated. The new Beverley Square West and Ditmas Park West historic districts bring the area's total number of historic districts to five.

Lavish mansions from various eras often fall into disrepair. These eight sprawling mansions hint at the wealth they once embodied Years later, they sit abandoned in varying states of deterioration.

A key goal for the council in 2026 is to work with surrounding cities to create special districts in our hillsides that will provide a means for long-term, sustainable wildlife protection,

We're tackling a really thorny issue that we haven't updated in quite some time," Mayor Ellen Kamei said at the meeting.