As part
of our ongoing work with California State Parks, Garavaglia Architecture
prepared a Historic Structure Report to guide the stabilization of the Bodie-Benton
Railroad Office Building, and develop a plan for its use as a limited-use
interpretive center.
Bodie State Historic Park is famed as a gold-mining ghost town that once had a population of nearly 10,000. Only a small part of the town survives, preserved in a state of “arrested decay,” as mandated in the park’s General Plan. The project included a stakeholder visioning session that brought to light competing goals. GA worked with the various parties to arrive at a consensus for the building’s future use, while remaining sensitive to the requirements that each party was trying to meet.
The HSR responded to the
known history of the building, its existing conditions, and the stakeholders’
requirements to balance the building’s immediate needs with DPR’s long-term
goals. Included in GA’s analysis was a finishes study to clarify construction
chronology with relative dating of paint and wallpaper samples, and an ADA
access study for short- and long-term building use goals. Findings were
presented as a prioritized and phased plan with recommendations for
implementation and future study.
Volunteer
work crews from the non-profit HistoriCorps began work this summer to restore
the walls, foundation, siding and patio and seismically strengthen the
building.
Garavaglia Architecture, Inc., wanted to let you know that there are grant and award opportunities available that you may not be aware of:
Conservation Assessment Program (CAP)
The Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) is a program administered by Heritage Preservation, the National Institute for Conservation and provides a general conservation assessment of your museum’s collection, environmental conditions, and site. Conservation priorities are identified by professionals and the report can help your museum develop strategies for improved collections care and provide a tool for long-range planning and fund-raising.
The National Park Service has $5 million of Save America’s Treasures grants which provide preservation and/or conservation assistance to nationally significant historic properties and collections.
For more information visit the NPS awards website.
National Endowment for the Humanities Grant
The National Endowment for the Humanities recently announced a a new grant program to create and sustain humanities infrastructure. Grants aim to help institutions secure long-term support for their core activities and expand efforts to preserve and create access to outstanding humanities materials.Applications are welcome from colleges and universities, museums, public libraries, research institutions, historical societies and historic sites, scholarly associations, state humanities councils, and other nonprofit humanities entities.
Information about the 2018 grant is available here.
2018 California Governor’s Historic Preservation Awards
This award is for individuals, projects, organizations, or agencies whose work exemplifies the best in historic preservation in California. Projects are for restoration, rehabilitation or adaptive use of historic buildings, structures, sites or cultural landscapes; or activities related to the identification, protection, and interpretation of historic and prehistoric resources.
Garavaglia Architecture, Inc. congratulates the Preston Castle Foundation for obtaining the deed to this historic Preston Castle’s 5 freestanding buildings and nearly 13 acres of land from the State of California. Garavaglia Architecture, Inc. is proud to have worked with the Preston Castle Foundation’s Board on the project’s vision and planning, as well as its Core Historic Structures Report and National Significance reports for National Historic recognition.
Garavaglia Architecture, Inc. congratulates the Preston Castle Foundation for obtaining the deed to this historic Preston Castle’s 5 freestanding buildings and nearly 13 acres of land from the State of California. Garavaglia Architecture, Inc. is proud to have worked with the Preston Castle Foundation’s Board on the project’s vision and planning, as well as its Core Historic Structures Report and National Significance reports for National Historic recognition.
Photo: Garavaglia Architecture, Inc.
From the PCF press release:
“The strikingly beautiful Romanesque style Preston Castle, on a hill in Ione, was actually the administration building for the Preston School of Industry, the first major attempt in California at rehabilitating, instead of just imprisoning, young offenders. Opened in 1894, the Preston School of Industry became a leader in the juvenile prison reform movement by giving convicted boys a real chance at life by educating them not only in academics, but in all of the useful trades of the time. Closed in 1960, when the Preston Youth Authority moved into a new administration building down the hill, the Preston Castle was left to deteriorate due to weather, vandalism, and general neglect. It now serves as a vacant, but vitally important landmark for Ione, Amador County, and the Mother Lode. It is a California State Historic Landmark and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Originally incorporated as the Historic Preston Restoration Foundation in 1996, and renamed in 1999, the Preston Castle Foundation (PCF) is a California 501(c) (3) Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation. In 2002, the Foundation was successful in obtaining a 55 year lease from the State of California for the purpose of preserving, rehabilitating, and utilizing the historic Preston Castle site.
To help raise money for this important project, the Foundation has been sponsoring numerous
fund raising events, historical tours, paranormal tours, event rentals, and soliciting memberships, grants, and donations. Funds raised enabled much needed improvements to be accomplished, including a new roof, a new 4th floor, refurbished front porch, rebuilt windows, safety upgrades, and many items relating to structural stabilization. Completing these projects satisfied key terms of the lease that would allow transferring ownership from the State to the PCF. This prompted, in 2011,
the Preston Castle Foundation Board of Directors, under the leadership of Carol Lipchik, Director, to begin their Quest for the Deed. Carol and her committee put together a large binder with Business Plans, Budgets, Strategic Planning, a Core Historic Structures Report and the Vision and Mission of the PCF. This book was used at a meeting with the landlord, the Department of General Services of the State of California, to officially ask for transfer of the deed to the Preston Castle property.”
Learn more about this important step in the Preston Castle’s revitalization here.
