MAY IS NATIONAL PRESERVATION MONTH AND YOU ARE INVITED!!!

Trinity Episcopal Church

A Celebration of 160 Years of History

May 19, 2012 at 2pm  60 Church Street, Asheville, NC

Join us as Trinity Episcopal Chruch graciously opens its doors to the members and guests of the Preservation Society to reveal a story that is central to the faith community for Asheville.  Docents and church historians will be on hand to guide us through this rich telling of church history.

Copies of An Illustrated History, Trinity Episcopal Church, 1849-2011, nominated for the prestigious Griffin Award for Historic Preservation Research & Publication, will be on hand for purchase.

Garden reception to follow.

Here is the link to the most recent edition of PebbleDash.

April 2012 Pebbledash

April 2012 Pebbledash Insert

Griffin Award Nomination Form  2012

Each year, PSABC presents the Griffin Awards for Historic Preservation.  Projects from Buncombe County that have been completeled within the last 24 months, or thos that are deemed 90% complete may apply in one of the following award categories.

1. Restoration- Projects that accurately depict  the form, features, and character of a property as it appeared at a  particular period of time.  Restoration may entail removal of features from other periods of the building’s history and reconstruction of missing features from the restoration period.  It may include limited and sensitive upgrading of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems and other code-required work to make the property functional.
2. Rehab – Projects that allow for newer compatible use of a historic building through repair, alteration, and/or  additions while preserving portions or features of the building which convey its historical, cultural, or architectural values.  Changes that achieve a false sense of historical development over time will not be considered.
3. In fill Construction within a Historic District or Neighborhood-projects within boundaries of national or local historic districts within the City of Asheville or Buncombe County that are respective of the contributing factors to the original historic neighborhood/ district in which they fall. Specifically, the Griffin Awards Committee will focus on the project’s compatibility to the adjacent scale, character, materials, colors, siting, landscape and forms of the historic area. The project should, arguably, be a contributing structure to the integrity of the immediate area. Applicants for this award must also provide a minimum of five (5), but no more than ten (10) images of adjacent structures or elements of the historic area that provided inspiration for the new construction.
4.  Adaptive Re-use – Projects that adapt a historic building for a purpose other than what was originally intended while preserving portions or features of the building which convey its historical, cultural, or architectural values.
5. Preservation Service – A single act (or several single acts) in one year in support of preservation efforts; a champion award, specifically for an individual or a group set apart from a particular project.

Research & Publication – Preservation Education Award  Recognizing excellence in communicating the value of historic
preservation to the public including: exemplary historical research, publication, oral history initiative, and the development
of innovative education program or website.

PLEASE NOTE:  There is not a category for renovations or remodeling.   Nor is there a category for new construction that is not specifically within a historic district or traditional neighborhood.

Application for 2012 Griffin Awards, deadline March 30, 2012.

Every third weekend in February, the streets of Asheville are populated  by Arts & Crafts aficionados who have a special appreciation for our city’s architectural heritage. This year is no different, and the National Grove Park Inn Arts & Crafts Conference celebrates its 25^th year by extending the celebration for an entire week.  Arts & Crafts Heritage Week runs from February 12-19 with exhibits, lectures, panel discussions, and of course the much-anticipated Preservation Society House Tours.

Learn about Asheville’s many fine examples of the Arts & Crafts-era architecture and let us do the driving.  Tour guides on the bus will point out key buildings in Asheville’s architectural history and provide an overview of the homes to be visited.  Docents will answer questions in the homes to be toured. A limited number of seats are available for Saturday, February 18. Your $35 ticket helps the Preservation Society’s efforts to preserve Asheville and Buncombe County’s historic architecture.

TICKETS SALES ARE NOW CLOSED.  THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO SUPPORTED HISTORIC PRESERVATION BY PARTICIPATING IN THIS EXCITING EVENT!!

This year’s tour will feature a variety of Arts & Crafts properties, including the headquarters of the Preservation Society! The E.W. Grove real estate office on Charlotte Street was built in 1909 as a home base for Mr. Grove as he oversaw construction of the Grove Park Inn and the surrounding neighborhoods. In addition to its restored interior, a private collection of Arts & Crafts antique furniture and furnishings will be on display.
Other highlights of the tour will include:
• The Fortune family home, also dating to the 1920s was built in the colonial revival style. A former remodeling was unsympathetic to its historic character. The current owners completely renovated the interior in the Arts & Crafts style, featuring reproduction fixtures and locally handcrafted architectural details. The furnishings include Stickley reproductions as well as custom made handcrafted furniture.
• The Old Reynolds Mansion is the antebellum home of the Reynolds family, whose most notable member was a Senator. It had long been neglected and fell to use as a barn before being restored as a bed and breakfast more than twenty years ago. It recently underwent a massive renovation that has brought it to a new level of elegance.
The Fine Print: Participants should be able to walk a city block and negotiate stairs. Tickets will be held at the Preservation Society Tour Table near Conference Registration Desk at the Grove Park Inn. Please pick up tickets at least thirty minutes before your scheduled tour. We are sorry, but we are unable to mail tickets.

Happiest wishes for the New Year! 

As our first call to action for 2012, we would like to invite you to participate in a brief survey regarding your opinions concerning the significance of the Thomas Wolfe cabin in Oteen.

The survey contains only a few questions and will take less than five minutes to complete.  Your responses are confidential and will help us determine the interest in preserving this important historical structure. 

NOTE: The survey is limited to the first 100 responses.

As you may know, in the summer of 1937 Thomas Wolfe retreated to a modest cabin in Oteen, East Asheville, to avoid both the fame and infamy his writing had created. His stay at the rustic revival cabin was brief yet productive. The City of Asheville now owns the cabin, which is a local historic landmark, yet the structure has fallen into a severe state of disrepair. The Preservation Society of Asheville & Buncombe County plans to move forward to produce a privately funded structural assessment and feasibility study, which will lay the foundation for the restoration and future use of the site.

Click on the attached link to provide your survey responses and help in this study: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/58X336S

Thank you so much for your time and help in this important preservation effort.

Not just for holiday celebrations, but for you to get a big tax break by making a year-end donation to the Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County! 

Your contribution will make it possible for us to continue  making sure that the historic buildings and spaces of our community are with us for many, many New Years to come.

Our capacity to protect the historic architecture of our community has increased, and we are accomplishing our important mission.  We have done so with your help.  Here are some highlights of the past year:

• Our educational programming has increased 3 fold!
• We have engaged community leadership in-
• Protecting the historic Ivy Building at A B Tech
• Transportation planning in the River Arts District
• We actively pursue endangered properties, including a Victorian era home.
• We have presented our work in over 12 different civic and social venues.
• Our membership has grown by roughly 10%

We are a non-profit organization and depend on contributions and membership fees to accomplish our goals.  Our work depends on you; any amount makes a difference.  Press the link below and cross off one more pesky chore on your holiday To Do list…

Donate Now

Other types of donations, such as gifts of appreciated stock, real estate, and qualified charitable distributions from IRA’s may be attractive for some donors.  Contact the office for a confidential conversation about these opportunities.

Your end-of-year gift to The Preservation Society

is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

A veiw from the rooftop of Trinity Episcopal

One of Asheville’s many historic churches is celebrating a milestone this year…160 years and counting!  This past September, the parish released a book that illuminates Trinity Church–its history, art, architecture, and people. An Illustrated History: Trinity Episcopal Church, 1849-2011  tells the story of a journey of faith: an Episcopal parish born near the crossroads of a mountain village during the turbulent years leading to the Civil War. The parish’s history is a living one, kept vibrant today through service, worship and community outreach.  

The hardbound, keepsake coffee-table book includes a full-color, narrated photographic gallery of Trinity’s iconic art and architecture; a comprehensive timeline integrating significant parish, community and global events; and an index and apendices listing bishops, priests, wardens and distinguished congregants throughout the past 160 years.

The book costs $50 and would be an excellent addition to any preservationist’s bookshelf this December, or any time of year.  All profits from the book support Trinity’s Emergency Outreach Fund and can be purchased by emailing: info@trinityasheville.org. 

You may also download a .pdf copy of the brochure with more information and color photos by clicking on the following link:

An Illustrated History of Trinity Episcopal Church