Mile marker 101

MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERAEmily made it to mile marker 101 and beyond. Yesterday Laura and I sat with her on our vet’s office floor as he injected the drugs that ended her chronic pain and her life. Our basset hound was two months shy of 16 years old. Emily overcame every health problem she ever had: a bad heart, arthritis, bloat, and the full spectrum of infections that dogs can get but she couldn’t outrun time.

moonshine-bonjovi2013On my bike ride this morning along the Atlanta BeltLine’s Eastside Trail I passed local folk musician Moonshine walking and playing her fiddle. She was alone and it reminded me that I hadn’t seen her with her dog, Bon Jovi, in a while. When I met them last year, Bon Jovi wasn’t doing well and I couldn’t bring myself to stop this morning and ask Moonshine about Bon Jovi. If I’m right — and I hope that I’m not — I hope that Emily has met Bon Jovi and they are off exploring the best trails they can find.

Emily D. Basset, Aug. 10, 1998 - May 23, 2014.

Emily D. Basset, Aug. 10, 1998 – May 23, 2014.

 

Portland (Me.) flatiron building

The former H.H. Hay building is located at the intersection of Congress and Free streets in Portland, Maine. Geographer Loretta Lees documented gentrification in this district as a case study of “small city gentrification” [PDF]. Lees wrote in 2003,

Recessions in the late 1980s and early 1990s slowed but did not entirely stop the pace of redevelopment downtown. By the mid-1990s investment was spreading up the slope from the Old Port and along Congress Street under the auspices of the city’s Arts District and the philanthropic efforts of Portland native and microchip heiress Elizabeth Noyce.

The City of Portland documented the area in a historic designation report for the Congress Street Historic District:

Congress Street is Portland’s “Main Street,” the peninsula’s primary east-west commercial and transportation axis. The richness and diversity of its architecture and public spaces, particularly along the section extending from Franklin Arterial to Bramhall Square, constitutes a unique record of Portland’s residential and commercial
development history …

… It was not until the 1970’s that Portland’s economic stagnation began a long slow path to recovery. With the availability of Federal “Urban Renewal” money, the ambitious Maine Way public infrastructure program signaled a new interest in and concern about downtown by city leaders … At the same time historic commercial buildings such as the Congress Square Hotel (#110) and the Upper H.H. Hay Building (#109) were rehabilitated for new uses.

Last week’s Society for Industrial Archeology conference was based in the heart of gentrified Portland and the conference hotel was only a few blocks away from this highly photogenic building. Below are some views that show the building between c. 1890 and now.

H.H. Hay building, Portland, ca. 1890. Credit: Maine Memory Network, Maine Historical Society.

H.H. Hay building, Portland, ca. 1890. Credit: Maine Memory Network, Maine Historical Society.

Credit: Congress Street Historic District Designation Report, City of Portland, Me.

Credit: Congress Street Historic District Designation Report, City of Portland, Me.

Congress and Free streets, May 2014.

Congress and Free streets, May 2014.

Former Hay building, May 2014.

Hay building, May 2014.

© 2014 D.S. Rotenstein

Decatur urban renewal plan: 1963 map

BeaconHill1963cOn October 14, 1963, the Decatur, Ga., City Commission enacted a new urban renewal plan for the city’s historically black Beacon Community. The new plan included land use restrictions and zones targeted for new commercial development and housing. The plan included building height, setback, and parking restrictions and it limited the types of business that could operate in the urban renewal area.

Two zones for new businesses were created: a “Local Commercial Area” and a “General Business Area.” The former allowed 22 business types, from “apparel shops” to “tailor shops.” The latter permitted 26 additional uses, including “Any use allowed in local commercial use areas within this project.”

Souper Jenny restaurant in urban renewal area along West Ponce de Leon Ave., March 2014.

Souper Jenny restaurant in urban renewal area along West Ponce de Leon Ave., March 2014.

After meeting resistance to the proposal to relocate African American families to an area in unincorporated DeKalb County, Decatur designated part of the new urban renewal area for multi-family housing. Density in the new housing — which became the Gateway Apartments (now slated for redevelopment) — was limited to 21.6 “dwelling units per acre.”

Gateway Apartments, 2014. Slated for demolition and redevelopment.

Gateway Apartments, 2014. Slated for demolition and redevelopment.

© 2014 D.S. Rotenstein

The 1,000 year house

Decatur, Ga., builder Clay Chapman boldly claims that he’s building what he calls a “Thousand Year House” in a project he has dubbed Hope for Architecture. I first reported on Chapman’s project in a December 2013 post, Day Zero: Brown is the New Green.

@1000yearhouse tweet.

@1000yearhouse tweet, May 14, 2014.

Chapman’s construction project is part publicity stunt, part marketing campaign for architect Steve Mouzon’s “original green” concept. Since breaking ground last year Chapman has published regular blog posts and tweets illustrating progress at the site. And, he has hosted high profile visitors, including noted new urbanist architect Andres Duany and local leaders.

Chapman describes the new 5,300 square foot house built where he demolished a 1,541 square-foot home as “sustainable” and affordable. To date, the new house has required more than 124,000 pounds of concrete and has taken delivery of more than 100,000 bricks.

I rode by the “1,000 Year House” earlier today and here’s what I saw:

241 Maxwell St., Decatur, Ga. May 11, 2014.

241 Maxwell St., Decatur, Ga. May 11, 2014.

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