Preservation Destination

In this week’s episode I interview Erin Holmes, the Executive Director of the Vieux Carre Property Owners, Residents and Associates. Through her role as the Executive Director of the VCPORA and as the previous Advocacy Coordinator for the Preservation Resource Center, Erin fights for the historic integrity of New Orleans; her passion for advocacy shows in her commitment to making the city a better place for both tourists and locals. Erin and I discuss the work the VCPORA does to “maintain the French Quarter as a living, breathing neighborhood in addition to being a major economic driver in the city and state.” On a daily basis the VCPORA contends with issues such as short term rentals and sustainable tourism management.

In this week’s episode I interview Heritage Resource Consultant Sarah Marsom. Sarah’s works focuses on connecting people to the built environment and promoting preservation to younger generations. Through groups such as the Young Ohio Preservationists and the Rustbelt Coalition of Young Preservationists Sarah brings together young and emerging preservation professionals for events to promote having fun with preservation. Sarah also created the Tiny Activist Project to share the stories of lesser known minority populations “who fought to save cultural resources.” In 2018 the National Trust selected Sarah as one of the 40 Under 40: People Saving Places and awarded her the American Express Aspire Award for her work in preservation. In addition to all her work as a consultant, Sarah was instrumental in the writing process for the third edition of Historic Preservation: An Introduction to it’s History, Principles, and Practice.

In this week’s episode I interview James Wade, curator and architectural historian at Longwood House in Natchez, MS. James talks extensively about the fascinating history of the home which was originally designed by Samuel Sloan for Haller and Julia Nutt. Construction on the house was stopped because of the start of the Civil War and due to the home’s partial completion it faces unique issues when it comes to conservation. In addition to his work as a curator at Longwood, James is currently writing a book about the house. James has written one previous book, The Pitot House: A Landmark on Bayou St. John. At the beginning of 2019 the Historic Natchez Foundation awarded James the George and Ethel Kelly Preservation Award for his work to restore his personal home, the Casey Mallory Townhouse in historic Natchez.

In this week’s episode I interview Danielle Del Sol, the Executive Director of the Preservation Resource Center in New Orleans. We talk about her beginnings with the PRC as an intern writing for Preservation in Print through her being named the Executive Director in 2018. Danielle’s roll oversees programs such as Operation Comeback, Rebuilding Together, and Preservation in Print. Danielle also teaches an advocacy course in the Master of Preservation Studies program at Tulane and helps students pursue internship opportunities. In 2018 she was named one of the National Trust’s 40 Under 40: People Saving Places.

In this week’s episode I interview preservationist Ashley Gaudlip about her dual roles as an adjunct professor of GIS mapping and as a tax credit reviewer in the state division for historic preservation (or SHPO) in Louisiana. Ashley goes into detail about Geographic Information Systems (GIS); how they can be used in preservation and how she teaches the course to the students at Tulane. She also discusses the process the SHPO uses to help people qualify for state and national historic tax credits including breaking down the location and submission requirements and how her office reviews the information

In this week’s episode I interview James Rolf, the Director of Planning and Preservation with the Recovery School District in New Orleans. In this position James works to revitalize historic school buildings by increasing and managing historic tax credits, creating preservation briefs for contractors and consulting with architects on major renovation projects. He also serves as a community liaison to inform the public about the programs and objectives of the RSD.

In this week’s episode I interview Brook Tesler of Tesler Preservation Consulting. Brook talks about creating an online digital archive and virtual library of a historic collection of over 40,000 images of the French Quarter in New Orleans. The project also includes a website created using GIS mapping that contains images, vital building information and a glossary of terms.

In this week’s episode I interview Michelle Duhon, owner and operator of Bayou Preservation and Southkick LLC. Michelle talks about her work as a technical conservator on projects such as tomb restorations, public art projects and stone repairs. We discuss the use of plaster as a common historic building material and also the types of stones she works with often. She reviews her best practices for creating project bids and working with clients for conservation projects.

In this week’s episode I interview Jennifer Graves Hance, the face behind the popular Instagram account the.preservationist. Jennifer talks about the process she uses to curate her Instagram and how preservationists and preservation organizations can use social media to share information.

In this week’s episode I talk with preservationist Leah Solomon. Leah has worked with a variety of preservation organizations including government agencies, non-profits and private companies. We discuss the different ways preservation is used at the organizational level on programs such as Main Street America, Historicorps and local historic districts.