A Quarterly Journal of the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions Winter 2019 Planes, Trains and Funiculars: Working with Historic Transportation Infrastructure 4 Adapting Aviation 10 Rolling Stock: Working 18 Form (Preservation) 24 Belgian Blocks And Beyond: Creating Infrastructure In Order With Moving Histories Follows Function Accessible Historic Streetscapes To Preserve It 32 Angels Flight Railway 39 SPOTLIGHT on a Preservation 40 Volunteer Profile 42 State News Persisting And Thriving Organization: The Historic Bridge JOHN H. WELBORNE Foundation, Austin, Texas COVER IMAGE Angels Flight is still useful 2019 BOARD OF DIRECTORS: for pedestrians in downtown Los Angeles. Credit: Samuel Hopp The National Alliance of Preservation Commissions (NAPC) is governed by a board of directors composed of current and former members and staff of local preservation commissions and Main Street organizations, state historic preserva- tion office staff, and other preservation and planning professionals, with the Chair, Chair-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and Chairs of the board committees serving as Updated: 2.15.19 the Board’s Executive Committee. the OFFICERS PATRICIA BLICK MELINDA CRAWFORD A quarterly journal with Quapaw Quarter Association Preservation Pennsylvania news, technical assistance, Arkansas | Chair Pennsylvania | Secretary and case studies relevant to local historic preservation CORY KEGERISE commissions and their staff. TIM FRYE Pennsylvania Historical and Museum San Francisco Planning Department Commission California | Treasurer Pennsylvania | Chair-Elect NAPC STAFF: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BOARD MEMBERS Stephanie Paul [email protected] KATHERINE ADAMS JACQUELINE JOHNSON Washington Architectural Foundation Initiatives of Change PROGRAM ASSISTANT Washington, D.C. Virginia Marie Snyder [email protected] DEBORAH ANDREWS MICHAEL KOOP City of Portland Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office Maine Minnesota NATHAN BEVIL COLLETTE KINANE Ohio History Connection Raleigh Historic Development Commission Ohio North Carolina BETSY BRADLEY CAROLINE LABINER Spokane Historic Preservation CONTACT NAPC AT: Harvard Heights Historic Preservation and Commission/Goucher College Historic Windsor Square Overlay Zone Boards Preservation Program California tel (757) 802-4141 Washington [email protected] PAULA MOHR WALTER GALLAS Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs www.napcommissions.org City of Baltimore Iowa PO Box 1011 Maryland J. TODD SCOTT Virginia Beach, VA 23451 BRIANA PAXTON GROSICKI King County Historic Preservation Program PlaceEconomics Washington Georgia MATT SYNATSCHK JAMES HEWAT Land Use Consultant All current NAPC members who City of Boulder Texa s serve as city staff to preservation Colorado commissions are encouraged to PHIL THOMASON Thomason and Associates The Alliance distribute articles in Tennessee Review to commission members and other staff and elected officials within your member NAPC is seeking volunteers to help advance its mission organization. of providing education and technical assistance to local preservationists, particularly those involved in the work of local NAPC can provide additional preservation commissions. Volunteers may serve on a variety digital copies of The Alliance Review to members of your of committees and in other capacities that take advantage of commission. Simply email us at their individual skills and experiences. Editorial and produc- [email protected] with tion work on The Alliance Review, membership recruitment and retention, resources your commission member’s development, education programs and technical assistance are just a few of the name and email address. possibilities. Join us today to make a difference in the future of preservation by contacting NAPC at 757-802-4141 or [email protected]. In this Issue BY J. TODD SCOTT, THE ALLIANCE REVIEW EDITORIAL COMMITTEE We’re taking a look at historic transportation infrastructure in this issue. It’s such a critical component of many of our historic districts that we felt it deserved a little attention. We start with a look at a restored and expanded airport terminal, at the second oldest continually operating airfield in the country. Then we move on to trains and take a look at landmark designation of historic rail cars in the Pacific Northwest. Streets are always a hot topic, so we look at how Fredericksburg, Virginia deals with traffic in its historic downtown, and how Brooklyn is working on making historic stone streets more universally accessible. Finally we finish with a look at the last remaining historic funicular in downtown LA, and while we often focus on staff profiles, we have taken a look this time at a fervent advocate and gifted volunteer. As always, please let us know if there are topics you’d like to see covered, or if you would like to contribute an article to a future issue of The Alliance Review. The Alliance Review | Winter 2019 | National Alliance of Preservation Commissions Page 3 Brantley Hightower, AIA, is an author, architect and educator living in San Antonio, Texas. His first book, The Courthouses of Central Texas, was published by The University of Texas Press in 2015 and his firm, HiWorks, collaborated with Work5hop to design the fabric-wrapped wings of the new control tower at Stinson Municipal Airport. Adapting Aviation Infrastructure In Order To Preserve It By Brantley Hightower, AIA Just a few years after Orville Wright first took flight over the beaches of North Carolina, United States Army Lieutenant Benjamin Foulois took off in a used A-model Wright Flyer and circled over Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. Although Lieutenant Foulois would become known as the “Father of Military Aviation” he was by no means an experienced pilot when he made those first few flights over the Alamo City. He had learned to fly partially through written correspondence with the Wright Brothers. This approach to flight instruction had obvious limi- pay for a classical musical education in Europe. tations. That is why the Army later invited a more After discovering she had natural talents as a pilot experienced aviation pioneer, Max Lillie, to come she decided to pursue a barnstorming career to San Antonio to help teach new pilots to fly - and instead. She was the fourth woman in the United more importantly to land – safely. To assist in the States to officially earn a pilot’s certificate and training Lillie brought with him a young woman by toured the country as “The Flying Schoolgirl,” setting the name of Katherine Stinson. several early aviation records along the way. Stinson was a talented pianist and the story goes Soon after her siblings joined her in San Antonio that her initial, somewhat convoluted, plan was to she leased a flat, open piece of land on the south earn enough money as a novelty exhibition flyer to side of town. In 1916 the family established the Page 4 The Alliance Review | Winter 2019 | National Alliance of Preservation Commissions Historic image courtesy Tim O’Krongley Historic image courtesy The WPA-era terminal building initially had a “wedding cake” appearance but its massing changed after upper floor additions. Historic image courtesy Tim O’Krongley Historic image courtesy In between world wars Stinson was briefly renamed “Winburn Field” as seen in this aerial photograph from the period. Stinson School of Aviation and went on to train American, Braniff and Eastern Airlines. In 1936 a many World War I pilots on what they christened terminal building was built by the Works Progress Stinson Field. The airport has been in use ever Administration to meet the growing demands of since, making it the second-oldest continually- passengers and cargo. The two-story concrete operating airfield in the United States. In between structure was clad in local sandstone and featured a the world wars Stinson Field served as San Antonio’s modest but handsome collection of art-deco details. main commercial airport with service provided by The Alliance Review | Winter 2019 | National Alliance of Preservation Commissions Page 5 After being used as a training base during the obscured this secondary facade by expanding the Second World War, Stinson Field was returned building to the north towards the street. Local preser- to civilian use. When work was completed on vation groups including the San Antonio Conserva- San Antonio International Airport, all commercial tion Society raised concerns about this approach aviation moved to the north side of town. The new and although the group had no official say in the airport made Stinson no less important, however. matter, the architects listened to their concerns and . According to Tim O’Krongley, “Stinson has always developed an alternate approach that split the addi- had a role of supporting and being a catalyst for tion into two symmetrical wings that would be built aviation in San Antonio.” O’Krongley served as the on either side of the existing building. Airport Manager of Stinson between 1998 and 2006. Even though Stinson was by then classified Even though the airport is city-owned it still must as a general aviation “reliever” airport it was still a go through the same review processes as any hub of activity. With multiple flight schools and a other project. San Antonio had recently stream- growing number of corporate and private aircraft, lined this approval process: whereas the project’s Photo courtesy ofPhoto courtesy Des Moines Partnership by the early part of the twenty-first century it was design would have once been