A Quarterly Journal of the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions Winter 2020 4 In Memoriam: 6 Salvage City: Recycling 10 Saving Religious Properties: 15 Tools for the On-Line 16 Historic Wall Signs Bernie Callan History One Object at a Time Holy Rosary Church Preservationist Preserve Mooresville’s Past 22 Hidden Murals of 28 World of Wood, 32 Recovery Continues 35 Community 37 Volunteer 40 Spotlight on a 42 State News the Ebell Club of Clear as Glass in Nashville’s Outreach Profi le Preservation Los Angeles Historic Districts Organization Follow us on Following Tornado COVER IMAGE Although not a restoration, the Franklin Automobile Company 2020 BOARD OF DIRECTORS: sign adds to the commercial heritage of downtown The National Alliance of Preservation Commissions (NAPC) is governed by a Mooresville, North Carolina. Credit: Town of Mooresville 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, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and Chairs of the board committees serving as the Updated: 4.27.20 Board’s Executive Committee. the OFFICERS CORY KEGERISE WALTER GALLAS A quarterly journal with Pennsylvania Historical and Museum City of Baltimore news, technical assistance, Commission Maryland | Secretary and case studies relevant to Pennsylvania | Chair local historic preservation commissions and their staff. COLLETTE KINANE PAULA MOHR Raleigh Historic Development Commission Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs North Carolina | Treasurer Iowa | Vice Chair NAPC STAFF: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Stephanie Paul [email protected] BOARD MEMBERS PROGRAM ASSISTANT Marie Snyder DEBORAH ANDREWS MICHAEL KOOP [email protected] City of Portland Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office Maine Minnesota NATHAN BEVIL CAROLINE LABINER Ohio History Connection Harvard Heights Historic Preservation and Ohio Windsor Square Overlay Zone Boards California BETSY BRADLEY Spokane Historic Preservation MARK A. RODMAN CONTACT NAPC AT: Commission/Goucher College Historic Michigan Historic Preservation Network CONTACT NAPC AT: Preservation Program Michigan Washington tel (757) 802-4141 J. TODD SCOTT [email protected] MELINDA CRAWFORD King County Historic Preservation Program Preservation Pennsylvania Washington www.napcommissions.org Pennsylvania PO Box 1011 MATT SYNATSCHK TIM FRYE Land Use Consultant Virginia Beach, VA 23451 New York City Landmarks Preservation Texa s Commission New York PHIL THOMASON Thomason and Associates BRIANA PAXTON GROSICKI Tennessee All current NAPC members who PlaceEconomics serve as city staff to preservation Georgia commissions are encouraged to distribute articles in The Alliance 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 This issue covers a variety of topics, as we had planned to make this the FORUM preview issue for our biennial conference in Tacoma in July. As of this writing, NAPC is continuing to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and will be making an announcement very soon about the upcoming conference. Since we were focused on Tacoma for this issue, we’re highlighting a couple of items specific to that city, one on the heavy use of wood in the built environment in the Pacific Northwest, and one on the inherent problems of building with masonry in that seismically active region. We’re exploring the restoration of wall signage and murals on both coasts – Mooresville, North Carolina and Los Angeles – and getting an update on the impacts of recent tornados on Nashville’s historic districts. Jacqueline Drayer takes a look at the dilemma associated with buildings that can’t be saved and whether we should salvage their architectural elements while Betsy Bradley makes a case for better community outreach. And our regular features include online tools for modernists, a spotlight on The Cultural Landscape Foundation, and a volunteer profile from South Carolina. On a more somber note, in this issue we also pay tribute to George Bernard (Bernie) Callan, Jr., NAPC’s founder and first Board Chair. Bernie passed away in February after devoting more than half of his 88 years to historic preservation and volunteer service on countless boards and commissions. We owe Bernie a debt of gratitude for his efforts to establish NAPC in the early 1980s and are working to find ways to honor his legacy. The iconic view of Holy Rosary with Mount Rainier in the distance. Credit: Courtesy of Washington Trust for Historic Preservation The Alliance Review | Winter 2020 | National Alliance of Preservation Commissions Page 3 In Memoriam: Bernie Callan By Cory Kegerise, Chair, NAPC Board of Directors The National Alliance of Preservation Commissions is mourning the loss of and celebrating the life of George Bernard (Bernie) Callan, Jr., the organization’s founder and first Board Chair. Bernie was a lifelong resident of Frederick, Maryland and devoted more than half of his life to historic preservation as an active and commit- ted volunteer. He was a leader in numerous organizations in his home state up until his death, including the Frederick County Historic Preservation Commission, Frederick County Landmarks Foundation, Maryland Association of Historic District Commissions, and the Maryland Historical Trust Board of Trustees. Following the establishment of the Certified attention to real estate in the historic core of the Local Government (CLG) program in 1980, Bernie city because he saw the economic potential. He led the charge to create a national organization was quick to tell you that he was first and foremost to provide training and educational resources for a businessman and he believed in preservation preservation boards and commissions and serve because it was good for business. In 1984 he told as an advocate for their needs at the Federal level. a U.S. Senate Committee about the importance of In 1983, while serving as Chair of the Frederick funding for State Historic Preservation Offices: (City) Historic District Commission, he organized a meeting in Charleston, South Carolina, of represen- “As a businessman I always have to look at the tatives from other commissions across the country. bottom line and the return on my investment. Last What emerged from that meeting was the National year you invested $25 million in historic preserva- Alliance of Preservation Commissions, and Bernie tion. That brought about an investment of over was elected the first Chairman of the Board. $1.8 billion in historic preservation Tax Act properties. Gentlemen, the return on that investment Bernie was a tireless, unflinching, and unassum- is fantastic. But the real return on that investment is ing advocate for historic preservation, especially in the saving of not just buildings but communities. at the local level. He believed, unequivocally, that Saving our heritage so that we can have a past to historic places and strong municipal policies and build on for a future.” citizen commissions to steward them, were criti- cal to a community’s health and economic vitality. I had the honor of knowing and working with He began his life selling wholesale auto parts in Bernie and remain in awe of his commitment to his downtown Frederick, but in the 1950s turned his community and his service to the causes he cared Page 4 The Alliance Review | Winter 2020 | National Alliance of Preservation Commissions Credit: Vicki Birenberg Figure 1 Frederick News-Post Credit: Bill Green, staff the photographer for Bernie Callan received the Distinguished Preservation Medal from the Daughters of the American Revolution in 2015 for his historic preservation work in Frederick. He is shown at Schifferstadt, one of the city’s preservation success stories, where he is a volunteer docent. about. He was a kind and gentle man who went I am thankful Bernie had the foresight and know- about his work with great skill, savvy, and humility how to create NAPC and am humbled to be and his absence is sure to leave big holes to fill for among those carrying on his legacy. the many organizations he touched during his life. The Alliance Review | Winter 2020 | National Alliance of Preservation Commissions Page 5 Jacqueline Drayer is an architectural historian and Project Coordinator at the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions. Salvage City: Recycling History One Object at a Time By Jacqueline Drayer Reclaimed materials permeate Philadelphia’s built environment. Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens may be the city’s best-known