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Monel or Monel metal is an alloy made of nickel (roughly 70%), copper (25 to 29%), and a small percentage of manganese, silicone, carbon, and iron. This mixture was popular from the early to mid 1900s and was used in several architectural applications. Monel is stronger than steel, resistant to corrosion, and readily fabricated. (Read more...)

Built in 1936, the Lamar Barn is like thousands of other log structures constructed in the rustic style between the late teens and World War II. The two-story barn is made of Lodgepole Pine logs, daubed with mortar on the out-side, chinked with wood on the inside, and set on a stone and concrete foundation. Typical of this type of building, the intersecting log wall crowns extend 12" to 28" from the corners of the building. After about sixty years, decay had taken its toll. More than half of the extending crowns were so rotten that it was possible to pull large chunks of the heartwood out of the exposed ends. In the summer of 1986, the National Park Service repaired and selectively replaced the log crowns using epoxy and fiberglass reinforcing in a project costing $39,706. (Read more...)

In 1968, the Penn Central Transportation Company applied to the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission for a “certificate of appropriateness” in order to construct a 50-story office building over Grand Central Terminal. The Commission denied the application on grounds that the proposed office building would overwhelm and otherwise interfere with the historic and aesthetic integrity of the landmark-designated terminal building. The plaintiffs filed suit against the Commission alleging that its application of New York City Landmark Preservation Law had effected a taking of property without just compensation and arbitrarily deprived the owners of their property without due process. (Read more...)

This Place Matters: vote Alameda! 3 September 2010, by Do, Lauren Outlet: San Francisco Chronicle

From September 2 - The most recent pot of money up for grabs that Alameda could score is $25,000 from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Alameda Architectural Preservation Society could get this nice chunk of change if you all vote for

Austin tax breaks for historical landmarks more generous than other cities, review finds

2 September 2010, by Coppola, Sarah Outlet: Austin American-Statesman

Most other cities and states require owners to renovate a historical building to receive a tax break, then set a time limit on the discount, said Adrian Fine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Austin is the only large Texas city that

Possible uses of Beechwood sought again

2 September 2010, by Outlet: North-East Independent

From September 2 - In a letter to the council, Youngken and [Wendy] Nicholas wrote, "We are committed to a process and resolution that conforms to the best preservation planning practices and reflects the town's concerns. The building and its histori

Lighting Designs Of Richard Kelly In Show At Yale

1 September 2010, by Outlet: Hartford Courant

From September 2 - A number of Kelly's showpieces are in Connecticut, chiefly Johnson's famed Glass House in New Canaan, whose lighting in and out maintains the continuity of indoors and outdoors that happens in daylight. Two other examples are in th

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