Ike-Damaged Cottage Moved for Green Restoration
By Lindsey M. Roberts | Online Only | Feb. 19, 2010
Galveston Historical Foundation's "Green Revival House" during the 17-block move
Credit: David Canright/Galveston Historical Foundation
A big idea moved in a small package as a 1,000-square-foot Galveston, Tex., house was relocated yesterday to become the hallmark of a new direction for the Galveston Historical Foundation.
The ordinary cottage, built in the 1890s, floated off its six-foot piers during Hurricane Ike in 2008, and was donated to the foundation. Yesterday, a trailer moved the house 17 blocks to a new lot, where it will become the historical foundation's Green Revival Showhouse, exemplifying both preservation techniques and energy efficiency. "We're trying to teach people that houses were built more sustainably in the 19th century than those built in the 20th century," says Dwayne Jones, executive president of the historical foundation. "Historic properties are still the greenest properties you can have."
About 20 residents followed the house with peeling white paint and delicate woodwork ornamentation. The delicate procession involved moving power lines and cutting tree branches. "How many times do you get to see a house moving down the block?" Jones says.
For Matthew Pelz, who has been planning the move since last September as the foundation's preservation services project coordinator, the view was "nerve-wracking," he says. "Every time it goes under [power] lines or goes under any tree branches, the concern is that something inside is getting rattled," he said as he watched the move. Any damage means more to repair during the renovation.
When completed this spring, the house will include a 23-foot-tall bird-friendly wind turbine in the back yard and sustainable landscaping, as well as repaired original wood-frame windows and a repaired roof. Pelz says he hopes to replace the gray asphalt shingles with a slate roof, to mimic the original.
Every piece of the house that can be recycled will be recycled, Jones says, including bricks from a chimney flue that will be used in the new landscaping. Not one scrap will ever see a landfill, he says.
A Partners in the Field Challenge Grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation will fund the restoration of the house, while a separate grant from the Conn.-based 1772 Foundation, funded the move.
The Showhouse will be open to the public in May for the Galveston Historical Foundation Historic Homes Tour. After that, it will be offered for sale.
"We want to show that being thoughtful, being creative, and recycling can make a historic home really livable and keep them around for another generation," Jones says.
Read more about sustainability and historic preservation
For more photos, stories, and tips, subscribe to the print edition of Preservation magazine.
Subscribe to the Today's News RSS feed
Comments
Submitted by Beatrice at: February 25, 2010
It is very comforting to know people are more than willing to go the extra mile. Thank you