Ku’s House: the Survival of a Man, a Neighborhood, and a Historic House

This is the story of a man with a dream, a hit-and-run bicycle accident, and a beautiful old shotgun house in New Orleans. The man: Kweku Nyaawie originally of Central Texas, a carpenter and cabinetmaker. The house: an 1866 shotgun that is the oldest house on its block.

Kweku Nyaawie, known as “Ku” to his friends, went to New Orleans with his brother in 2005 to help with post-Katrina reconstruction of flood-damaged homes. Kweku Nyaawie decided to stay. He found 616 Port Street and it became a labor of love. He did research, found period architectural pieces to replace what had been lost, and began a preservation project that would become a well-loved home.

In summer 2010, Kweku Nyaawie was the victim of a hit-and-run bicycle accident. With no insurance to help with the medical bills, Kweku Nyaawie found his work on 616 Port Street difficult. What’s more, he was having trouble standing. Then came a complaint of blight, a city hearing and a fine for a house in disrepair. Kweku Nyaawie’s neighbors could see him trying to continue his work on the house, sitting in an office chair while sanding the front of his house. He could not continue the project by himself, let alone face the 500 dollar-per-day fine.

Kweku Nyaawie’s friends, neighbors, and others are stepping in to help. The house’s transformation is impressive, though much work remains to be done. “Ku’s House” is a story of preservation  - and perseverance – that will not quickly be forgotten.

Learn more:

• Visit Ku’s House Facebook Page
• See the House Before Restoration
• Read the Story From a Caring Neighbor

Susie Trexler

Camilla the Castle Caretaker

The Renaissance castle Kronborg, where Shakespeare's Hamlet took place. Credit: Agency for Palaces & Cultural Properties, Jon Nordstroem.

Some little girls dream of living in a castle; Camilla Løntoft Nybye dreamed of conserving them, and her dream has now come true.

Camilla is a young and well-established conservation architect in Denmark who just received a remarkable acknowledgement of her talents. She has been named the Royal Building Inspector and will have the task and opportunity to work on several of Denmark’s royal palaces. Ms. Nybye is one of the youngest persons to be named to this post and one of few women.

Camilla has a degree from the Aarhus School of Architecture and a Masters of Science in Architectural Conservation from Edinburgh University. She is currently Associate Partner in the architectural firm of Rønnow Arkitekter A/S.

Camilla shows her brother, a journalist, the Gjirokastra she loves and shares her hopes for saving its historic architecture.

If your dream is to be able to work with building conservation professionals like Camilla, join a team of AiP volunteers at one of our projects! To meet Camilla in person, volunteer with AiP in Gjirokastra, Albania, where Camilla serves as consulting architect at the Skenduli house. She has donated many hours of her time assessing this remarkable stone tower house, and spent many more hours exploring the winding streets and paths of the historic town to gain a clear picture of the city and its architecture.

Finding Family HIstory

9 Things I Learned Tracing My Roots in Romania

Streets in Timişoara are lined with tall apartments, heavily ornamented facades and colorful bricks. Those that have been restored are truly breathtaking. Photo: Maya Strasser

This post by Maya Strasser so perfectly captures a historic journey it’s worth sharing, plus I love the point about the buildings of Eastern Europe. In fact I did a double take at the photo of Streets in Timişoara because it looked so much like square in Zagreb, Croatia where I used to live, right down to the benches!

Conservation in Canada: Adaptive Re-use of Company Houses at Cape Breton

Noted for its culture and scenic beauty, Cape Breton of Novia Scotia, Canada, has long been a destination for tourists (just check what National Geographic has to say). Off the northeast edge of North America, Cape Breton may look isolated and desolate, but it has seen centuries of history. John Cabot reportedly visited the island in 1497, a visit which is commemorated in the naming of Cape Breton’s Cabot Trail (which is over a hundred miles long). Since then, Cape Breton has seen Portuguese fishermen (sixteenth century), French colonizing (seventeenth century), and in the last few centuries, coal mining and steel-manufacturing.

Recent history, however, is a sad story. The century-old “company houses” of Cape Breton have fallen into disrepair. In fact, they made the Heritage Canada Foundation’s 2010 list of the 10 most-endangered historic places in Canada. But help is on the way.

Adventures in Preservation is one of several important groups working together to save the houses. AiP is partnering with Cape Breton University, Nova Scotia Community College, the HomeMatch program, and community members in a project called Historic Housing for the Near Homeless.  Connections formed with schools and students have proved invaluable as collaboration continues; students who worked on previous AiP projects have stepped into leadership roles in this new one.  (See the Cairo, Illinois, project, “Creating Affordable Housing From Shotguns”.)

One of the houses benefiting from this new preservation project Photo: Tom Urbaniak

The house the AiP team will be working on is located in the Kolonia section of Whitney Pier, a multicultural community established in the early 1900s around the former Sydney steel plant. There homes were constructed from the dismantled Breton Hotel, which housed the workers who built the steel plant in 1899-1902. Preservation of the company houses is a nod to an important piece of Cape Breton’s history. This project will also provide affordable, durable, adaptive re-use homes for local families at risk of homelessness.

Take this exciting opportunity to join in the efforts! Learn more and join the project at our “upcoming adventures” page!

— Susie Trexler

One Tome or Two? Tea with a Side of History

A "folly" built in the 1700s remembers an era when castles were actually lived in. Blaise Castle, Bristol. Photo: Susie Trexler

England is a country steeped in history. You can hardly walk a hundred feet without running into something that is older than the United States. In Europe, this is average. To a Nevadan (a state since 1864), this is fascinating. On my flight home I was sitting next to a young man from Stockholm, Sweden, who confessed that his parents had just bought a summer house that was three hundred years old.

And that was normal. Adaptive re-use of historic structures seems to be a burgeoning trend in the United States, where buildings are for the first time phasing out of their original uses. In Europe, adaptive re-use is not a preservation choice, it’s a lifestyle.

A canal tow-path has become a walking and bike trail for locals and visitors. Near Bath, England. Photo: Susie Trexler

Reusing buildings that are already there is a given. They’ve served several different purposes since their construction; what’s adding another?

On my visit to Bradford-on-Avon, we ate at a tea house  – the Bridge Tea Rooms – that has been standing (impressively) since 1675. The building had the appearance of being duct-taped together with pieces of metal. When we stepped inside we were offered space upstairs. I was not only impressed that the second floor could sustain a group of five, I was giddy at the thought of being in a building that was 336 years old. If there is anything that old on the West Coast of the United States, I can assure you it’s off-limits. You can’t touch it, and you certainly can’t use it.

A 18th century statue commemorates the earlier Roman presence in Bath, England. Photo: Susie Trexler

The tea and scones at the Bridge were delicious, but I will always remember the building, itself. There is forever a debate in preservation, whether it is best to stop the historic clock to preserve its gears or keep it running… whether to let people walk on floors, touch things, use things. There is something to be said for continued use: these buildings were meant to be used, and it’s only through their use that you can fully appreciate them and the history they have witnessed. In a way these buildings have become windows, windows that let us leaf through the pages of history.

Author Susie Trexler is an ace intern at Adventures in Preservation.

Two Sides of the Geocoin

Are geocaches at historic sites a good idea? Maybe, maybe not.

On the one hand, being a strong believer in the importance of learning about history, I think bringing visitors to historic sites in any way, shape or form is a good thing, at least for sites with an education/outreach mandate. Geocachers are by nature explorers and learners, and how cool would it be to follow a trail of caches that traces Paul Revere’s ride or the route of slaves escaping on the Underground Railroad? (If these exist, please let me know!) A code of conduct among geocachers helps ensure sites are left as they are found, so impact would be minimal.

We followed a trail of caches placed along the historic Farmer’s Ditch in Boulder, Colorado, this summer and used it to explain about irrigation, water rights, and a host of subjects to our young cachers. A great experience for all.

However, I can easily see why resource managers would not want the general public crawling around delicate sites looking for the prize. Years ago, the USGS removed the “archeological site” labels from its topo maps in order to protect the sites, and GIS systems often hide that information from the public for the same reason. Geocaches are also not permitted on US National Parkland.

Have GPS, will travel: geocache crew in Bhutan

In Bhutan this spring, we found several geocaches, including one at a mani wall and one in a stupa,  i.e. sites that were not only historic but sacred as well. Our guide and driver were intrigued by the concept and joined our “treasure hunts” with great gusto. Nonetheless, I got a slight sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach the day we searched along the backside of a temple. It seemed wrong somehow to disturb something sacred. And that’s what got me thinking about this post.

Maybe the best thing is to encourage independent geocachers to share historic sites with the world but place their caches just outside the site or near interpretive panels. Earth Caches, where you prove you were on the spot with a photo or by answering a question rather than finding a physical cache, could be another option.

What do you think?

Don’t know what a geocache is? Learn about geocaching

Haunted, or Just History?

Here’s a timely post by ace AiP Intern Susie Trexler

Autumn color in Walla Walla, Washington Photo by Susie Trexler

We have finally stepped into October: autumn foliage is in full bloom across the hillsides, pumpkins decorate doorsteps and fill produce aisles, apples are sold in heavy bags, and Halloween is just around the corner. Leaves crunch underfoot and the old mansion at the end of the street has a larger presence in the crisp, fall air… Perhaps because it is no longer hiding behind trees thick with green summer leaves, or perhaps because Halloween is a time for imaginations to run wild.

When I first began investigating haunted mansions and ghost tours, I had drawn a distinct line between paranormal stories and actual history as though ghost stories were an elaborate (and eerie) side-story. As I wove my way through websites, imagining lantern-lit tours of the Hermitage, home of President Andrew Jackson, and  dark strolls down the boardwalks in the Victorian Virginia City, Nevada, I realized supernatural stories are not the sole – or even the main – source of intrigue about these places. By letting our imaginations run wild – at Halloween and any time – we are connecting with the past.

Eerie opening, or a trick of light? Photo by Susie Trexler

NBC’s Syfy channel has named – by popular vote – the top three “most haunted” cities in America: Charleston, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; and Virginia City, Nevada. Sure, we may relish the thrill of a ghost story (and ghost stories are aplenty), but these cities have something else in common: they are all witness to vivid and important scenes in American history. They are witness to previous eras and societies.

There is something about people that extends across time and place: people like people-stories and gossip. People like things they can connect to, touch, and imagine. By some ironic twist, ghost stories bring history to light.

Are we preserving the ghosts, or are the ghosts preserving the history, themselves?

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Use Halloween as an excuse to step into the past! Explore your local cemetery, or indulge in an eerie event at a historic house near you.

Here are a few we found:

• Ghost tour of the National Building Museum in Washington, DC
• Halloween events (kid-friendly) at New Hampshire’s Strawbery Banke
• “Fright Nights” at California’s famous Winchester Mystery House
• A wake for Emma Crawford at Manitou, Colorado’s Miramount Castle
• Lantern tours at The Hermitage, home of President Andrew Jackson
• Haunted tours of Virginia City, Nevada 

Add to the list, if you dare!