Great Unveilings – Kalamazoo, Elgin, Rock Island

While some homeowners are still covering up their distinctive old houses a growing number of others are doing just the opposite. Entire neighborhoods are gathering together to assist historic home owners strip off unoriginal siding including aluminum, “style stone”, cement fiber, asphalt and even more recent vinyl siding. In the process they’re  revealing character and beauty long-lost, hidden beneath that unoriginal siding.

ILLINOIS

Elgin – I have friends down there and just found out their community is turning out on May 1st to do SEVEN (7) homes, all in one day!

Pics from these 2010 Elgin Great Unveilings here.

(May is National Historic Preservation Month) Past Elgin Unveilings.

Rock Island – They just got written up in “The Commissioner” for their legacy of hosting 1-3 Great Unveilings each year for nearly 20 years. Conversations with the folks there indicate that they’ve begun running out of homes to do.

The Broadway Historic District encompasses 580 homes in the Mississippi River town of Rock Island. Many of these historic homes were covered over with artificial siding in the 1930s and 40s, with the promise of low maintenance. In Broadway in particular, many of these homes were also turned into duplex and apartments over the years, and the neighborhood lost much of its character in the process. In the 1980s, a small group of dedicated homeowners decided to take action and bring Broadway back to life, by advocating home ownership and historic preservation.

Michigan

Kalamazoo – While checking something else out entirely I stumbled upon Kalamazoo doing “Great Unveilings“. This one sponsored by their “Old House Network“.

Curious and always interested to speak with like-minded folks in other communities I reached out to the coordinators about their program and their experiences with Great Unveilings.

I had a very pleasant conversation with Sharon Ferraro who serves as the Historic Preservation Coordinator / Downtown Design Review Coordinator. Evidently her avocation is neighborhood preservation and involvement with the Kalamazoo “Old House Network”. You should check out their website and facebook page. They’ve been very active for many years now, sponsor some great programs and have a very nice website. All this stands to reason as I found out that Kalamazoo, with over 2,075 individually listed properties spanning six historic districts has the largest volume of historic properties per capita in the state of Michigan.

Anyway, I was curious about their Great Unveilings. Turns out they’re getting ready for their third one. They are big fans of the program and it’s been working out very well for them. Their last one, last year evidently was written up in the Old House Journal for July 2009.

The way they work it is in collaboration with their local Habitat for Humanity who “loans” them their volunteer supervisor who runs the days work and also provides ladders and scaffolding. And while they schedule six hours to complete the job it’s only taken them about four hours with prior projects. Sharon says you’d be amazed at how quickly it goes.

The home owner covers the cost of the dumpster and lunch (unless donated as has happened for them). The Old House Network provides crowbars, eye protection and face masks. Importantly, OHN also carries their own insurance that covers their yearly unveilings along with other workshops, expo and such.

So, while some are still wanting to cover over the distinctive character of their old house there are others who are doing just the opposite and uncovering scalloped, decorative siding, banding and other character long-lost, hidden beneath unoriginal siding.

Beloit – Here in town the homeowners at 641 Church are in the midst of doing this on their own.

I’d love to help them however we as an association need two things.

1. We need to complete our not-for-profit application.
2. Once that’s in place we’ll need to carry our own insurance. $300-400/yr.

Your membership donation will help us get there.  We still need ~$200 to submit our NFP application. You’ll see the “Donate” button in the right-navigation.

Beloit’s Oldest Historic Home For Sale

For Sale: The single oldest historic home in Beloit WI.

At 524 Bluff Street, Beloit WI 53511, the Lathrop Munn home in the Bluff Street Historic District was built in 1848. It’s not only the oldest home in Beloit, it holds a significant place in Beloit’s history. It’s river stone construction in the Greek Revival style is distinctive and increasingly rare in the region. Additionally the home has benefited by single-family, owner occupied loving care and maintenance for the last thirty years by its former residents.

For a community that once boasted the single largest concentration of river stone constructed homes and commercial buildings in the region totaling over thirty, Beloit is now down to just four. (The Racey house another river stone house) We’d love to see this wonderful historic home continue as an owner-occupied family home in the hands of an appreciative owner.

For Sale By Owner – Historic Beloit WI Home.

524 Blufff St. Beloit WI 53511

$75,000

• Bedrooms: five (5)
• Full Baths: two (2 – one main floor, one upper)
• Half Baths: none (0)
• Estimated Age: Built in 1848
• Total Assess: $75,600
• Net Taxes: $1,669.90
• Living Room: 13′ x 13′
• Dining Room: 14′ x 13′
• Kitchen: 22′ x 9′
• Family/Rec: 13′ x 13′
• Mstr BedRm: 15′ x 13′
• 2nd BedRm: 16′ x 13′
• 3rd BedRm: 14′ x 10′
• 4th BedRm: 15′ x 13′
• 5th BedRm: 11′ x 9′

School District: Beloit
Elementary: Hackett
Middle: McNeel
High: Beloit Memorial
Fireplace: Wood burning/ living room
Basement: Full
Garage: 2+ car, detached
Driveway: Concrete
Exterior: Cobblestone/Wood
Fuel: Natural Gas
Heating: Hot Water
Water/Waste: Municipal water, Municipal sewer
Roof: Composition/Fiberglass
Barrier-Free: Open floor plan, 1st floor BedRm

Notes: Historic 5 bedroom home located on Beloit’s Westside. Beautiful wooden staircase welcomes you ot the warmth and character this home has to offer. Large kitchen with second staircase to upstairs adds charm. Many original features take you back in time. This is a must see property!

To make an appointment to view this home call 608-290-0108
Or email the owners at: jbzamorris(at)aol.com

Additionally, as this home is within the historic district the home owner will be eligible for the Wis State Historic Home Owners 25% Tax Credit on approved upgrades and maintenance. You’re within walking distance of the increasingly vibrant riverfront and downtown.

Details on the Wisconsin Historic Home Owner’s Tax Credit here.

“The Wisconsin Historical Society’s Division of Historic Preservation (DHP) administers a program of 25-percent state income tax credits for repair and rehabilitation of historic homes in Wisconsin.”

If you’re interested in pursuing the tax credit we’ll (the Beloit NPA) even give you a hand with the application. It’s really not so difficult.

Historic before / after pics

Here’s one…
Ana-n-I were checking out some of the pics in the Beloit College archives. Fred Burwell was kind enough to help us out. One of the pics I thought was particularly interesting because it would -seem- to include a pic of Chuck Rydberg’s Murmac Paint store on Park Ave Beloit.  Chuck was kind enough to meet with our group last month to talk about painting old and historic houses. It was a great presentation. He certainly knows his subject.

What had once been a private residence evidently was later converted by 1914 into one of Beloit’s early hospitals. Obviously that property was subsequently taken down to make way for a gas station which in turn is now no longer in operation.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

(click image to enlarge)
I’d noticed the fancy roof on the Murmac Paint Store in the past and though it curious. The roof texture on the carriage house in the historic pic is too washed out to make it out. The carriage house does look tall enough for the two stories of the Murmac Paint Store.
What’cha think?
Comment below

Aldrich Middle School – Excellence In Math

The proud faces of Academic Achievement at Aldrich! 

.

Did you see yesterdays Stateline News? (see pg. 6)

Aldrich Middle School students competed in the Math League competitions. The sixth grade team ranked 22nd out of 107 schools in the state.

Scores also are compared by region, which includes Rock, Dane, Jefferson, Kenosha, Racine, and Green counties.

The sixth graders came in fourth, the seventh grade team finished third and eighth grade team was fourth.

Aldrich team members included, front row from the left, Maggie Gianvecchio, Adam Socha, Jake McClellan, Andrew Wadle and Cade Johnson; second row, Claudia Aguirre, Christian Schober, Justin Stanton, Felicia Smith, Jose Carrasco, Payton Barrett and Emily Gianvecchio; and back row, Cody Ford, Jacob Bondele, Caleb Schober and Lauren Otto.

~Stateline News, Wednesday April 7, 2010.

.

Congratulations kids. Keep up the hard work.

And thanks to the Stateline News for carrying the story, sharing the love and highlighting academic excellence at Aldrich Middle School.

.

Hey, share the love.

Below you’ll see a “Share This” icon. Please use it to pass this around to your own online “social networks”.

Top 5 Wisconsin Energy Myths

Compiled by Jonathan Beers
Madison Gas & Electric

• Myth 1: Leave the thermostat at one temperature. It costs as much or more to catch up if you turn the heat down when sleeping or gone.
• Myth 2: Keeping fluorescent lights or computers on is cheaper than turning them off. There’s a big surge when you turn them on.
• Myth 3: Replacing windows reduces heating bills a lot, and is cost-effective.
• Myth 4: Caulking and weather stripping saves a lot of energy.
• Myth 5: Using an electric space heater saves money.

This was part of a broader presentation at the recent Madison Area Builder’s Association Home Products Show where he stated. (reported in the Wisconsin State Journal)

“Replacing windows is way down on the list of cost-effective measures if your goal is to reduce your energy bill,” said Jonathan Beers, residential services manager with Madison Gas and Electric. “There are good reasons to replace windows, but you should beware of phrases that promise energy savings that can be up to a certain percent.”

“…keep in mind that replacing windows is expensive, costing upward of $10,000 for a 20-window replacement, and it probably won’t save you all that much in energy costs. Beers noted that installing those 20 windows that qualify under the Energy Star rating system saves between $40 and $160 in a heating season.”

Sloppy math puts the break-even on this investment over six decades away. Longer than the manufacturers warranty times 3 at minimum.

Stated another way, the windows will likely need to be replaced again before they’ve paid for themselves.

============================================================

How Not to Save Energy

Mythbusters: Home Energy-Efficiency Measures That Don’t Save Much Energy

Article by Michael Blasnik in Green Building Advisor

Window replacement. I find this statistic very interesting because I have been a proponent of historic window preservation for years. Replacing windows can save 2 to 3 therms ($2 to $3) per year per window, resulting in a payback period of over 100 years. Like all of these caveats, the existing conditions of homes should be scrutinized. Jalousie windows or superleaky units without storms could see better savings, but adding storm windows is more cost effective with higher savings potential. In the case of cooling, it’s more cost effective to try shading windows with landscaping, solar screens, or window film.

Both these gentleman are experts within the field of what actually constitutes home energy efficiencies without a profit motive to sell you stuff.

If improving energy efficiency and making home improvements that truly most impact heating expense it is recommended that home owners try a home energy audit. It will uncover where the real energy/heat losses are. You might be surprised.

• Blower-Door Home Energy Audits
• Home weatherization products that address the real energy loss issues

Historic Home Tax Credit – Going Green

If you live within a registered Wisconsin Historic District or have an individually designated home you have some tax advantages available to you.

How would you like to get a 25% tax credit on approved home repairs?

.

Rick D. just forwarded the following article to me about home owners in Madison who are leveraging these tax advantages to “Green” up their homes.

The Wisconsin State Journal – “Keeping Wisconsin history in good shape” on two of the sixteen households in Madison alone that have taken advantage of the program so far this year.

Brent and Lindsey Sainsbury:

… recently outfitted the back roof of their historic University Heights home with 22 photovoltaic (solar) panels….. The historic tax credit allowed me to put up more solar than I would have otherwise.

Richard and Suzanne Linton:

… refreshed the exterior of their Spaight Street Prairie Style house located in the Orton Park Historic District sooner than expected using higher-quality period-color paint thanks to the credit.

About the program:

Credits go for projects costing $10,000 or more on homes deemed historically significant (most are listed on the national or state historic register). The program offers qualified homeowners 25 percent tax credits on approved work.

Read the Wisconsin State Journal Article here.

Get the details on the Wisconsin Historic Homeowners Tax Credit Program here.