Conference Schedule
Preserve Minnesota
The 31st Annual Statewide Historic Preservation Conference
Thursday & Friday, September 22-23, 2011
Paradise Center for the Arts, Faribault, Minnesota
Podcasts of the keynote speaker and of selected sessions are available
Come to the Paradise Center for the Arts for the 31st Annual Statewide Historic Preservation Conference. Join historians, architects, planners, public officials, property owners, preservation commission members and citizen advocates from all across the state in Faribault for this annual two-day event. You’ll come away inspired and equipped to help you make preservation succeed in your own community.
Sponsored by the State Historic Preservation Office of the Minnesota Historical Society, the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota and the City of Faribault. Hosted by the Faribault Heritage Preservation Commission, the City of Faribault and the Rice County Historical Society. We gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the Horace F. and Esther Chamberlain Fund for Historic Preservation to make this conference possible.
Faribault was founded in the 1850s by explorer and fur trader Alexander Faribault at the confluence of the Cannon and Straight Rivers. A designated Minnesota Main Street, the city’s downtown will serve as our laboratory and the restored Paradise Center for the Arts – with its Moorish-inspired atmospheric theater – our venue and headquarters.
Check back as this schedule will be updated frequently as more information is known.
Wednesday, September 21
5:30-7:30 p.m. Pre-conference Welcome Reception
Shumway Dining Hall, Shattuck-St. Mary’s School
Thursday, September 22
8-9 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast
Paradise Center for the Arts
9-10 a.m. Welcome and Opening Session—Paradise Center for the Arts (PCA)
Greetings from Stephen Elliott, Minnesota’s new State Historic Preservation Officer and director of the Minnesota Historical Society.
Meet Stephen Elliott, Minnesota’s new State Historic Preservation Officer and director of the Minnesota Historical Society in his first opportunity to visit with the statewide preservation community. His welcoming remarks will kick off the conference on Thursday morning.
Podcasts:
- Stephen Elliott, Director, MN Historical Society and State Historic Preservation Officer
- Britta Bloomberg, Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer, MN Historical Society
- Bonnie McDonald, Executive Director, Preservation Alliance of Minnesota
10-10:30 a.m. Break
10:30-11:45 a.m. Keynote Address
Preservation Doesn’t Cost – It Pays!
Podcast part 1 | Podcast part 2 | Audio only (full version)
In this fun and dynamic talk, Bob Yapp gives practical, humorous and cutting edge advice on the economic benefits of historic preservation. Learn how to counteract property rights arguments using cost comparisons between rehabilitation and new construction projects. You’ll leave entertained and empowered.
Bob Yapp, Preservation Resources, Inc., Hannibal, Missouri
A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Bob Yapp has dedicated his career to community planning, historic preservation, central city revitalization and woodworking. He has worked as a furniture maker, realtor, building inspector, teacher and writer. In 1996 he began the national, weekly PBS program, About Your House with Bob Yapp. He founded and currently teaches out of the Belvedere School for Hands-On Preservation in Missouri.
11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00-2:30 p.m. Concurrent Sessions
Educate Before You Designate
Podcast
Education is the key ingredient for any successful local historic district. Should the process of public education begin before or after the designation? What types of education are most effective? What are the first steps to take in this process? Bob Yapp will answer these questions and more, and provide strategies for a successful local designation process.
Presenter: Bob Yapp, Preservation Resources, Inc., Hannibal, Missouri
The Importance of Preserving Resources from Minnesota’s Recent Past
The architecture of the early and mid-twentieth century played a key role in the development of Minnesota’s cities. Learn what current programs and strategies are in place for the documentation and protection of these sites.
Elizabeth Gales, Hess, Roise and Company, Minneapolis; and Todd Grover, MacDonald and Mack Architects, Minneapolis
Historic Masonry Mobile Workshop
Podcast
This practical training session will use various downtown Faribault buildings to provide participants with an understanding of historic masonry restoration practices and the methods and techniques used for evaluating, restoring and repointing historic masonry. Emphasis will be placed on inspecting and evaluating masonry structures, correct methods for the repointing of mortar joints on foundations and walls, understanding historic brick and stone, and methods for evaluating and controlling rising damp.
Presenter: Robert Mack, FAIA, MacDonald and Mack Architects, Minneapolis
2:30-3:00 p.m. Break
3:00-4:30 p.m. Concurrent Sessions
Social Networking 101: Does Facebook Have a Place in Preservation?
Podcasts: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Audio Only
Social media increases the ability to communicate with the public through the Internet. Popular social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are easily accessible, simple to use and free. This panel presentation will explore how these media are being used through social networking to promote the cause of preservation.
Panelists: Joe Hoover, SHPO, moderator; Will O’Keefe, Preservation Alliance of Minnesota; Eli Pousson, Baltimore Heritage
Mobile Workshop of Faribault’s Main Street
This mobile workshop uses downtown Faribault as a living classroom to discuss the architectural styles, materials and treatments that make up a typical “Main Street” district. Explore “in the flesh” such varied issues as urban design concepts, architectural successes and areas for improvement, rehabilitation treatments and material histories and conservation.
Presenter: Anthony Rubano, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
Archaeology, Local History and HPCs
Elk River, Minneapolis and Stillwater – cities with active Heritage Preservation Commissions – have completed archaeology projects using different approaches that have involved some form of public involvement and participation. This panel presentation will describe each project.
Panelists: David Mather, SHPO, moderator; Rebecca Haug, City of Elk River and Richard Rothaus, Trefoil Cultural and Environmental Heritage; John Smoley, Minneapolis CPED; Mike Pogge, City of Stillwater and Michelle Terrell, Twin Pines Resource Group.
Friday, September 23
7:30-8:30 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30-10:00 a.m. Concurrent Sessions
National Register: 45 Years in Minnesota
What has the National Register meant to historic preservation these last 45 years? To Minnesota, it has meant more than 1,500 listings including nearly 200 historic districts. This presentation will focus on a retrospective of the Register in Minnesota, and its impact on urban and rural areas of the state.
Presenters: Susan Roth, SHPO; and Linda Mack, Minneapolis, architectural writer
Modernism on Main Street
The economic prosperity of post-WWII America brought many changes to America’s Main Streets. Some were small while other changes were more sweeping, from a host of new buildings to the conversions of entire downtowns into pedestrian malls. Understanding how these resources fit into the larger contexts of modern architecture and consumerism is critical to fostering an appreciation for them, as they tell important stories about community evolution. Anthony Rubano explores how Main Street’s architecture evolved in the mid-twentieth century and presents examples of communities that have made it a priority to preserve and market their more recent history.
Presenter: Anthony Rubano, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
Revitalizing Downtown Faribault Mobile Workshop
Over the past ten years, the City of Faribault’s central business district has been revitalized using a variety of local, state, and federal economic development programs. This walking tour will focus on the downtown properties and financial tools that have been utilized to reinvigorate the downtown and its historic buildings.
Presenter: Peter Waldock, City of Faribault
10:00-10:30 a.m. Break
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Concurrent Sessions
What Style Is That, Anyway?
This session will help preservationists, planners, managers and others become acquainted with the nuances of architectural style in order to be able to recognize key features in the field. It will explain how common, vernacular forms were distributed via pattern books, and describe styles from the Pre-Victorian, Victorian, Arts and Crafts and Modern eras.
Presenter: Beth Wielde-Heidelberg, Urban & Regional Studies Institute, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Historic Tax Credits: What’s the Big Deal About Small Deals?
Tax credit projects are complex no matter what their size. Smaller projects (under $1 million) can be especially challenging. This session will provide an update on Minnesota’s State Historic Tax Credit program and examine several small Minnesota projects. Panelists then will discuss why small deals are so challenging, how to structure them, and what elements need to be in place to attract investors.
Panelists: Linda Pate, SHPO preservation specialist; Norm Jones, Attorney with Winthrop & Weinstine; Donna Stevermer, CPA with Mahoney, Ulbrich, Christiansen and Russ; moderator, Bonnie McDonald, Executive Director of the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota
Mobile Workshop: Addressing Common Design Review Issues
Some design issues show up over and over again, but that doesn’t mean the reviews get any easier. One recurring issue is determining if changes to a commercial building have acquired significance and if so, how they should be preserved. Other common questions: What should replacement windows look like? When is it appropriate to use a substitute material and what should it be? How do you fit an ADA ramp on a typical Main Street building? What makes a good awning, or suitable signage? This mobile session will use downtown Faribault as a lab to discuss and ponder some common design quandaries.
Presenter: Audrey Tepper, National Park Service, Washington, D.C.; Natascha Wiener, SHPO senior design reviewer
12:00-1:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00-4:30 p.m. Concurrent Tours
Tours on Friday afternoon will take in a wide range of historic sites from Faribault and vicinity.
Bishop Whipple, the Episcopalians and Religion in Rice County
In 1860, Bishop Henry B. Whipple settled in Faribault as the first bishop of Minnesota’s newly created Episcopal diocese. This tour will examine three Faribault properties associated with Bishop Whipple: the historic district of Shattuck-St. Mary’s School, the Episcopal Cathedral of our Merciful Saviour and Guild House, and Johnston Hall on the former Seabury Divinity School campus.
Faribault’s Historic Properties
Explore Faribault’s many National Register properties and historic districts on foot and by bus. This tour will take in a range of architecturally and historically significant buildings that illustrate important themes in Faribault’s history. Properties include the Alexander Faribault House, the Rice County Courthouse and Jail, several early vernacular limestone houses built by local stonemasons, the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf, the Faribault Water Works, and Shattuck-St. Mary’s School.
Made in Faribault: Farmer Seed and Nursery Company and the Faribault Woolen Mills
This tour will focus on two important local businesses: the Farmer Seed and Nursery Company and the Faribault Woolen Mills. The Farmer Seed and Nursery Company moved to Faribault in 1893 and became a nationally known distributor of seeds and plants through their catalog business. Their warehouse was built in phases from the 1890s-1920s and represents the city’s role as a major agricultural processing and distribution center. The Faribault Woolen Mills was started by Carl Klemer, a German immigrant, who opened a carding mill in 1865 that eventually became famous for producing wool blankets used by the U.S. Army in World Wars I and II. Faribault Woolen Mills closed in 2009 but was recently purchased and will be rehabilitated as a functioning mill using historic tax credits.
*Tours are now filled and are not available for those registering at the conference.
