Essential to urban vibrancy

This Sunday, February 24, Ellen Cooper Erdreich will exhibit paintings and drawings at the Phoenix Building downtown (corner 2nd Avenue and 17th Street North) with an opening reception from 2-5 PM–loft 409. Please consider coming to view this show. Full disclosure: the artist is my mother. [image above from the show: "ex vulvere mori"]

The walls await

As we’ve discussed many times, art and artists are essential to the vibrancy of any urban center. We are proud that the Phoenix Building we developed offers reduced rents in the majority of its lofts, most of which are rented by artists. Hopefully more similar projects will follow soon. Enjoy the art, and see you Sunday.

[thanks to Ellen Cooper Erdreich for the images]

Go west, young man

In two days a new chapter starts: your author begins work with the New York design firm Sawyer/Berson. The commute to work will switch from a 15-second walk down Second Avenue North in Birmingham, to a roughly 35-minute walk and subway-ride on the BMT Broadway Line (the N, Q, R) from our apartment in Hell’s Kitchen on Manhattan’s West Side over to the East Side office near Gramercy Park. The morning view from the apartment is shown above, with the Hudson River and New Jersey visible to the right.

We will continue to be involved in downtown Birmingham through planned  projects like the Jefferson Loft Building, as well as management of the existing Phoenix Building and 2nd Row; this work will be based out of our new development office at the Frank Nelson Building on 20th Street North. As for this blog, I’m not quite sure what it will become. I may be able to keep writing about Birmingham with the aid of a few trustworthy volunteers who could help from the ground. Regardless, for many years, Birmingham and New York have easily been my two favorite cities in the US, and I look forward to new opportunities to help the former–and enjoy the latter!

Many thanks to all my readers for your support and comments. I sincerely hope that 2013 will bring great things to Birmingham and all of you. Cheers.

I.        Call to Order:  Minutes of the December 19, 2012 meeting.

II.        Name:  Mr. Dan Fritts (Live Design Group)

Site Address:  3100 Clairmont Ave. (St. Symeon Orthodox Church)

District: Highland Park Local Historic

Requesting approval for:  New church construction and renovations to existing church buildings

III.       Name: Mr. David Sanders (Champion Windows)

Site Address: 1243 23^rd Street South (Condominium Unit)

District:  Highland Park Local Historic

Requesting approval for: Replacement windows

IV.       Name: Mr. Kyle Clark (Shield Properties)     DELETED (Rescheduled for 1/23/13)

Site Address: 2501 Aberdeen Road

District: Red Mountain Suburbs Local Historic

Requesting approval for:  Painting and landscaping for ADA-compliant handicap ramp

V.        Name:  Mr. Zach Jones (Design Team Sign Company)

Site Address:  611 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd, South (Newk’s Café)

District:  Midtown

Requesting approval for: Awning and sign

VI.       Name: Mr. Melvin Cooper

Site Address: 7524 1^st Avenue, North (Wells Fargo)

District:  East Lake

Requesting approval for: New ATM

VII.     Name:  John Sexton (Black Design Architecture)

Site Address: 725 29^th Street South (Slice Pizza)

District:  Lakeview

Requesting approval for:  Rear Building addition

VIII.    Name: Mr. Mike Gibson (Appleseed Workshop)

Site Address: 2429 2^nd Avenue, North

District:  2^nd Avenue, North

Requesting approval for: Renovations

Not up to its location

Yesterday the state’s team which currently controls the City school system announced the system’s longtime administrative headquarters, at Park Place and 20th Street North facing Linn Park (20th Street elevation, above) will be put up for sale. The offices are slated to move to a humbler location in the 6300 block of First Avenue North, in Woodlawn. This is great news, as this prime corner which faces the park–with City Hall, the main branch of the Public Library, and the Tutwiler Hotel as neighbors–deserves a different use, and preferably a different building. The modest, mid-1960′s design (which was already dated upon completion) was never beautiful to begin with. We’d like to see a larger, mixed-use building that injects new energy into the underused park. Parks surrounded chiefly by daytime -use government bureaucracies tend to not be so vibrant, and Linn Park is no exception.

Out of context

The above view illustrates how the current building is out of sync with its densely developed, valuable surroundings.

Wrong in so many ways

Perhaps most egregious is the parking deck connected to the rear, which extends along 20th Street around Sixth Avenue North. Clad with blank concrete panels, with small slits affording grim views into a fluorescent garage, this portion of the site also needs to be completely rethought.

A step backward

Headed south on 20th Street to Five Points South, Design Review Committee yesterday approved a new paint job and storefront renovation to The Break pool hall, the former Emily Shop (above, corner of 20th Street South and 10th Avenue). This was a longtime women’s clothing store featuring large display windows along two facades, including a curved glass display at the prominent corner (it closed in the mid-1990′s). The current owner has taken out the corner glass, and replaced it with cheap, painted plywood. Oddly, the Committee approved this unfortunate change.

Thank you Regions

Directly across 10th Avenue, a Regions Bank branch sits in an historic bank building–perhaps 15-20 years older than the Emily Shop–which exhibits the period vogue for corner glass (in this case chamfered rather than curved, above). The relative integrity of this facade contrasts considerably with the cheapness of The Break.

The display says it all

A close up (above) illustrates all the elements conspiring against us: the strange paint colors, the boarded-up corner, the tinted glass, the huge stock-design Miller beer poster. We don’t expect pool halls to be paragons of good taste or even welcoming. But like the Board of Education building, this isn’t the best use of a great corner.

Aspirational

Finally, the Committee gave conditional approval to the above graphic concept for temporary signage at the new Entertainment District–now dubbed “Uptown”–adjacent to the BJCC and new Westin Hotel. The signage will go in empty storefronts, and will come down once leased.

If you build it…

Above, the completed district infrastructure awaits the hotel opening next month. The empty storefronts are visible to either side of the freshly paved street. With 2 restaurants and a coffee shop announced so far, we’re awaiting more announcements in the coming weeks. Now that it’s about to open, we can only wish it success. More to come on this in January.

[thanks to bhamwiki for the Board of Ed skyline pic, and BJCC for the graphic concept]

[Also, as anticipated, the Chicago-based developer of downtown's recent Cityville mixed-use development has announced a new mixed-use development just south of the new baseball park, with 245 housing units and, we assume, ground-floor retail/restaurants. More details will follow once we see plans and renderings.]

I.         Call to Order:  Minutes of the November 28, 2012 meeting.

II.        Name: Ms. Mary McSpadden

Site Address: 5500 1^st Avenue, South, Smiles For Keeps

District: Woodlawn

Requesting approval for: Signage

III.       Name: Mr. Ricky Armstrong (Modern Sign)

Site Address: 1200 4^th Avenue, North (America’s First Credit Union)

District: Downtown Northwest

Requesting approval for: sign replacement

IV.       Name: Mr. Trevor Matchett  (Hendon & Huckestein Architects)

Site Address: 1924 11th Avenue, South,  Surin

District: 5 Points South

Requesting approval for: façade renovations

V.        Name: Mr. Jimmy Meeks (Owner)

Site Address:  1001 20^th Street South (The Break)

District: Five Points South

Requesting approval for:  Paint and Awning

VI.       Name: Ms. Brenda Daniels (Daniels Signs)

Site Address:  9441 Parkway East (Tax Associates, Inc)

District:  Parkway East

Requesting approval for: Parapet sign and Pole sign reface

VII.     Name: Ms. Sheila Chaffin (UAB)

Site Address:  Block bounded by 12^th & 13^th Streets and 4^th & 5^th Avenues, South

District:  Midtown

Requesting approval for: Temporary parking

VIII.    Name:  Mr. Tim Hallman (Innerface Signs)

Site Address:  BJCC Market Place

District:  Cultural

Requesting approval for:  Storefront temporary signage

IX.       Name: Mr. Daryl Williams

Site Address: 514 19^th Street, Ensley (Volcano)

District:  Ensley

Requesting approval for: Facade repairs

Tudor redux

The small commercial center of English Village, in the Birmingham suburb of Mountain Brook, has seen a good deal of change in the last couple decades. Above is a new retail/office building on the east side of Cahaba Road (architect: Henry Sprott Long & Associates). A bit further down the street a new office structure is replacing a former pharmacy and later wine shop; this is thankful, not because we don’t miss the former businesses, but because the architecture is such an improvement over the last building which wasn’t much more than a blank brick box facing a parking pad. This new building is designed by Dungan Nequette and has familiar Arts-and-Crafts styling the firm specializes in (below):

More pleasing to the eye

English Village has a compact scale which goes some way to recalling actual English villages: the main spine, Cahaba Road, and a little more along a few cross streets, is most all there is. After the original buildings arrived in the 1920′s and 30′s, there was a general lack of interest in continuing the original “English” theme in a serious way until the mid-1990′s brought us the Townes (also Henry Sprott Long) which introduced a controversial scale and density to the place.

Mixed-use created an outcry

That project, joined later by a more abstract interpretation of English style in the National Bank of Commerce building built in the foreground (above, Giattina Aycock Architecture Studio, with Townes beyond), opened up the possibility of mid-rise, mixed-use condo living in the Village. It was a good move, although many would disagree due to the scale of the condo building.

Much better

Going back up Cahaba Road, Dungan Nequette took a bland, newer structure and transformed it into their own office with historically detailed elements–as well as better street presence with a new bay window and more welcoming entrance (above). As you can imagine, any architect is going to be challenged when faced with a project in English Village: how “English” does it need to be to fit in? Is a Flemish-inspired stepped gable OK? And what about aspects other than the actual style of the facade, like ground floor transparencies, proportions, massing, street edge? The City of Mountain Brook has done a better job of late guiding such principles, due to comprehensive planning guidelines produced for its Villages.

Charm without glitz

In actual English villages (Battle, East Sussex, above) we are often charmed less by the individual style of the buildings, which may be somewhat plain, and more by the scale of the street, the weathered materials, and the coziness of the tea shops and pubs. The entirety of the public street is enhanced by the deference of the structures.

Humbler

The original English Village (storefronts on the west side of Cahaba Road, above) was modest in design, using good materials, large storefronts, and little in the way of eye-grabbing tricks. The collection of buildings along the street was more impressive than any individual gesture. America being America, we tend to value individual style over modest “background” designs, so it’s no surprise that developers today generally want their own structures to stand out, rather than blend in (witness the newer building at the corner, above right, from the mid-1990′s).

Disney goes English

The danger of too much individualistic detail on every building is evident in the above shot, where the street is less an appealing public space, and more a disparate collection of “fancy” English-styles. Of course this is an “English” street at Disney’s Epcot Center in Florida. It’s an extreme example, but proves the point.

It works too

Overall, the construction in English Village over the last 15 years has improved the urbanity of the place. It is more mixed-use, and public space and public art have been enhanced. As far as we’re concerned, one of the best things that happened to the Village was the renovation last decade of a former service station into a mid-century-modern structure (above, architect: Bill Ingram), currently housing a restaurant and art gallery. Its scale and relation to the landscape feels totally appropriate: it shows that sometimes you don’t have to be “English” at all to fit into a village.

[thanks to Dungan Nequette for their office pic; electroguise for the Battle pic; and sfPhotocraft for the Epcot pic]

Poised, yet again

Yesterday local media reported that the City-owned block directly east of Railroad Park (above) is poised to be sold to Alabama Power Company for almost $3 million. Currently surface parking, the lot was the subject of a well-publicized “ideas contest” in 2011, which resulted in a winner being awarded $50,000 by the Community Foundation. Many were excited by the high-profile nature of the contest, the professionalism of the process, and the engagement of the community–through crowdsourcing– to help determine the future of our built environment downtown. It was much more difficult to find anyone excited about the actual winning entry, which struck many as a confusing grab bag of odd components.

Perhaps even more perplexing was how the contest, and the winning entry, disappeared from public view almost instantly: after all the publicity and community engagement, the radio silence was quite a contrast. Very little has surfaced about the project since the Foundation announced this past March that they’d seek proposals to develop the site using the themes outlined in the winning entry. Now, Alabama Power steps in to purchase the property which lies across Powell Avenue from the historic steam plant the company already owns (and is on the verge of decommissioning).

The Foundation expressed its support for this latest development in a brief statement on their website. Since there are no details about the nature of the development, we can’t really comment except to hope that if this purchase does go through, that Alabama Power is able to put together something really exciting and community-oriented for both this lot and a renovated steam plant. The curious fate of this property now moves into an interesting next phase (the City Council should vote on the sale today). Stay tuned. And just for fun, below is part of our own entry into the contest.

[thanks to the Birmingham News for the aerial pic]

UPDATE: City Council approved the sale today, and the Community Foundation said they endorsed the sale due to pledges from APCO that the ideas generated by the contest would be incorporated into future plans.

New roof for a new start

It was this past January when the historic Powell School suffered immense damage due to fire; what a welcome sight to now see Stone Building Company rebuilding the roof, stabilizing the brick, and otherwise weatherproofing the structure (above). Kudos to the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation which, in cooperation with the City and numerous volunteers, has organized this effort and is marketing the building for redevelopment.

This was the City’s first “Free School.” Before the fire it sat vacant, garnering little attention. Ironically, the fire illuminated the building’s potential: perhaps in the New Year we’ll see plans moving forward for renovation. Which would be pleasing.

Also pleasing should be the announcement–promised soon by REV Birmingham (formerly Operation New Birmingham)–of two new major housing developments near Railroad Park totaling some 450 units. Fingers crossed that downtown will have lots of positive news to look forward to in 2013.

I. Call to Order:  Minutes of the November 14, 2012 meeting.

II. Name: Ms. Mary McSpadden

Site Address: 5500 1^st Avenue, South, Smiles For Keeps

District: Woodlawn

Requesting approval for: Signage

III. Name:  Mr. Paul Irwin (Irwin Brothers Remodeling)

Site Address:  4142 Crescent Road

District: Forest Park Local Historic

Requesting approval for: Garage extension, addition of front yard parking pad to existing driveway, and new patio tile

IV. Name: Mr. Joey McClure (Joseph McClure Real Estate)

Site Address: 218 20^th Street, North, Bistro Two Eighteen

District: Birmingham Green

Requesting approval for:  Sign

V. Name: Mr. Rakesh Patel

Site Address: 1016 20^th Street, South, Homewood Suites  

District: 5 Points South

Requesting approval for: Elevation revision approval and site plan

VI. Name: Joe Rabun (Rabun, Rasche, Recetor, Reece Architects)

Site Address: 2221 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd., North; Westin Hotel

District: Cultural

Requesting approval for: Sign standards and signage

VII. Name:  David Watts

Site Address: 2011 11^th Avenue, South 

District:  5 Points South

Requesting approval for:  Façade renovations

IX. Name: Ms. Lara Watson (Reliable Signs)

Site Address: 2228 Highland Avenue, South (Highland Package Store)

District:  Five Points South

Requesting approval for: Signage

X.      Name:  Mr. Robert Thompson (Thompson Architecture, Inc.)

Site Address: 20 South 20^th Street (Alagasco Center for Energy Technology)

District:  Midtown

Requesting approval for:  Parking Renovations / Landscaping

XI. Name: Mr. Tommy Wood

Site Address: 2329 1^st Avenue North

District:  Morris Avenue

Requesting approval for:  Roof top greenhouse

Someone held his ground

While the newest, the biggest, or the most fashionable are always interesting guideposts to urban wanderers, it can be just as satisfying to dwell on the older, the smaller, and the old-fashioned. The contrast is of course what makes urban neighborhoods interesting; too much of one or the other and that palpable tension gives way to monotony. Luckily New York City still has plenty of these lesser elements: as an example, see the small 5-story tenement building above at the corner of West 57th Street and 9th Avenue, which used to be part of a larger block of similar structures back when the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood had lots of cheap housing for new immigrants in the late 19th century. In later years, the neighbors were demolished for large, modern apartment buildings but this one clings on to the corner, a reminder of a much earlier era.

My, how you haven’t changed

On a quiet East 4th Street in the Noho neighborhood is the Merchant’s House Museum (above), a townhouse built in 1832 whose upper-middle class family occupied it continuously–with little redecoration or renovation since the 1850′s–before leaving the house and its contents as a museum in 1936. Considered one of the finest Greek Revival-style row houses extant in the US, it’s one of those places you can walk by daily and never notice amidst the busy city that grew up around it.

An upwardly mobile microcosm

A testament to the fast pace of this city, the house was built on spec in a newly desirable location; within a few decades neighbors were leaving for leafier places further north but the Tredwell family stubbornly stayed put as both neighborhood and family fortune declined. Stepping inside is like finding a time capsule filled with pier glass mirrors and Victorian Rococo furniture.

Nary a chain to be found

A similar time capsule is found in the Fort George neighborhood at the upper tip of Manhattan island, where the ubiquitous chain stores seen in trendier locales are nonexistent (above). In the commercial center, you can buy a bottle of rose at the wine shop, enjoy a tuna melt at the lunch counter across the street, and then treat yourself to a fresh cookie at the bakery. The place has a faded charm that’s blissfully remote from the faster pace of neighborhoods below it.

Northern France, meet Hudson River

Emphasizing the remoteness is the remarkable Cloisters Museum (above), administered by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This Fort George landmark was designed in the 1930′s to incorporate architectural elements–including entire courtyards–from medieval European churches and abbeys. It has a breathtaking collection of medieval art as well, all surrounded by parkland facing the Hudson River.

Stunning

The austere, quiet interior is punctuated by stone portals, priceless tapestries, and carved reliquaries (above). It’s an easy way to transport oneself back 800 years.

What a Bronx address used to look like

Finally, a trip to the Woodlawn neighborhood of the Bronx reveals the Van Cortlandt House (above), nestled within Van Cortlandt Park, which is part of a former colonial wheat plantation of thousands of acres. The house,constructed in 1748, is furnished with family and period pieces. You can stand in the bedroom where General Washington slept and look out over the fields where both British and American troops gathered during the Revolutionary War. You can also see how the house’s position near Broadway, the Boston and Albany Post Roads, and the Hudson River were essential to the Van Cortlandt family’s mercantile wealth. As adjacent farms were sold to developers in the 19th century following the extension of subway lines, this house and property were instead preserved. And happily so, as visiting it gives us a deeper understanding of how this great city came to prosper.