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Category: Threatened Environments

Daniel Paul on the Historic Preservation of Art Environments

Architectural Historian Daniel Paul has more than 25 years of experience in the historic preservation field and has successfully listed local, state, and federal landmark applications that include the Capitol Records building in Hollywood, Tressa "Grandma" Prisbrey’s Bottle Village, and early U.S. Border Inspection Stations in Vermont. During his time with Bottle Village, Paul worked with SPACES Archives founder Seymour Rosen (pictured in the background of the above photo). He recently spoke with SPACES about his experiences in the field of art environments and where he sees this work headed.  

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Growing a Legacy: How Pearl Fryar Continues to Nurture His Vision

It has been several years since Pearl Fryar has been able to complete the demanding physical labor required to maintain his sprawling topiary garden, and now a group of organizations have come together to support Fryar and the future of his life’s work. After a community member called the Executive Director of the McKissick Museum at the University of South Carolina Jane Przybysz to report the garden’s decline and ask how her institution was planning to help, she immediately got to work. She began by seeking grant funding to support bringing the living sculptures back to their former beauty and creating a consortium of organizations to get involved in this ongoing effort, including the Atlanta Botanical Garden, the WeGOJA Foundation (formerly the South Carolina African American Heritage Commission), and the Garden Conservancy. After some funding was secured earlier this year, a team was hired to begin work on the garden.

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Final Effort to Save The Last Resort

After years of uncertainty regarding the future of David Lee Hoffman’s The Last Resort in Lagunitas, California, it appears that a recent court decision will result in the site being razed. 

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Getting on the Map: Completing a National Register of Historic Places Nomination

7 Steps Toward Completing a Successful National Register of Historic Places NominationEmma Mooney is an art and architectural historian currently pursuing a Master of Preservation Studies degree at Tulane University. She first realized her interest in the built environment during an internship with the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in 2014 and since then has researched art environments such as Joe Minter’s African Village in America and Clementine Hunter’s African House Murals. Before becoming involved in historic preservation, she worked in museum collections management, most recently at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and the American Folk Art Museum. 
The Mary Nohl Art Environment is on the National Register of Historic Places. See the full nomination through the NRHP.

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Nitt Witt Ridge Enters the Real Estate Market!

Nitt Witt Ridge, built by Art Beal, in Cambria, California is up for sale

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A Letter from Emily Smith, director at Philadelphia's Magic Gardens

A Letter from Emily Smith, director at Philadelphia's Magic Gardens in response to Painted Bride's denial of historical designation

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Hoffman's The Last Resort in California to Form Non-Profit

David Hoffman's Last Resort in California to Form Non-Profit

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UPDATE! Save Nashville artist William Edmondson's homesite!

UPDATE! Save Nashville artist William Edmondson's homesite!

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Save Nashville artist William Edmondson's homesite!

Save Nashville artist William Edmondson's homesite!

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Sign petition to save Justo Gallego's Cathedral!

Sign petition to save Justo Gallego's Cathedral!

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