Gossips Observes Preservation Month

Tomorrow is the first day of May, and May is National Preservation Month. The theme for Preservation Month this year is "Discover America's Hidden Gems." The National Trust for Historic Preservation is encouraging people to explore and discover the hidden architectural gems in their communities and share their discoveries with others.

May is also the month--particularly early May, near her birthday on May 4--when people celebrate the life and work of Jane Jacobs, who helped save neighborhoods from destruction at the hands of outside interests and championed a community-based approach to city building. The form the celebration of her birthday typically takes is Jane Jacobs Walk, an event that gets people to walk, observe, and connect with their cities.

In support of both Preservation Month and Jane Jacobs Walk, Gossips intends, throughout the month of May, to publish a new post each day calling attention to some detail of the built environment of Hudson. The post might comment on an unusual architectural feature or element. It might talk about the architect who designed a particular building or the circumstances surrounding its construction. It might recount some bizarre or historically significant thing that happened in a building, or tell about noteworthy people who lived there or frequently visited there. 

The series will be called "Jane's Walk," because, by pointing out things that may have gone unnoticed and offering information to pique the curiosity, the goal is to inspire you to go out and have a look for yourselves--to walk, observe, and connect with our little city. In the process, you may discover other hidden gems to share with the Gossips audience.   

Look for "Jane's Walk" features to appear every afternoon, beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, May 1.