Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Another Vision

Spokesmen for Galvan Partners have twice presented designs for 67-71 North Fifth Street--designs that bear little or no resemblance to the house as it exists today and as we know it to have existed for more than seventy years--and twice the Historical Preservation Commission has asked them to propose a design more in keeping with the house as we know it.
The HPC has scheduled a workshop meeting about the house at 9 a.m. on Friday, August 24. In advance of that, Gossips asked Photoshop wizard Bob Mechling to work with a photograph of the house taken in April 2012 and a photograph that Lisa Durfee discovered of the house from the late '30s or early '40s to show what the house would look like if it were simply restored to what it once had been. Here is the result--a house not lacking in curb appeal that respects Hudson's diverse architectural heritage and fits comfortably within the historic context of the neighborhood.

at

10 comments:

  1. VincentAugust 22, 2012 at 9:56 AM

    Now theres a pleasing and welcoming building !

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousAugust 22, 2012 at 11:43 AM

    Galloway must have been smitten by Gone With The Wind. He sure likes that phallic column motif.

    ReplyDelete
  3. inkysocksAugust 22, 2012 at 1:41 PM

    What is a workshop meeting, and is it open or closed?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Carole OsterinkAugust 22, 2012 at 1:52 PM

    A workshop meeting is an informal meeting at which a couple members of the HPC and counsel provide advice to an applicant in interpreting the law or work with an applicant and the applicant's architect to try to solve problems with a design. It is by law an open meeting, but the public is there strictly as observers.

    ReplyDelete
  5. unheimlichAugust 22, 2012 at 2:54 PM

    Mr. Mechling's artist's rendition is worth a thousand words.

    It is something you can simply point to and ask, "Why not that?"

    Nicely done.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ward HamiltonAugust 22, 2012 at 3:45 PM

    Here's a sneak peek at the new design we'll be presenting:

    http://preservationinaction.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-armory-townhouse-project-sneak-peek.html

    ReplyDelete
  7. victorinhudsonAugust 22, 2012 at 4:24 PM

    Really Really Good. Thanks to Bob Mechling, Lisa Durfee and Carole Osterink for bring this wonderful concept to life for us. Bravo!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousAugust 22, 2012 at 6:46 PM

    To Ward, and to Bob: "Aaahhh... now that's more like it!" This house is in my neighborhood and I pass by all the time. It's such a pleasing house despite its decline. It would not be improved by columns or a flat roof line. And what would the previous designs have had in store for the wings at the back of the house? They are not visible in any of the photos or CAD drawings, but both currently have prominent gable roofs. Now, I have only two worries left: if the roof framework is, as Ward Hamilton has stated, "70 percent rotted and has to come off," will the HPC agree to a "re-build" in an historic district? And will Galloway/ Olde Mohawk follow through with the plan?

    ReplyDelete
  9. victorinhudsonAugust 22, 2012 at 9:17 PM

    Just to clarify My post was submitted prior to @Ward Hamilton's post appearing and was commenting only on the original post. But to @Reusethematerialgirl's comments I completely agree. The devil is in the details. But it is certainly a step in the right direction.

    It is a shame that Mr. Galloway has to repeatedly try cram his Gallowingian vision of what an historic restoration should look like. Rather than submit a coherent and proper plan from the start.

    If he is going to buy every historic property in the city, he should also expect to follow the rules and restore them properly and in place. He should also stop trying to silence dissent by buying off half of the elected and appointed officials in town in the form of "Grants". It will never work.

    ReplyDelete
  10. JenniferAugust 23, 2012 at 4:18 PM

    Bob's design is so simple and appropriate, why on earth can't Galloway's architect come up with something like that, equally appealing. Bravo Bob.

    ReplyDelete