About the Buckland House

RAP's Headquarters, The Buckland House,  is undergoing  some much-needed repairs as part of the Buckland House Restoration Project. One of the first considerations when looking to make alterations to a historic home is to consider how appropriate these changes are to the home and how these changes may affect its historic integrity. Do the changes work with the style of the home? Do they preserve the character-defining features that make it special?

Louis Sullivan: the Struggle for American Architecture

The northeast Florida premiere showing of the internationally significant film, Louis Sullivan: The Struggle for American Architecture, will take place at the 5 Points Theatre, 1028 Park Street, one day only, this coming Sunday, July 18th, at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm. This will be only the sixth time this movie has been shown publicly.

There is limited seating, and it is expected to be a sell-out. Buy your tickets at the 5 Points Theatre box office now, or on online.

The film was the winner of the Best Documentary at the 2010 Kansas City Film Fest and was an Official Selection at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2010. Its director, Mark Richard Smith, will be appearing in person at the Jacksonville showing to introduce the film.  The movie showing is a benefit for the Jacksonville Historical Society, Riverside Avondale Preservation, and Jacksonville AIA. It is also co-sponsored by Cinemania & the 5 Points Theatre.

Louis Sullivan was perhaps America's greatest architect, in some ways surpassing even his most well-known student, Frank Lloyd Wright. He has been called "the creator of the modern skyscraper" and even "the Father of American Architecture". Yet, after designing only a few dozen buildings (many of which are among the most beautiful ever created in this country), he died in poverty and relative obscurity. His is the greatest story never told in American architecture.
 This film marks the first time that Sullivan's life and career of have been brought to the screen. There has never been an in-depth exploration of him as an artist and what he tried so hard to do for American architecture.  After months of research that began in early 2007, director Mark Richard Smith began traveling throughout the Midwest and East Coast to view first hand most of Sullivan’s surviving works. The experience shaped his commitment to presenting as vividly as possible the stirring, profound beauty of Louis Sullivan’s architecture. Much of the footage is made up of moving shots that trace building details and ornamentation not readily seen by the naked eye.

But this film aspires to present a lot more than just great photography. Sullivan’s quixotic belief in the unbreakable connection between social values and architecture is closely examined, as are the cultural forces at work at the end of the nineteenth century that made it impossible for Sullivan’s aesthetic to take root in the American consciousness. The film presents him as an artist who never felt completely comfortable in either the vanishing world of nineteenth-century romanticism or the unsentimental and mechanized one of the twentieth century. Yet he understood both like no other artist of the period. Out of this conflict came incomparable works of architecture that vividly captured the end of one age and the dawn of another.

And just as significant, the film looks at how Louis Sullivan’s genius exerted such a tremendous influence on the development of the most famous architect who ever lived, Frank Lloyd Wright.

This is an important film to be shown in Jacksonville, because the work of Sullivan greatly influenced our own local superstar architect, Henry John Klutho.

Support the Riverside Trolley Service

JTA is hosting a public hearing Friday, July 23 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 4 - 6 p.m. at the JTA administrative offices at 100 N. Myrtle Avenue. The purpose of the hearing is to present proposed changes to the transit system (including Riverside Trolley) that go into effect September 6, 2010, and get public feedback.

Proposed changes include combining the Riverside Trolley and the WS1 (Ortega-NAS) to create one route from downtown along Riverside Avenue to King Street, then south on St. Johns Avenue to Herschel Street, and west onto San Juan to Roosevelt Boulevard, then north to FSCJ Kent Campus.
The headway would be 30 minutes. During the lunch time, an additional vehicle is being considered to increase frequency to 15 minutes. The Ortega portion between FSCJ Kent and NAS main gate would be served by a Community Shuttle during peak hours only. A new NAS Community Shuttle would operate on base during peak hours connecting at the main gate with the Ortega Community Shuttle.

Support for the proposed Riverside Trolley service is critical to its continued success, so please take a moment to comment on the proposed new Riverside Trolley Service. If you can't able to attend the public hearing, you can submit their comments on the proposed route before the public hearing at the www.JTAFLA.com website or simply by clicking here.

Annual Meeting is Tonight!

Don't miss the meeting tonight at the 5 Points Theatre! Come early for the social hour rub elbows with your neighbors and the board. Find out what RAP has been up to. Hear about what we are planning for the coming year and beyond.

Social starts at 6pm. The meeting commences at 7pm.

Mark Your Calendars

Social 6pm • Meeting 7pm
Location: 5 Points Theatre

The Riverside Avondale Preservation Annual Meeting is February 18. Plan to come early for the social hour. It is a great place to get to know your neighbors and see what RAP has been doing this past year. You will also find out about the current projects and the plans for the future.

Also on tap is the annual election of the Board.
Visit the web site for more information. >>

Saturday at RAM

THIS WEEK
As if RAM isn't batty enough, our Halloween party should kick off this wild weekend. Vendors will have treats for the kiddies who come dressed for frights! And your pets may also find a few treats if they don their best costumes. And don't forget your costume either as we are having a costume contest! We are certain to see plenty of Gators and Dawgs. We will have our biggest line-up of street performers ever, ten musical groups and zombies dancing on the stage. And if they aren't scary enough you should stop by and get your flu shot.

We have a ton going on this weekend! Magician tournaments. World class entertainment, new farms, returning farms and friends, new artists, new food vendors, and an all around great time. And the Art League will be offering classes for $20.

COMING UP
We'll be helping the city celebrate the Week of Valor on November 7. RAM will be honoring our local police, fire and rescue heros with many activities and cool equipment/displays. And on November 21 we'll be celebrating Biketoberfest. Did you know the we are the only large market in the country with FREE BIKE VALET. This is courtesy of BikeJax! Of course there is more, there always is and there are always a few surprises.

The holidays will soon be upon us. Isn't it time to start purchasing those gifts?

VOLUNTEERS
We always need new volunteers! Shannon has a new e-mail, so update your address book and while you're at it, let her know when you want to join the best volunteer group in the nation! Our vols get the only currently available RAM t-shirts and invites to exclusive special events. Not to mention the awesome feeling one gets helping us pull off the best thing to happen since the river.

This Weekend at RAM

Summer's in full swing and we've got some pretty cool stuff (again) at RAM this weekend. Jacksonville's very own River City Band Satin Swing Ensemble jazzes things up on the River Stage starting at 10:30. Then at 1:30 we're proud to have Warren Floyd rock the house. Floyd has played with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and shared the stage with a long list of rock royalty--from The Marshall Tucker Band to Bonnie Raitt to the Dixie Chicks. When you're walking around the market, look out for yoga demos by Tara Rawson, local honey, fresh tomatoes, belly dancers, orchids, ripe peaches, goat cheese, olive bread and chocolate croissants, beignets, shaved ice and lots of cool art to inspire and enjoy. Take a pedicab ride to Five Points, visit the Cummer or stroll the Riverwalk when you're done. It is sure to be another great Saturday.

Dancing in the Streets

Saturday, June 20th

Avondale comes alive in this yearly event! Line music with The BayStreet Band 5 - 8 pm
Vintage cars, dining, shopping and of course dancing!

Hosted by the Avondale Merchants Association. For more information call 338-3194 or visit their site.

19 Studios… One Colorful Party!

Saturday, May 30, 10am–6pm and Sunday, May 31, noon–4pm

The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville will be touring the studios of artists working in Downtown, San Marco, Riverside, Avondale and Ortega this Saturay and Sunday. Most of the stops are in Riverside and Avondale! Many of Jacksonville’s best known and emerging artists have been convinced to let you into their studios to let you see where they create their work. They are offering optional guided or self-guided tours. And once you have been inspired, there is a great after party and auction at our very own Bold City Brewery. If you haven't been to their brewery on Rosselle Street this is the perfect time to give it a try! Tickets can be purchased by calling MOCA at 366-6911 ext. 208 or stopping by R. Roberts Gallery.

So join MOCA for an inside view of the creative life.

ShAdCo Meeting - May 28

The Sheriff's Advisory Council (ShAdCo) meets the fourth Thursday of each month at 7 pm at the Boyd Chapel at Ortega United Methodist Church at 4807 Roosevelt Boulevard (at the corner of Roosevelt and Longfellow Road).

Your attendance and participation in the ShAdCo meetings is very important, so we encourage you to attend. Please feel free to bring a neighbor or a friend with you. As always, you may present any questions to the Watch Commander, sargeant or officers that patrol your area. (Caution: If you have a question or concern of a sensitive nature, please wait to speak to one of our officers after the meeting has adjourned of fill out one of the Comment/ Complaint Forms) At the meeting you will find out what crimes are happening in your neighborhood, if they are up or down, and what is being done about it. The police want our involvement and in fact, depend on it in most instances. If you are interested, please come to the meetings.

There are 19 ShAdCos in the city. We are in Zone 4, in the J1 sub-station. The Zone Commander is Assistant Chief Thomas R. Hackney - (904) 573-3165. Our Substation is located in the Cedar Hills Shopping Center at 3726 Blanding Blvd; the email address is JSOzone4[at]jaxsheriff.org.

Sheriff John Rutherford

Painting Historic Interiors

Click image to make larger. Image courtesy of the Arts & Crafts Society forum.

The paint Americans used in the past is undeniably part of a technological and commercial record. But beyond that, the colors we have chosen and continue to select for our interior living and working spaces--bright and exuberant, purposefully somber, or a combination of hues--reflect our nation's cultural influences and our individual and collective spirit. Paint color is a simple, direct expression of the time, and of taste, values, and mood. To consider paint only as a protective coating is to misunderstand its meaning as an important aspect of America's heritage.

This brief from the National Park Service is about historic interior paints and choosing new paints for historic interiors if repainting is necessary or desirable. It addresses a variety of materials and features: plaster walls and ceilings; wooden doors, molding, and trim; and metal items such as radiators and railings. It provides background information about some of the types of paint which were used in the past, discusses the more common causes and effects of interior paint failure, and explains the principal factors guiding decisions about repainting, including what level of paint investigation may be appropriate. Careful thought should be given to each interior paint project, depending on the history of the building and its painted surfaces. Treatments may range from protecting extant decorative surfaces, to ordering custom made paint that replicates the original paint color, to using today's paint straight off the shelf and out of the can.

Finally, stripping old paints or applying new oil/alkyd paints poses serious health and safety concerns; the State Historic Preservation Officer should be contacted for current legal and technical information on removal, disposal, and health and safety precautions.

Controlling Unwanted Moisture in Historic Buildings

Uncontrolled moisture is the most prevalent cause of deterioration in older and historic buildings. It leads to erosion, corrosion, rot, and ultimately the destruction of materials, finishes, and eventually structural components. Ever-present in our environment, moisture can be controlled to provide the differing levels of moisture necessary for human comfort as well as the longevity of historic building materials, furnishings, and museum collections. The challenge to building owners and preservation professionals alike is to understand the patterns of moisture movement in order to better manage it--not to try to eliminate it. There is never a single answer to a moisture problem. Diagnosis and treatment will always differ depending on where the building is located, climatic and soil conditions, ground water effects, and local traditions in building construction.

The National Park Service offers an extensive brief containing information on analyzing, surveying and diagnosing moisture problems as well as selecting the appropriate level of treatment and the ongoing care of your home.

ShAdCo Meeting – April 23

The Sheriff's Advisory Council (ShAdCo) meets the fourth Thursday of each month at 7 pm at the Boyd Chapel at Ortega United Methodist Church at 4807 Roosevelt Boulevard (at the corner of Roosevelt and Longfellow Road).

Your attendance and participation in the ShAdCo meetings is very important, so we encourage you to attend. Please feel free to bring a neighbor or a friend with you. As always, you may present any questions to the Watch Commander, sargeant or officers that patrol your area. (Caution: If you have a question or concern of a sensitive nature, please wait to speak to one of our officers after the meeting has adjourned of fill out one of the Comment/ Complaint Forms) At the meeting you will find out what crimes are happening in your neighborhood, if they are up or down, and what is being done about it. The police want our involvement and in fact, depend on it in most instances. If you are interested, please come to the meetings.

There are 19 ShAdCos in the city. We are in Zone 4, in the J1 sub-station. The Zone Commander is Assistant Chief Thomas R. Hackney - (904) 573-3165. Our Substation is located in the Cedar Hills Shopping Center at 3726 Blanding Blvd; the email address is JSOzone4[at]jaxsheriff.org.

Sheriff John Rutherford

Understanding Old Buildings: The Process of Architectural Investigation

If you have ever felt a sense of excitement and mystery going inside an old building--whether occupied or vacant--it is probably because its materials and features resonate with the spirit of past people and events. Yet excitement about the unknown is heightened when a historic structure is examined architecturally, and its evolution over time emerges with increasing clarity to reveal the lives of its occupants. Architectural investigation is the critical first step in planning an appropriate treatment-understanding how a building has changed over time and assessing levels of deterioration.

Whether as a home owner making sympathetic repairs, a craftsman or contractor replacing damaged or missing features, or a conservator reconstituting wood or restoring decorative finishes, some type of investigative skill was used to recognize and solve an architectural question or explain a difficult aspect of the work itself.

To date, very little has been written for the layman on the subject of architectural investigation. This Preservation Brief thus addresses the often complex investigative process in broad, easy-to-understand terminology. The logical sequence of planning, investigation and analysis presented in this Brief is applicable to all buildings, geographic locations, periods, and construction types. It is neither a "how to" nor an exhaustive study on techniques or methodologies; rather, it serves to underscore the need for meticulous planning prior to work on our irreplaceable cultural resources.

For more information, read this National Park Service brief.

ShAdCo Meeting - March 26

The Sheriff's Advisory Council (ShAdCo) meets the fourth Thursday of each month at 7 pm at the Boyd Chapel at Ortega United Methodist Church at 4807 Roosevelt Boulevard (at the corner of Roosevelt and Longfellow Road).

This month's special guest:
Jacksonville Sheriff Office’s Gang Unit

Your attendance and participation in the ShAdCo meetings is very important, so we encourage you to attend. Please feel free to bring a neighbor or a friend with you. As always, you may present any questions to the Watch Commander, sargeant or officers that patrol your area. (Caution: If you have a question or concern of a sensitive nature, please wait to speak to one of our officers after the meeting has adjourned of fill out one of the Comment/ Complaint Forms) At the meeting you will find out what crimes are happening in your neighborhood, if they are up or down, and what is being done about it. The police want our involvement and in fact, depend on it in most instances. If you are interested, please come to the meetings.

There are 19 ShAdCos in the city. We are in Zone 4, in the J1 sub-station. The Zone Commander is Assistant Chief Thomas R. Hackney - (904) 573-3165. Our Substation is located in the Cedar Hills Shopping Center at 3726 Blanding Blvd; the email address is JSOzone4[at]jaxsheriff.org.

Sheriff John Rutherford

Exterior Paint Problems on Historic Woodwork

A cautionary approach to paint removal is included in the guidelines to the Secretary of the Interior Standards for Rehabilitation. Removing paints down to bare wood surfaces using harsh methods can permanently damage those surfaces; therefore such methods are not recommended. Also, total removal obliterates evidence of the historical paints and their sequence and architectural context.

This Brief from the National Park Service expands on that advice for the architect, building manager, contractor, or homeowner by identifying and describing common types of paint surface conditions and failures, then recommending appropriate treatments for preparing exterior wood surfaces for repainting to assure the best adhesion and greatest durability of the new paint.

New Exterior Additions to Historic Buildings

Because a new exterior addition to a historic building can damage or destroy significant materials and can change the building's character, an addition should be considered only after it has been determined that the new use cannot be met by altering nonsignificant, or secondary, interior spaces. If the new use cannot be met in this way, then an attached addition may be an acceptable alternative if carefully planned. A new addition should be constructed in a manner that preserves significant materials and features and preserves the historic character. Finally, an addition should be differentiated from the historic building so that the new work is not confused with what is genuinely part of the past.

See this article for more information.

Annual Membership Meeting This Wednesday!

Don't miss this meeting! We have a lot to cover including a review of 2008 and a preview of some of the major changes ahead for RAP in 2009. We'll announce the winners of RAP’s Annual Preservation Awards, elect our new Board and listen as the fabulous Dr. Wayne Wood takes us on a Magical Mystery Tour of the Riverside Avondale Historic District.

5 Points Theatre
Wednesday, February 18th, 6pm

Stick around after the meeting and see the current movie, Friday the 13th! RAP members can see it for only $5! And many thanks to Jack Shad and the terrific folks at the theater for letting us use their extraordinary space.

Hot Topics in Preservation Workshop

Feb 27 2009
Jacksonville City Hall
9:30am - 4:30pm

This interactive workshop will focus on common issues that come up with compliance and enforcement of your preservation ordinance. Speakers will cover property rights, takings, and demo-by-neglect, and include a discussion on the challenges when local leaders choose new development over preservation.

Register online.

Co-Sponsored by the City of Jacksonville.

The Preservation and Repair of Historic Clay Tile Roofs

Clay tiles are one of the most distinctive and decorative historic roofing materials because of their great variety of shapes, colors, profiles, patterns, and textures, and they are frequently seen throughout the historic district. Traditionally, clay tiles were formed by hand, and later by machine extrusion of natural clay, textured or glazed with color, and fired in high-temperature kilns. The unique visual qualities of a clay tile roof often make it a prominent feature in defining the overall character of a historic building. The significance and inherently fragile nature of historic tile roofs dictate that special care and precaution be taken to preserve and repair them.

Clay tile has one of the longest life expectancies among historic roofing materials-generally about 100 years, and often several hundred. Yet, a regularly scheduled maintenance program is necessary to prolong the life of any roofing system. A complete internal and external inspection of the roof structure and the roof covering is recommended to determine condition, potential causes of failure, or source of leaks, and will help in developing a program for the preservation and repair of the tile roof. Before initiating any repair work on historic clay tile roofs, it is important to identify those qualities important in contributing to the historic significance and character of the building.

This Brief will review the history of clay roofing tiles and will include a description of the many types and shapes of historic tiles, as well as their different methods of attachment. It will conclude with general guidance for the historic property owner or building manager on how to plan and carry out a project involving the repair and selected replacement of historic clay roofing tiles.