[Heritage] Oregon Heritage News 2006-02-08

[Heritage Info]

In this issue:
1.  Astoria's Liberty at center of Feb. 24 presentation
2. Treasures grants available for collections
3.  Historic roads conference mapped for April
4. Architectural history group seeks speakers


ASTORIA's  LIBERTY AT CENTER OF FEB. 24 PRESENTATION

The Oregon Council for the Humanities, in collaboration with the State Historic Preservation Office and the Bank of Astoria, invites the public to a free lecture commemorating the renovation of Astoria's historic Liberty Theater. Novelist, historian, and publisher Matthew Stadler will speak at 7 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Liberty Theater, 1203 Commercial St., Astoria. Following the lecture, the humanities council will host a reception in the McTavish Room at the theater. 

Stadler's lecture, "At Liberty: A Town's Story and a Theater's History," examines how the history of a building can capture and express the life of the city around it. Stadler will take attendees first on an imaginary excursion around the building and then into the life of Astoria-from the 1920s, when The Liberty was built, through rough times for both the city and the theater, to present-day Astoria, where a beautifully restored theater adorns a thriving community.

"The Liberty is not just a building," Stadler says, "but a crossing point for many lives, histories, and meanings. As we sit together in The Liberty, I want everyone in the room to ask 'Where are we?' and to explore with me some of the more interesting ways of answering that question. I hope that together we can fill the theater's space with stories. Some of these stories will concern the people who made Astoria and those who made the theater; some will be about architecture and materials, the difference between wood and brick; some will be about theaters and their meanings; some will be about cities and the ways they create themselves."

Stadler is the author of several novels including Landscape: Memory, The Dissolution of Nicholas Dee, and Allan Stein. He holds an M.F.A. from Columbia University and a B.A. from Oberlin College. He has received several awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1992. Recently, he has given presentations on landscape, history, and community in the Northwest. He is the literary editor of Nest magazine and editor and co-founder of Clear Cut Press. 

The Oregon Council for the Humanities seeks to improve the quality of life for Oregonians by providing programs that enrich minds and broaden perspectives, foster positive human relationships, encourage civility and good citizenship, and bring together the diverse peoples who make up our statewide culture. The council is an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities and is supported by gifts from individuals and foundations throughout Oregon.


TREASURES GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR COLLECTIONS

Grant amounts ranging from $25,000 to $700,000 to conserve collections are available through the 2006 Save America's Treasures program.

While Save America's Treasures program is primarily known for preservation of threatened or endangered structures, one segment is now for collections conservation. Collections must be nationally significant, as well as threatened or endangered. Projects must substantially mitigate the threat and must have a clear public benefit (for example, helping to make collections available for public viewing or scholarly research). Projects must be feasible (i.e. able to be completed within the proposed activities, schedule, and budget described in the application), and the application must document adequately the required non-federal match. 

Eligible applicants include nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c), U.S. organizations, units of state or local government, and federally recognized Indian tribes. The application deadline is April 18.

The Save America's Treasures competitive grants are administered by the National Park Service in partnership with the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities,  National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. This partnership benefits from the private  
fundraising efforts of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

For more information, visit the Save America's Treasures website at http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/treasures/ . You can also contact the following about potential collections project proposals:
Michael McLaughlin, National Endowment for the Arts,  202/682-5457, mclaughm at arts.gov 
Joseph Herring, National Endowment for the Humanities 202/606-8249   jherring at neh.gov 
Steve Schwartzman, Institute of Museum and Library Services 202/653-4641sshwartzman at imls.gov 
 

HISTORIC ROADS CONFERENCE MAPPED FOR APRIL

The fifth Preserving the Historic Road conference will be held April 27-30 at the Omni Parker House Hotel in Boston. This biennial national conference dedicated to the identification, preservation and management of historic roadways attracts engineers, designers, planners, cultural resource specialists and grassroots advocates and will showcase the historic roads and parkways of the greater Boston area. Conference information, session and tour descriptions, and registration materials are available on-line at
http://www.historicroads.org/sub7_1.htm  <http://www.historicroads.org/sub7_1.htm>    Early registration rate deadline is March 1.

For more information on historic roads visit: www.historicroads.org <http://www.historicroads.org> 


ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY GROUP SEEKS SPEAKERS

The Marion Dean Ross/Pacific Northwest chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians invites proposals for papers to be presented at its annual meeting Sept. 14-16 at the
University of Idaho in Moscow. Papers may address any aspect of architectural history from any geographic region.

The conference theme is "Celebrating Historic Structures and Spaces within Small Towns of the Northwest." Although papers may address any topic, organizers especially encourage proposals that focus on the conference theme such as: small town architecture and planning; cultural, economic, and environmental sustainability of small towns;
college towns; architecture and settlements related to agriculture, logging, mining, and tourism; American Indian architecture and settlements; issues related to rapid transformation from one economic base to another; and adaptive reuse of historic structures.

Papers should be analytical or theoretical rather than descriptive and should represent an original contribution to the history of architecture. Presentations will be of 20 minutes duration.  Abstracts should be 300-500 words, not to exceed a single sided page in length, and should include author's name, paper title, argument, scope, and content. On a separate single page, include the author's name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address with a brief biography or curriculum vitae.

Proposals are not limited to members of the Society of Architectural Historians. All are welcome to submit abstracts for consideration. Submissions by graduate students in architectural history and closely related fields are encouraged. The chapter requests that those who are selected as presenters become dues-paid chapter members. Young scholars who require financial assistance in order to attend the meeting may apply for a stipend from the Wendell Lovett Fund; attach a separate letter with a statement of need when submitting the abstract.

Abstracts will be accepted until April 30. Send proposals electronically as Word document attachments to Anne Marshall at annem at uidaho.edu. Although electronic submissions are preferred, you may send hard copies to: Anne Marshall, Department of Architecture, College of Art and Architecture, University of Idaho, PO Box 442451,  Moscow, ID,  83844-2451.
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Oregon Heritage News is a service of the Oregon Heritage Commission, which can be contacted at heritage.info at state.or.us