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JAMESTOWN – One of Jamestown’s historical districts was over the weekend, giving those in attendance a chance to learn more about local history, and architect’s work to make the buildings notable.
Principal planner Ellen Shadle, alongside multiple participants, toured the Lakeview historical district learning what the area has to offer.
“They are to celebrate and increase awareness of the value of our architecture in the historic districts,“ explained Shadle. “A lot of times, national historic districts are designated as such because of their significant architecture.
Amongst the many topics that were discussed on the tour, was architect C. C. Pederson, whose work had attracted attention from many nationwide.
“One is Carl Pederson, who is the architect of the Euclid Avenue School, which is now our Euclid Avenue School Apartments since its repurposing, and adaptive reuse here,“ stated Shadle. “So he is a notable architect for the community in general.”
Organizers say the walking tour is an important tool to remember what came before.
“The stories of the past also help us inform the stories of the future,“ explained Shadle. “And one of the misnomers about preservation and historic preservation in particular, not just preservation as a concept, is that its agenda is to freeze something in time. And that’s really not what historic preservation is about, but it’s helping us to inform what came before us.”
In the end, history is not confined to certain areas of the city, but can be seen anywhere you look.
“We hope these tours are going to expand outside our historical districts particularly, into other areas of the city that have significance and meaning to them,“ says Shadle. “They may not have a label or designation to them, but that doesn’t make them any less significant.”
The next planned tour will focus on the Forest Heights historic district on August 6th.
While a date has not yet been set, other tours could be in the works highlighting various parts of the city, including Brooklyn Square, which has changed so much since urban renewal in the 60’s and 70’s.
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